Checking in with DYLAN MCDERMOTT

When “FBI: Most Wanted” needed a new star, it was lucky for all concerned that Dylan McDermott already was “in the house” for executive producer Dick Wolf.

The actor was winding up his run on Wolf ’s NBC drama “Law & Order: Organized Crime” as Julian McMahon was ending his on CBS’ first “FBI” spinoff. Now, McDermott has succeeded McMahon – whose character, field-team leader Jess LaCroix, was killed off – on the Tuesday series (nearing the end of its third year) as Remy Scott, who has brought some personal baggage with him as he heads the solving of federal cases.

McDermott explains that he entered “FBI: Most Wanted” in an appropriate way, since he says, “(The producers) had asked me, ‘Oh, do you want to meet the actors, and would you like to sit down with them and talk to them?’ I said. ‘No. I want it to be as if it’s Remy’s first day and Dylan’s first day coincide.’ They were checking me out. I was checking them out. It was a little bit awkward, new-guy stuff, so it actually worked out beautifully.”

The tragic loss of his brother informs Remy’s professional choices, and McDermott appreciates that background, which he had input into devising.

“I thought it was important that there was a personal reason that he was doing what he was doing,” he confirms. “It fuels me as an actor when I have that. It’s always good to keep yourself rooted over time, because I think on any show, you end up tiring. I always like to find the few things that I can keep going back to and refreshing it for myself.”

Birthdate: Oct. 26, 1961

Birthplace: Waterbury, Conn.

Current residence: Los Angeles

Marital status: Divorced; has two daughters

Other television credits include: “Law & Order: Organized Crime,” “No Activity,” “American Horror Story,” “The Politician,” “LA to Vegas,” “Stalker,” “Hostages,” “Dark Blue,” “Big Shots,” “Will & Grace,” “Saturday Night Live,” “The Practice,” “Ally McBeal,” “Tales From the Crypt”