Born
on the 8th February 1955 and raised on Long Island, New
York, Phillips grew up as the only boy of six children. He received a
Jesuit education in New York, and attended Boston University where he
graduated with a degree in English Literature. He went on to earn a
Master of Fine Arts degree at Cornell University.
Phillips
began his acting career in the theatre, appearing in such Broadway and
off-Broadway productions as ‘My Favourite Year’, ‘Measure for
Measure’, ‘Lips Together, Teeth Apart’ and ‘Modigliani’.
Phillips
is best known for his extensive television work. Audiences will most
likely remember him for his five seasons as Pete Downey on
‘Benson’. In addition, he had a recurring role in the nightmare
drama ‘Werewolf’ and guest-starred on numerous shows including
‘NYPD Blue’, ‘LA Law’, ‘Murphy Brown’, ‘Chicago Hope’,
‘Law & Order’ and ‘From the Earth to the Moon’. Phillips
also appeared the ‘The Next Generation’ as the Ferengi Dr. Farek
in the episode ‘Menage A Troi’.
But
Phillips is no stranger to feature films either. Star Trek fans
recognized him in human form as a holographic nightclub maitre d’ in
‘Star Trek: First Contact’. He starred in the film ‘For Richer
or Poorer’ and appeared in the movie ‘Jeffery’. In addition,
Ethan can be seen in the films ‘The Shadow’, ‘Wagons East’,
‘Man Without A Face’, ‘Green Card’, ‘Bloodhounds of
Broadway’, ‘Glory’ and ‘Lean On Me’.
Besides
acting, Ethan has also co-authored the Star Trek: Cookbook which
features Neelix on the cover.
After
Voyager, Ethan has guest starred on 'Enterprise' and lent his voice to
a Star Wars video game.
Ethan
lives with his wife, Patricia Cresswell, and their West Highland
Terrier, Frank, in Los Angeles.
