Sean Maher is a renowned television and film actor, best recognized for his iconic role as Dr. Simon Tam in Joss Whedon's feature film Serenity, which was based on the critically acclaimed television series Firefly.
Born and raised in New York, Maher attended the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, before moving to Los Angeles after landing the coveted title role in the FOX drama Ryan Caufield: Year One. Upon the cancellation of the series, Maher secured a holding deal with FOX and collaborated with the network on the popular television series Party of Five and Darren Star's The $treet.
Following the birth of his daughter in 2007, Maher took a few years off from acting to focus on being a stay-at-home dad.
Throughout his career, Maher has accumulated a wide range of television credits, including The Mentalist, Human Target, and Warehouse 13.
In 2011, while playing the role of Sean Beasely, a closeted gay man, in the 1960s-set television series The Playboy Club on NBC, Maher used the platform to publicly come out as a gay man himself, an experience he regards as one of the highlights of his professional career. The news was widely covered by Entertainment Weekly.
Maher has also appeared in the Season 2 finale of the HBO series Looking, directed by Andrew Haigh, and had a recurring role as Mark Scheffer, also known as Shrapnel, in the hit television series Arrow on The CW.
He received critical acclaim for his portrayal of Don John in Joss Whedon's feature film adaptation of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing and starred in the indie science fiction feature film ISRA-88, as well as the feature film People You May Know. Maher also starred opposite Academy Award nominee June Squibb in the short film The Visit.
Maher reunited with many of his Firefly colleagues for the television series Con Man.
In addition to his acting career, Maher is also the voice of Nightwing for the Warner Bros/DC Comics animated universe.
A yoga enthusiast and LGBT advocate, Maher married his partner of 10 years, Paul, in 2016. He has two children.