Block was discovered selling
Buick Century automobiles at the
Chicago Auto Show. Early in his career, he made numerous TV commercials, short films, and
experimental theater pieces. While living in Tribeca in New York City, he performed in stage and Broadway productions for
Arthur Laurents,
Edward Albee, Robert Smith, and
Doric Wilson. He appeared in
William Shakespeare's
As You Like It,
Forever After,
A Loss Of Memory,
Provicante di Saliva,
The Bald Soprano, and
Make Mine Kafka! Block has worked with film directors
Arthur Hiller,
Peter Medak,
Lee Katzin,
Alvin Rakoff, and
Phillip Noyce. Block played the roles of U.S. President Howard Lewis in the film
Salt, Sebastian Weinberg in
My Best Day, Walter Hill in
Only I..., the U.S. Olympian
Robert Garrett (1875–1961), a young scion of a wealthy Baltimore railroad and financier family in the TV miniseries
The First Olympics: Athens 1896. He had starring roles in several other TV movies and pilots, and he has appeared steadily in lead roles in several dramatic serials, such as
Knots Landing, and numerous TV daytime dramas, including
Guiding Light,
All My Children,
As the World Turns, and
One Life to Live. ==Personal life==