Eric McCormack

The producers of the television series Highlander (1992) liked Eric's performance in Lonesome Dove (1994) so much that they created a character specially for him. In the series episode, Manhunt (1996), McCormack played Matthew McCormick, an immortal working as a federal who tracks serial killers. The producers were so happy with this episode they considered giving Eric his own spin-off series.

That's the hard part of television. When you walk into the network tests, you're signing away seven years of your life. That was the only trepidation I had about Will & Grace (1998). It had nothing to do with the sexuality of the character. It was more: this could be the next 7 to 10 years of my life.