AGE 34
HOMETOWN Union City, N.J.
HIS BREAKOUT MOMENT Showcasing an unexpected flair for comic timing in three very diverse performances: as a flirty bodyguard on Six Feet Under, an oafish dance student in Shall We Dance?, and Will's long-term cop boyfriend on Will & Grace.
LESSONS LEARNED FROM TOILING IN OBSCURITY Never play yourself. ''John [Wells] wanted me to play Bobby on Third Watch — basically a guy who was his impression of me. I fell on bad habits that were my own undoing. I felt dead.''
FAMILY RESEMBLANCE Cannavale's son Jake (whose mother, Jenny, is Sidney Lumet's daughter) ''literally directs his friends when they're playing in the yard. He's got the bug. He wants to change his name to Garrett Van Masterlin.''
WHAT'S NEXT Starring in January's revival of Hurlyburly on Broadway; playing Lisa Kudrow's massage-therapist boyfriend in Don Roos' Happy Endings; wooing Mandy Moore in the musical Romance & Cigarettes.
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