Television and film Davis first became popular in daytime television playing opposite
Beverlee McKinsey as her character Iris Cory's former (and presumed dead) husband, Elliot Carrington, on the
soap opera Texas, a spin-off of
Another World, from October 1980 to December 1981. In 1985, he played a renegade soldier in the Season 4 episode, "The Doctor is Out", of the television series
The A-Team. Davis played his most famous character, Niles the Butler, on the television series
The Nanny throughout its run from 1993 to 1999 and in its
reunion special in 2004 (in cameo flashbacks only). Niles was known for his frequent use of
deadpan one-liners, usually insulting character
C. C. Babcock, with whom Niles eventually fell in love and married in the series' last season. His natural
accent is
Southern American; however, his
English dialect as Niles was so accurate that many viewers thought he was actually English. He also used an English received pronounced dialect as
Professor Moriarty in the
Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes "
Elementary, Dear Data" and "
Ship in a Bottle". However, as the commanding officer of the aircraft carrier
USS Enterprise in the 1990 film
The Hunt for Red October, Davis spoke with his own
American dialect. In 2002, Davis guest-starred on the television series
Frasier, playing Dr. Shafer in Season 10, Episode 8, "Rooms with a View". Davis was among the group of celebrities
lip-synching to the
Bee Gees' ''
Stayin' Alive on the "Idol Gives Back" episode of American Idol'' on April 25, 2007. He appeared briefly in the 2006 film
The Prestige, directed by
Christopher Nolan. In 2008 he guest-starred on the television series
Ugly Betty. In December 2010, he appeared on
The Fran Drescher Show through
Skype. In 2012, he recorded the
audiobook of the
Star Wars novel
Star Wars: Darth Plagueis, by
James Luceno. Davis reprised the role of Professor Moriarty in the
third and final season of
Star Trek: Picard.
Theatre Davis is an established theatre actor. He has appeared in both Broadway and off-Broadway productions in New York, and has appeared at the
Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He played
Oscar Wilde in
The Invention of Love in 2001.) In 2007, Davis was a member of the cast of an audio production of the play
Blue/Orange, in which he took the part of Dr. Robert Smith. In July 2008, he portrayed
King Lear at the
Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, under the direction of Bonnie J. Monte. In November 2010, Davis was part of the
Celebrity Autobiography series at the
Long Center for the Performing Arts in Austin, Texas. He performed along with fellow
Nanny alum
Lauren Lane and
Ugly Betty alum
Michael Urie. In 2012, he played
Prospero in
The Tempest at Hartford Stage. In 2015, Davis starred in a one-off performance of A. R. Gurney's
Love Letters co-starring with Lane. Proceeds were donated to the Texas State BFA Acting Program. In 2016, he appeared on Broadway as Selsdon Mowbray in the
Roundabout Theatre revival of
Noises Off at the American Airlines Theatre. ==Filmography==