James Timothy Daly (born March 1, 1956)^[1] is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Joe Hackett on the NBC sitcom Wings and his recurring role as drug-addicted screenwriter J.T. Dolan on The Sopranos (for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award). He starred as Pete Wilder on the ABC medical drama Private Practice from 2007 to 2012. He is also known for his voice role as Clark Kent/Superman in Superman: The Animated Series and several animated Superman movies. From 2014 until 2019, he portrayed Henry McCord, husband of the Secretary of State, on the CBS political drama Madam Secretary.

Daly was born at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan,^[2] the only son and youngest of four children of actor James Daly (1918–1978) and actress Mary Hope Daly (née Newell; 1921–2009). He is of Irish descent, his ancestors being from Limerick and County Kerry.^[3][4] He is the younger brother of actress Tyne Daly.^[5] He has two other sisters, Mary Glynn (wife of Mark Snow)^[6] and Pegeen Michael. Daly attended The Putney School,^[7] where he started to study acting.

Daly began his professional career while a student at Vermont's Bennington College, where he studied Theatre and Literature, acted in summer stock, and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. He graduated from college in 1979, and returned to New York to continue studying acting and singing.^[8]

Daly debuted on stage when he was seven years old in Jenny Kissed Me by Jean Kerr, together with his parents and two sisters. He appeared for the first time on TV when he was 10 years old in an American Playhouse adaptation of An Enemy of the People by Henrik Ibsen, which starred his father James Daly. He dreamed about a sports or music career and also considered becoming a doctor or a lawyer, but finally decided to become an actor. Daly started his professional acting career when he appeared in a 1978 adaptation of Peter Shaffer's play Equus.

His first leading film role was in the film Diner, directed by Barry Levinson, in which he shared screen time with actors including Kevin Bacon and Mickey Rourke. Starring roles soon followed in Alan Rudolph's feature, Made in Heaven, the American Playhouse production of The Rise & Rise of Daniel Rocket, and the CBS dramatic series, Almost Grown created by David Chase.

In theatre he has starred in the Broadway production of Coastal Disturbances by playwright Tina Howe opposite Annette Bening and received a 1987 Theatre World Award for his performance. He has also starred in Oliver, Oliver at the Manhattan Theatre Club, Mass Appeal by Bill C. Davis and Bus Stop by William Inge at Trinity Repertory Company, The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams at the Santa Fe Festival Theatre, A Knife in the Heart and A Study in Scarlet at the Williamstown Playhouse, and Paris Bound at the Berkshire Theatre Festival. During this time, Daly also starred in the CBS television miniseries I'll Take Manhattan as Toby Amberville.

Daly describes himself as being highly self-critical in regard to his career. In an interview with New Zealand 'ZM' radio personality Polly Gillespie, Daly was quoted as saying, "I think part of it (his self-critical nature) is passed down to me from my parents who are actors. The theatre was our temple... When you entered you were expected to live up to the example of this glorious place."^[9]

Daly is an activist in various liberal political and social causes.

In the beginning of 2007, Daly became a member of The Creative Coalition (TCC), a liberal, politically active 501(c)(3) nonprofit consisting of members of the American film entertainment industry; since 2008, Daly has served as its president.^[13] As a member of TCC, Daly joined the National Task Force on Children's Safety, a program co-founded by TCC and Safety4Kids which describes itself as "the first children's media brand focused solely on safety and health."^[14][15] In August 2007, Daly became one of the three chairs for TCC's activity at the 2008 Democratic and Republican conventions, along with actress Kerry Washington and writer/director Sue Kramer.^[16][17] In November 2007, Daly interviewed Senator John Edwards, one of the Democratic presidential candidates.^[18]

In June 2008, Daly, together with Chandra Wilson, was named the 2008 ambassador for Lee National Denim Day – a fundraiser for breast cancer benefiting the Women's Cancer Programs of the Entertainment Industry Foundation.^[19]

Daly married actress Amy Van Nostrand in 1982. They have two children, including Sam. In Madam Secretary, his son played the ex-fiancé of main character Daisy Grant and his daughter played the niece of his character Henry McCord.^[20] In 2010, Daly and Van Nostrand divorced. He has been dating his Madam Secretary co-star Téa Leoni since December 2014.^[21][22]

In 2012, Daly climbed Mount Kilimanjaro. That same year, he and his sister Tyne endorsed the re-election campaign of Democratic U.S. President Barack Obama.^[23][24] Daly was in the Virgin America first-class lounge during the 2013 Los Angeles International Airport shooting.^[25]