Overview (3)

Born January 23, 1950 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA Nicknames Rick

RDA

The Human Action Man

Our Last Hope Height 6' 2" (1.88 m)

Mini Bio (1)

Trade Mark (1)



Best known as the improvisitional and resourceful Angus MacGyver on MacGyver (1985)

Trivia (34)



Is on the board of directors of "Handgun Control, Inc". In the TV show MacGyver (1985), his character always refused to use guns.

Had dreams of playing professional hockey until he broke both of his arms during separate games. He then turned to acting.



Performed as a mime before acting in television.



When he was 16, Richard Dean Anderson broke both of his arms in separate accidents on the ice. He broke his left arm first, and while skating three weeks later, he broke his right arm so badly he was in the hospital for 3 months. His elbow snapped backward, and he's still got pins in there.



When he was 17, he rode his bike 5,641 miles from Minnesota to Alaska. He started out with some friends but travelled the last 33 days alone.





Was presented with an award and made an honorary brigadier general at the Air Force Association's 57th Annual Air Force Anniversary Dinner in Washington D.C. on Tuesday, 14 September 2004, because of his role as star and executive producer of Stargate SG-1 (1997), a series which has portrayed the Air Force in a positive light since it first premiered. It was presented by the Air Force Chief of Staff, John P. Jumper . The last recipient of the award was James Stewart in 1987.

Went to Alexander Ramsey High School in Roseville, Minnesota.





His Stargate SG-1 (1997) character Colonel/Brigadier General Jack O'Neill was ranked #10 in TV Guide's list of the "25 Greatest Sci-Fi Legends" (1 August 2004 issue).



Has appeared in episodes of two different series entitled "The Enemy Within" and "Last Stand": MacGyver (1985) and Stargate SG-1 (1997).



Like his two most famous characters, Angus MacGyver of MacGyver (1985) and Colonel/Brigadier General Jack O'Neill of Stargate SG-1 (1997), he was raised in the Upper Midwest--Minnesota. MacGyver was born in Minnesota, Jack in Chicago, IL.



Played a firefighter in two different productions: Firehouse (1996) and the Stargate SG-1 (1997) episode "The Changeling".

His father, Stuart Anderson, who died in 2003, taught English, drama and humanities at a high school in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, USA.



In 1985 was voted Sexiest Survivalist by People Magazine.



Reprised his role of MacGyver for a Mastercard commercial. The commercial debuted during Superbowl XL (2006), nearly 14 years after the series ended.





Reprised his role of "MacGyver" on The Simpsons (1989) in April 2006. He played himself, Richard Dean Anderson, who is desperately fanned by Patty and Selma (who have been obsessive MacGyver fans throughout The Simpsons series). Anderson disappoints the women by saying that he only did MacGyver (1985) for money and is more interested in Stargate SG-1 (1997), after which Patty and Selma kidnap him and force him to play "MacGyver" again and to escape from traps. After a while, Anderson gets so keen about actually trying to be MacGyver that he starts to harass Patty and Selma. Finally, Patty and Selma get sick of "that nut-case" and get rid of him by boring him with their holiday slide shows.



His TV character Angus MacGyver's birthday is January 23, 1951, the same as Anderson's except Anderson was born one year earlier. MacGyver's birthday can clearly be seen on his passport in episode 1-15, MacGyver: Every Time She Smiles (1986), the first episode that introduced us to "Penny Parker", who was played by Teri Hatcher



Announced he is reducing his presence on Stargate SG-1 (1997) after playing the role of Colonel/Brigadier General Jack O'Neill for eight years. He will be using the time away to work on other endeavors. [January 2005]

RDA had a one-time appearance on The Facts of Life as Tootie's uncle by marriage.



Personal Quotes (17)



[on his MacGyver (1985) co-star Dana Elcar , who passed away in 2005] At a time when I had very little business being called an actor, he made things so easy for me. It was a learning experience that was very warm and loving for all seven years.

Dogs are my favorite people.



So it allows me to travel, I'll be doing that and running these great rivers and doing what I've done in the past without much purpose other than for the experience.



But my answer to that question would have to be, aside from the obvious, which is the people and the relationships that you garner over a long period of time but the catering. The catering. They're the best. So it's the food.



That was fun to play. There were some nice special effects coupled with some really nice moments with child and wife. I also was able to age to about 100 years in 'Brief Candle.'



Being away from her is torturous and I'd much prefer to be with her. So I just try to get out of here as soon as I can. I make sure I do my job real well and fast.



As far as the future for the Showtime episodes that have already aired, we are sold into syndication so we'll be appearing primarily on the Fox syndicated networks and then eventually the SCI FI Channel. So, we'll be around for a while.



You have to suspend disbelief a little bit to buy into your situation and to the story and to how the character will react. You have to tweak your credibility a little bit, is basically what it comes down to.



Oh, who am I trying to kid? It's a madhouse. The minute those cameras go off, things just explode, everyone is just at each other in one way or another, in closets or cat fights here and there. It's nuts. You know, I can't be a part of it.



I've been working with them for a couple years and a couple of projects. Essentially Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is the chief litigator for this corporation, this Alliance, and their job is to prosecute corporate polluters of the great bodies of water in North America.



There's editing, and scripts to read and edit, and casting, and all the elements of production that just sort of take up the normal downtime that you would have as an actor. So there's not a lot of that for me.



Nothing. We're all friends and friendly. So when the cameras go down, depending on the mood or the nature of the material we're dealing with, there's usually a kind of a prevailing light attitude that's floating around.



I've also been working with the Challengers Club in the inner city of Los Angeles for 15 years now, I guess, and it's essentially an inner-city recreation club for boys and girls.



We're loosely calling it The River Project, but hopefully the pieces that we put together will be educational pieces that will throw some light on the situation as to what kind of jeopardy may be surrounding our great rivers.



They are a fairly aggressive conservation organization that was started to protect the great whales particularly, but in general all marine life around the world. So those are the people I'm trying to attach my name to.



Being a father, well, I don't know if this is a change, but it makes me want to get out of here faster. Get off the clock. Just 'cause the baby is my reason for living, my reason for coming to work.

