# Sean Maher

Sean Maher (/mɑːr/ MAR; born April 16, 1975) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of Simon Tam in the science fiction television series Firefly and follow-up movie Serenity.

## Early life

Maher was born in Pleasantville, New York to Joseph and Margaret Maher. After graduating from Byram Hills High School, Maher trained at New York University where he earned his drama degree in 1997. He acted on stage in several productions, including Yerma and Into the Woods.

## Career

Maher starred as the title character, a rookie police officer, on the short-lived TV series Ryan Caulfield: Year One. In 2000 he played one of the main characters on the short-lived (dropped after seven episodes) Fox series The $treet, and he has also appeared on the television series Party of Five (as Adam Matthews) and on CSI: Miami.
He reprised his role from Firefly in the film Serenity (2005). Maher was also cast as a chief resident in a hospital on the new series Halley's Comet. He appeared in the 2005 Lifetime network movie The Dive From Clausen's Pier as Michelle Trachtenberg's new love interest. He also appeared as Brian Piccolo in the 2001 remake of Brian's Song.
In 2006, he appeared in the television movie Wedding Wars. After taking a brief break from acting, Maher came back to TV in 2009 as a guest star in Lifetime Television's pilot episode of Drop Dead Diva, followed by 2010 guest appearances in the second season of The Mentalist (CBS), the first season of Human Target (FOX) and the second season of Warehouse 13 (on Syfy).
In 2011 Maher landed a role in the television series The Playboy Club. He played Sean, a closeted gay man who is in a sham marriage with a closeted lesbian Playboy Bunny. He appeared in eight episodes, in 2011 and 2012, in another series, Make It or Break It, as the character Marcus. He played the villainous Don John in Joss Whedon's 2012 adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing.
In 2014, Maher voiced Dick Grayson/Nightwing in Son of Batman, a direct-to-video animated film. It is part of the DC Universe Animated Original Movies. This was followed by the same role in Justice League vs. Teen Titans and Batman: Bad Blood in 2016 and Teen Titans: The Judas Contract in 2017.

## Personal life

Maher publicly came out as gay in 2011, using his role as a closeted gay man on The Playboy Club as a platform. He and his husband Paul have two adopted children: a daughter, Sophia, and a son, Liam. Following the birth of their daughter in 2007, Maher took two years off from acting to be a stay-at-home dad.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2005 | Serenity | Dr. Simon Tam | |
| Living 'til the End | Jack Whilton | |
| 2012 | Much Ado About Nothing | Don John | |
| Best Friends Forever | Sean | |
| 2014 | BFFs | J.K. | a.k.a. Heads We Do |
| Son of Batman | Dick Grayson / Nightwing | Voice |
| 2015 | Batman vs. Robin | Dick Grayson / Nightwing | Voice |
| People You May Know | Joe | |
| 2016 | Batman: Bad Blood | Dick Grayson / Nightwing / Batman | Voice |
| Justice League vs. Teen Titans | Dick Grayson / Nightwing | Voice |
| 2017 | Teen Titans: The Judas Contract | Dick Grayson / Nightwing | Voice |
| Beyond the Edge | Dr. Abe Anderson | formerly known as ISRA-88 |
| 2019 | Batman: Hush | Dick Grayson / Nightwing | Voice |
| 2019 | Teen Titans Go! vs. Teen Titans | Dick Grayson / Nightwing | Voice |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1999 | Ryan Caulfield: Year One | Ryan Caulfield | Title role, (7 episodes) |
| 2000 | Party of Five | Adam Matthews | Recurring (7 episodes) |
| 2000–2001 | The $treet | Chris McConnell | Regular (12 episodes) |
| 2001 | Hostage Rescue Team | | TV film |
| Brian's Song | Brian Piccolo | TV film |
| 2002–2003 | Firefly | Dr. Simon Tam | Main (14 episodes) |
| 2003 | CSI: Miami | Carson Mackie | Episode: "Spring Break" |
| 2005 | Halley's Comet | Bret Fennow | TV film |
| The Dive from Clausen's Pier | Kilroy | TV film |
| Ghost Whisperer | Conor Donovan | Episode: "Mended Hearts" |
| 2006 | Wedding Wars | Ted Moore | TV film |
| 2009 | Drop Dead Diva | Marcus Newsome | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2010 | The Mentalist | Jasper / Wilson | Episode: "Bleeding Heart" |
| Human Target | Aaron Cooper | Episode: "Embassy Row" |
| Warehouse 13 | Sheldon | Episode: "Mild Mannered" |
| 2011 | The Playboy Club | Sean Beasley | Guest role (7 episodes) |
| 2011–2012 | Make It or Break It | Marcus | Recurring (8 episodes) |
| 2013–2014 | Arrow | Mark Scheffer / Shrapnel | 2 episodes: "Blast Radius", "Suicide Squad" |
| 2015 | Looking | Jake | Episode: "Looking for Home" |
| 2018 | 9-1-1 | Paul | Episode: "Full Moon (Creepy A.F.)" |
| 2019 | The Rookie | Caleb Jost | Episode: "Manhunt" |

### Other media

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2004 | CSI: Miami | Carson | Video game |
| 2013 | EastSiders | Paul | Web-series (3 episodes) |
| 2014 | New Year | Narrator | Animated exhibition by Adam Shecter |
| 2015 | Con Man | Himself | Web-series |