- In 1997 David received critical praise for his performance in the play How I Learned to Drive.
- In 1995 David portrayed a Catholic priest in the one-person play, An Almost Holy Picture.
- In 1994, David moved with his family to Philadelphia.
- In 1978, David joined the Circle Repertory Theatre in New York and acted in the productions of Waiting for Godot, Twelfth Night and A Death in the Family.
- David turned down the lead role in the movie, Splash.
- David was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor award for his role in The Crossing Guard at the 1995 Independent Spirit Awards.
- David was nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Theatrical Motion Picture at the Screen Actors Guild Awards for his role in The Green Mile.
- David and his family enjoy hiking on the weekends.
- Of all the roles David has played, David is most proud of his performance in The Crossing Guard.
- In his spare time, David helps out at a prison. On his free Saturday nights, he helps prisoners learn how to read.
- Before David began his career as an actor, he drove cabs for a living and also worked in a newspaper pressroom, stacking papers for $3 an hour.
- David married actress Susan Wheeler Duff on 19th June 1982. They have three children - twin sons and one daughter. The family lost their home in Sherman Oaks after the 1994 Los Angeles earthquake.
- David was listed as one of twelve "Promising New Actors of 1980" in John Willis' Screen World, Vol. 32.
- David is 6' 4".
- David studied acting at the William Esper studio.
- In 2002, David was nominated as Best Supporting Actor in the 2002 Golden Horse Awards for his role in Double Vision. The Golden Horse Awards are the Chinese equivalent of the Oscars for Chinese movies and his nomination was the first time an English-speaking actor had ever been nominated for an award.
- David provided the voice of Abraham Lincoln in PBS's Abraham and Mary Lincoln: A House Divided.
- In 1997 David had the starring role in the stage production of Paula Vogel's Pulitzer Prize-winning drama, How I Learned to Drive. He won the Drama Logue Award, the Lucille Lortel Award, the Drama Desk Award and the Obie for this role.
- In 1978, David began appearing in productions by the Circle Repertory Theatre in New York.
- David appeared in over 30 productions between 1971-1977 with the Boston Repertory Company.
- CBS liked David for the lead role in Hack so much that they agreed to have the show filmed in Philadelphia so he could be close to home.
- David: (what made him decide to take on the role in Hack) When CBS asked me if I would think about doing a series, I told them I didn't want to go to L.A., I didn't want to go to Canada, or anything like that. They were open to doing something in Philadelphia. I was considering New York, but if they would do Philadelphia, then I would think about it. So, they sent me a couple scripts, both of them written for New York.
- David: I do like playing bad guys...I've always been more comfortable with roles that take me away from myself. It's much more interesting.
- David: I don't care about celebrity...I don't care about getting a good table. I don't know that I care about anything else but getting access to roles that make me believe in something.
- David: One of the weird things is that I see cab drivers in Philadelphia drive by with a picture of me on top of their cabs, and they'll give me the nod while their passengers open their windows and wave. It's surreal.
- David: It's frustrating to hear people say, 'Oh yeah, he's great, but we're not going to finance a film with him as the lead.......St. Elsewhere brought me movie offers, but they would not let me out of the contract, and by the time it ended, I was so identified with that character [Dr. Boomer Morrison], I couldn't get any other roles. And I need roles. Never mind the money, never mind the fame - it's the roles.
