Craig Sheffer

Craig Eric Sheffer (born April 23, 1960) is an American film and television actor. He is known for his starring roles as Hardy Jenns in Some Kind of Wonderful, Aaron "Cabal" Boone in Nightbreed (1990), Norman Maclean in A River Runs Through It (1992), Joe Kane in The Program (1993), Joseph in Bliss (1997), and as Keith Scott on the television series One Tree Hill (2003–12).

Early life Sheffer was born in York, Pennsylvania, where his father worked as a prison guard. He began acting in school plays while attending York Suburban Senior High School, competing in regional and state drama competitions. He attended East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania for two years on a sports scholarship, playing baseball and football, until sustaining a knee injury. He dropped out in 1980 to pursue his acting career.

Sheffer moved to New York City at the behest of his then-girlfriend, but they broke up shortly thereafter, and Sheffer spent some time homeless. He "slept under the marble staircase" in Grand Central Terminal for weeks while living off Unification Church spaghetti dinners, and made a living selling newspapers.

Career After appearing in commercials, Sheffer was first seen on a nationwide basis as Ian Hayden on the ABC daytime soap opera One Life to Live in 1982, and on the short-lived primetime drama The Hamptons in 1983. In 1984, he was cast in his first film role, as the romantic lead opposite Pia Zadora in the genre-bending musical Voyage of the Rock Aliens. He also starred in the Broadway play Torch Song Trilogy, replacing Paul Joynt midway through its run.

He subsequently had starring roles in films as the best friend of troubled teenager Emilio Estevez in That Was Then... This Is Now (1985), a reformatory camp inmate in Fire with Fire (1986), an antagonistic rich kid in Some Kind of Wonderful (1987), and the romantic love interest of an overweight cosmetician in Baby Cakes (1989). In 1990, he played the leading role of Aaron "Cabal" Boone in Clive Barker's horror film Nightbreed.

In 1992, Sheffer starred as author Norman Maclean in the Oscar-winning biographical film A River Runs Through It, directed by Robert Redford. He then played Heisman Trophy candidate quarterback Joe Kane in The Program in 1993.

Sheffer's other films include Fire in the Sky (1993), Head Above Water (1996) and Sleep With Me (1994) (as the apex of a romantic triangle which included Eric Stoltz, and Meg Tilly). Sheffer played the leading role in Clive Barker's franchise sequel, Hellraiser: Inferno. He also played the main character in 1997's Bliss which starred Sheryl Lee, Terence Stamp and Leigh Taylor-Young.

Sheffer played Constant Bradley in the 1996 miniseries A Season in Purgatory. He played Keith Scott on the CW Network series One Tree Hill for three seasons before his character was killed off halfway through season 3 (he also had several guest appearances in season 4). He directed the feature film American Crude, a dark comedy starring Ron Livingston and Rob Schneider; it was released straight to DVD in June 2008. Sheffer had a cameo appearance in the movie Stand Up Guys.

In 2016, Sheffer starred alongside Steven Seagal in Code of Honor.

In 2021, he was cast to play American President Richard Nixon on the horror anthology American Horror Story: Double Feature.

Personal life Sheffer was in a relationship with Gabrielle Anwar from 1989 until the early-1990s and they have a daughter born in 1993. Sheffer is the godfather to his ex-partner's children, Hugo and Paisley, from her subsequent marriage to John Verea.

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 1984 Voyage of the Rock Aliens Frankie 1985 That Was Then... This Is Now Bryon Douglas 1986 Fire with Fire Joe Fisk 1987 Some Kind of Wonderful Hardy Jenns 1988 Split Decisions Eddie McGuinn 1990 Nightbreed Aaron Boone / Cabal Instant Karma Zane 1991 Blue Desert Randall Atkins Eye of the Storm Ray 1992 A River Runs Through It Norman Maclean 1993 Fire in the Sky Allan Dallis The Program Joe Kane Fire on the Amazon RJ O'Brien 1994 The Road Killers Cliff Sleep with Me Frank 1995 Wings of Courage Henri Guillaumet Short film The Desperate Trail Jack Cooper 1996 The Grave King Head Above Water Lance 1997 Executive Power Nick Seger Bliss Joseph 1998 Double Take Connor McEwen 1999 The Fall Adam Ellis Flypaper Bobby Ray Turbulence 2: Fear of Flying Martin 2000 Net Worth Woody Miller Deep Core Brian Goodman Hellraiser: Inferno Det. Joseph Thorne Maze Mike Merlin: The Return Mordred 2001 Ritual Paul Claybourne Turbulence 3: Heavy Metal Nick Watts Flying Virus Martin Bauer 2002 Truth Be Told Det. Stratten Deadly Little Secrets Dr. Gordon Childs 2003 Water Under the Bridge Marco Dracula II: Ascension Lowell 2004 Prodigal Son Alan Short filmThe Pavilion Frank Cassilis Berserker Boar 2005 Tom's Nu Heaven Tom Mitchell The Second Front Frank Hossom 2006 Find Love Interviewer 2008 Love Lies Bleeding Morton While She Was Out Kenneth 2010 Ashley's Ashes Bill 2012 Bad Ass Attorney Stand Up Guys Jargoniew The Mark Chad Turner 2013 The Mark 2: Redemption 2016 Code of Honor William Porter 2017 Destruction: Los Angeles John Benson 2019 Widow's Point Thomas Livingston 2023 Velocity Girl Sheriff Earl Gentry2024Guns & MosesTibor Farkas

Television