The youngest of seven children born to surgeon J. Timothy Donovan, and his wife, Eileen McCallister, Tate Buckley Donovan arrived on Sept. 25, 1963. A native of New York City, NY, Donovan was raised in Tenafly, NJ, where he attended public high school. An actor since his teens, Donovan attended the University of Southern California to study theatre in the early-1980s. It was there that he met fellow actor and future lifelong friend, George Clooney. Donovan made his big-screen debut right out of college with a small role in the 1984 comedy “No Small Affair,” starring Jon Cryer and Demi Moore, followed by the substantial role of Kevin Donaldson, the cocky older camp vet in the sophomoric sci-fi adventure, "SpaceCamp" (1986). Two years later, Donovan turned heads with his gripping portrayal of a recovering drug addict in director Glenn Gordon Caron’s "Clean and Sober" (1988), starring Michael Keaton. This led to Donovan landing a solid supporting role opposite Don Johnson in “Dead Bang” (1989), a competent, if uninspired action-thriller directed by the late John Frankenheimer.
Continuing to enjoy steady employment well into the next decade, Donovan shined brightly in his co-starring roles as WWII bomber pilot Lieutenant Luke Sinclair in “Memphis Belle,” a B.A.F.T.A.-nominated war drama directed by Michael Caton-Jones. Though “Memphis Belle” failed to live up to studio expectations, the film helped Donovan seize his first leading role in the charming, but minor "Love Potion No. 9" (1992). Donovan next appeared in three independent art-house features: "Inside Monkey Zetterland" (1992), "Ethan Frome"(1993) and director Alan Rudolph's "Equinox" (1993), before following up with a role in the Disney family comedy, "Holy Matrimony" (1994).
In the mid-1990s, Donovan reunited with former co-star Jon Cryer to headline the delightfully funny, but tragically short-lived sitcom, “Partners” (Fox, 1995-96). A bigger hit with critics than with viewers, “Partners” was unfortunately canned after only 22 episodes. In 1997, Donovan returned to Disney for his highest profile effort at that point, providing the adult voice for the title character in the animated feature, "Hercules.” That same year, Donovan returned to TV, joining his "Memphis Belle" co-stars Eric Stoltz and Reed Diamond to play three troubled brothers in a memorable episode of "Homicide: Life on the Street" (NBC, 1993-99), while simultaneously juggling a recurring role as a client-turned- potential love interest for Calista Flockhart's titular lawyer on "Ally McBeal" (Fox, 1997-2002). Switching back and forth between networks, Donovan also won a recurring role as the love interest of his then-real life girlfriend, Jennifer Aniston, on her smash hit series "Friends" (NBC, 1994-2004).
Donovan's career went through a slight cooling period with the dawn of the new millennium. During the early 2000s, the actor appeared in a string of experimental short films – such as 2000’s one-joke pony, "Jesus and Hutch," in which he played the Son of God as a 1970's-style crime fighter – and leading parts in low-rent films such as Christopher Coppola's "G-Men from Hell" (2000). Even so, Donovan wisely kept one foot in the mainstream, taking small supporting roles in more commercial fare like the techno-thriller "Swordfish" (2001). Two years later, Donovan returned to series television to take a supporting role in the short-lived political drama, "Mister Sterling" (NBC, 2003-04). Fortunately for this veteran of cancelled series and almost-hits, a hit proved just around the corner. In 2003, Donovan courted a hip, young audience on his first bona fide hit series when he took on the role of Jimmy Cooper, the Newport Beach-based dysfunctional dad of heroine Marissa (Mischa Barton), on "The O.C.” (Fox, 2003-07). During his three season tenure on the hit drama, Tate even found time to direct a few episodes.
Donovan’s newfound popularity also resulted in higher-profile film roles, including playing the late father of the brood Vin Diesel must protect in the Disney comedy "The Pacifier" (2005). Growing progressively more comfortable playing mature, but hip patriarch roles, Donovan eased into his next role as Carson Drew, the father of America’s favorite teen detective in the eponymous “Nancy Drew” (2007), starring Emma Roberts.