The son of Irish immigrants, Denis Leary was born in Worcester, Mass., on Aug. 18, 1957, and began performing his trademark frenetic stand-up routines while attending Emerson College. His wildly popular one-man show, "No Cure for Cancer," which featured rants on everything from the joys of smoking to aging pop stars, had successful runs in London's West End and on Broadway before becoming a Showtime special in 1992.

Soon after, MTV hired Leary to do a series of promos in which he paced, smoked furiously and ranted on popular culture. This led to small film roles, and in 1994, Leary landed his first starring role in The Ref. Other notable films include Wag the Dog, The Thomas Crown Affair and The Secret Lives of Dentists.

In the early 2000s, Leary wrote and starred in two critically acclaimed TV series: "Rescue Me" (which earned him Golden Globe and Emmy nominations) and "The Job." ... - from Netflix