Known from movies

Without a trace (2002-2009)
as Martin Fitzgerald

Nashville (2012-2016)
as Teddy Conrad

American Sniper (2014)
as DIA agent Snead

The Wonderful Seven (1998–2000)
as Vin Tanner



Eric Close is an American actor, most famous for his role as Martin Fitzgerald in the Golden Globe Award winning TV mystery-crime drama series “Without a Trace”. Moreover, he is popular for playing the recurring character of Travis Tanner in the TV comedy-drama series “Suits” as well as starring as Teddy Conrad in the musical drama series “Nashville”.

Early life, childhood and education

Eric Randolph Close was born under the constellation Gemini on the 24^e May 1967, in the Staten Island borough of New York City, the oldest of three sons born to orthopedic surgeon Frederic Close and his wife Eva, and of American nationality and white ethnicity.

He has two younger brothers named Christopher and Randy Close. Eric spent his early childhood between the states of Indiana and Michigan before the family finally settled in San Diego, California when he was seven.

Close graduated from Valhalla High School in 1985, after which he attended the University of Southern California, graduating in 1989 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications.

Acting career

Interested in acting from a young age as he appeared in several school plays after graduation Eric decided to try his luck in the film industry.

He made his acting debut in the play “Rat Songs” in the late 1980s, and his screen debut came in 1991, with a supporting role in the TV movie “Keeping Secrets”, which led him to appear in an episode of the TV series “MacGyver” later that year. His first big screen appearance came in 1992, with another supporting role in the critically acclaimed crime drama film “American Me”.

He rose to greater prominence later in 1992 when he was cast in the recurring role of Sawyer Walker in NBC TV’s romantic drama soap opera ‘Santa Barbara’, appearing in over 90 episodes of the series over the course of the next year.

For this performance, Eric was honored with a Soap Opera Digest Award nomination in the Outstanding Male Newcomer category. He then appeared in the drama film “Taking Liberty”, before appearing in two 1994 TV movies – “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys – Hercules and the Lost Kingdom” and “Without Consent”.

Through 1994 and ’95, Close to starred as Brick McKenna on the TV adventure drama series ‘McKenna’, while playing the recurring role of William ‘Billy’ Griffin from ’95 to ’96 on the two-time Golden Globe Award nominated television drama series ‘Sisters’.

Moreover, in 1995, he was cast for the lead role in the TV drama movie “The Stranger Beside Me”. In 1996 and ’97, he played the character of John Loengard in the Primetime Emmy Award-winning NBC TV’s Sci-Fi series “Dark Skies”, and by the late 1990s, Eric Close had added two more notable assignments to his portfolio – between 1998 and 2000 as the recurring character of Vin Tanner on the Primetime Emmy Award winning CBS TV western series “The Magnificent Seven”, while starring as Michael Wiseman from 1999 to 2000 in over 20 episodes of the Primetime Emmy Award-nominated TV sci-fi comedy-drama series “Now and Again”; the latter engagement earned him a nomination for the Saturn Award given by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films.

In the early 2000s, Close to landed starring roles in the TV movie “Follow the Stars Home” and in the romance movie “Liberty, Maine” before being cast in the recurring role of John in the Golden Globe Award-nominated mini TV sci-fi drama series “Taken” in 2002. Towards bigger protrusion he came later that year when he was cast in the recurring role of Martin Fitzgerald in the Golden Globe Award winning CBS TV’s mystery drama series “Without a Trace” – over the course of the following years, Eric appeared in over 160 episodes of the show, before it was finally called off in 2009. For his performance, he earned a nomination for the Screen Actors Guild Award.

In 2010, Eric made several short appearances in TV series such as ‘Seven Deadly Sins’ and ‘Criminal ghosts”, before landing the supporting role of Michael Dorset in the TV drama series “Chaos”. However, the real breakthrough in his acting career came in 2011 when he was cast for the memorable role of Travis Tanner in the critically acclaimed television legal drama series “Suits “, which he occasionally played for the next five seasons of the show.

Between 2012 and 2015, Close starred in the recurring role of Teddy Conrad on the ABC TV musical drama series.Nashville”, before appearing in the TV thriller movie “Christmas Crime Story” in 2017. In 2018, he was cast in the war drama film “Indivisible” and in the western film “Legal Action”. Some of his most recent on-screen appearances include the television series ‘Hooked’ and in TV movies ‘A Christmas Love Story’ and ‘Angel Falls: A Novel Holiday’ all in 2019.

Private life

Despite its popularity and prosperous career in the film industry, the 53 year old actor has somehow kept his private life far from media attention as not many relevant details are available. But since 25^e In June 1995, he married Keri Close, with whom he welcomed two daughters, Katie and Ella, born in 1998 and 2001 respectively.

Net value

Eric Close’s total net valueas of mid-2020, is estimated by authoritative sources to be more than the sum of $4 million. It has been fully acquired through his on-screen acting career spanning nearly three decades since 1991.

Source: IMDb, Wikipedia