Background
Griffith was born in Hartford, Connecticut, the son of Mary Ann (née O"Neil), who worked at a dance studio, and Thomas Joseph Griffith.
Griffith was born in Hartford, Connecticut, the son of Mary Ann (née O"Neil), who worked at a dance studio, and Thomas Joseph Griffith.
He attended the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts.
In 1990, Christopher Reeve worked closely with Superman: The Movie producer Ilya Salkind to find an actor to replace him in future installments of the Superman film franchise. Reeve had been impressed with Griffith"s performance in the Rock Hudson biopic, and suggested him for the role. Griffith was cast to portray the character in the ultimately unproduced Superman: The New Movie.
In 1993, the Salkinds relinquished their rights to the character and ownership of the property reverted to Warner Brothers.
In 1996, Griffith starred in the film Hollow Point alongside Tia Carrere, as Drug Enforcement Administration agent Max Parish and Federal Bureau of Investigation agent Diane Norwood respectively. He also appeared in the 1998 John Carpenter film Vampires as head vampire January Valek, and in the 2002 film xXx, in which he portrayed Agent Jim McGrath.
His first television role was on the soap opera Another World, as Catlin Ewing, whom he played from 1984 to 1987. In 1999, he starred in the television movie Secret of Giving with Reba McEntire.
Earlier in 1999, he had appeared in Reba"s video for the song "What Do You Say".
He also starred as Rock Hudson in a 1990 television movie about Hudson"s life for which he received critical acclaim. He has made guest appearances on a number of television shows, including In the Heat of the Night, Wiseguy, and One Tree Hill. Since 2013, Griffith has periodically written for the National Broadcasting Company television series Grimm.