DC native Teddy Sears appears in the NBC medical drama Brilliant Minds and Netflix’s The Night Agent.
You played football at the University of Maryland then transferred to UVA to study business, but then you became an actor. Did you act as a kid?
I was swimming. I was swimming in McLean — 5 a.m. at the pool. That’s what I was doing when I was 13, 14 years old.
So you didn’t pursue acting growing up at all?
It wasn’t even on my radar. Zero.
How did your acting career come about?
I ended up in New York City. I was 23 and I went up for a long weekend to visit [before moving there]. And that’s when I met a friend, [who said] ‘Oh, you should meet my agent.’ So, I started being a cater waiter at night with a lot of other writers, actors, musicians — people who needed a flexible service job. But that agency I was with got a call from One Life to Live. They said: ‘Send us 10 of your guys for this, for two or three lines on One Life to Live. It’s going to be a Valentine’s Day episode. They’re looking for a shirtless bartender.’ And I had zero acting aspirations. I remember thinking, ‘It’ll be a great story someday for my grandkids.’ And I got the part. I had no idea what I was doing … and I ended up getting a contract on One Life to Live. It was a multi-year contract, but it lasted nine months because I was terrible and they didn’t know what to do with me. But all in all, I spent about two years on One Life to Live.
Do you remember going to theaters in the DC area as a kid?
We went to Ford’s Theatre. As a part of Landon [School in Bethesda], I took two semesters of a Shakespeare class. We went to see some Shakespeare downtown [at Shakespeare Theatre Company]. I also remember going to The Kennedy Center.
What are your favorite area museums?
As kids, the [Smithsonian’s National] Air and Space was always a favorite. And in Rock Creek Park, there was a little nature center [Rock Creek Nature Center]. There was an owl there named Max. And it was a place where we could run around.
Are you still a Washington sports fan?
The Caps, man. Still a big, big Caps nerd. Not so much the Commanders. That’s probably from 25 or 30 years of being bad under [former owner] Dan Snyder. But when the Nats won [the World Series in 2019], that was pretty great.
What do you miss about the DMV now that you live in Los Angeles?
I miss the seasons, for sure. We have our version, which I love. But there’s something great about bundling up. Every Thanksgiving, my mom’s side of the family used to meet and walk the towpath of the C&O Canal. We would end up at Great Falls. So that was a Thanksgiving morning ritual forever. And that’s what I miss.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Feature image of Teddy Sears courtesy NBC Universal
This story originally ran in our February issue. For more stories like this, subscribe to Northern Virginia Magazine.
