Dylan is the son of Richard "Mac" McDermott and Diane. Diane was only 15 when Dylan was born and Mac was 17, and earning money by pool hustling. During Dylan's early years, his parents separated. In 1967, when Dylan was five, his mother was accidentally shot by her live-in boyfriend, who was reportedly cleaning his gun when it went off. Dylan and his sister Robin, who was then six months old, were taken in by their grandmother, Avis Marino. When Dylan was 15, his father started dating actress Eve Ensler. Eve became Mac's third wife and adopted Dylan. She encouraged him to go to acting school and to Fordham University in New York City. She also turned his life around. He had become a hard drinker and was constantly in fights. At age 23, he quit drinking. He met his wife, Shiva Rose McDermott, at a coffee shop in Venice, California, on the same day he got his first big acting break by being cast in the film In the Line of Fire with Clint Eastwood. As a result of his connection with Eastwood, Dylan attended a dinner honoring Clint. There he met Jeffrey Kramer, a man who used to frequent a bar where Dylan had earlier worked. Kramer was at that time the president of David E. Kelley Productions. He approached Dylan about auditioning for an upcoming series about lawyers, The Practice. Another mentor of Dylan is Joanne Woodward, who discovered him while he was doing workshops at the Neighborhood Playhouse.


Majored in drama at Fordham University and studied at the Neighborhood Playhouse in NYC under Sanford Meisner. Chosen by People Magazine as one of the 50 most beautiful people in the world. [1998] Favorite Television Show- "I Dream of Jeannie" (1965). Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#67). [1995] His former stepmother, Eve Ensler, isn't only an actress. She is also a playwright and women's rights activist, as well. She wrote the famed play The Vagina Monologues. Hosted VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Rock and Roll. Two daughters with his now ex-wife, Shiva Rose: Colette, born in May, 1996, and Charlotte Rose, born September 8, 2005. Attended the 2005 Dubai International Film Festival in the United Arab Emirates. Other attendees included Albert Brooks, Morgan Freeman and Jon Tenney. His ex-wife, Shiva Rose, is Iranian/French.