Born and raised in Toronto, McCormack began acting in high school and continued during his college years at the Ryerson Theatre School. He spent the next seven years working in Canadian theater, including five seasons with the Stratford Festival, where he appeared in "A Midsummer Night's Dream," "Henry V," "Murder in the Cathedral" and "Three Sisters." He also performed with the Manitoba Theatre Centre in "Burn This" and at Toronto's Royal Alexandra Theatre in "Biloxi Blues."



On television, McCormack spent two years as the dashing Colonel Mosby on the series "Lonesome Dove: The Outlaw Years," and he has appeared as a guest star on "Ally McBeal" and NBC's "Veronica's Closet." His television movies include leading roles in "Audrey Hepburn" with Jennifer Love Hewitt, the highly rated "Borrowed Hearts" with Roma Downey, and in the NBC miniseries "A Will of Their Own."



McCormack also starred in the feature "Old Hats" (with Ossie Davis and James Whitmore), and recently appeared in "The Holy Man" with Eddie Murphy and Jeff Goldblum. He also starred in the independent feature "Free Enterprise."



In November 2001, McCormack won his first Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for his work on "Will & Grace." In 2001, he starred as Harold Hill in "The Music Man" on Broadway and in 2003 in The Play What I Wrote.



McCormack and his wife divide their time between their permanent home in Los Angeles and a second home in Vancouver.