Dylan McDermott – September 2025 – CONversations with Craig

Dylan McDermott has built a career by refusing to stay in one place for very long. From leading-man roles to complicated villains, television dramas to comedy, he has continued to find new ways to challenge both himself and the way audiences see him.
Recorded live at FanX Salt Lake, Dylan joins me to talk about the people and experiences that helped shape that career. He shares what it was like being a young actor opposite Clint Eastwood in In the Line of Fire, watching Sally Field work on Steel Magnolias, and why working with producers like Ryan Murphy has given him the freedom to keep reinventing himself. And for the first few minutes, we also get a visit from his rescue dog, Otis.
Learning from legends — Dylan looks back on working with Clint Eastwood, Sally Field, Richard Attenborough, Jodie Foster and others, and the lessons he picked up by simply watching how great people work.
The importance of reinvention — From The Practice to American Horror Story, Law & Order: Organized Crime and FBI: Most Wanted, Dylan explains why an actor can’t stay comfortable for too long and why changing audience expectations has become an important part of his career.
Finding freedom in the work — Dylan talks about bombing at the Comedy Cellar, embracing failure, improvising more as he got older, and reaching the point where acting became less about proving himself and more about enjoying the moment.
“I think when I was a young actor I was trying to prove to you that I was a good actor, and now I don’t care about that. I only like it for me now.” – Dylan McDermott
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