Tom Skerritt (born August 25, 1933) is an American actor, born in Detroit, Michigan. He made his television debut in 1962 in Combat!. He made his film debut in War Hunt (1962), produced by Terry Sanders. Skerritt's most notable film appearances include M*A*S*H (1970; his huge role was pared down enormously by director Robert Altman), Harold and Maude (credited as M. Borman) (1971), Alien (1979), Contact (1997) and Top Gun (1986), where he played opposite Tom Cruise as Cmdr. Mike "Viper" Metcalf. He was in the movie Poison Ivy (1992) with Drew Barrymore and also played a sheriff in "The Dead Zone", a movie based on a Stephen King novel. He also appeared as Evan Drake in the television sitcom Cheers (1987-1988), and starred in the television series Picket Fences (1992-1996).
A 1951 graduate of (Detroit) David Mackenzie High School, Skerritt has lived in Seattle, Washington since 1988.
Alien (2003)
