Attended Pomona College in California.
Has appeared in film adaptations of all three of Alexandre Dumas père's Musketeer novels. He played Aramis in The Three Musketeers (1973), The Four Musketeers: Milady's Revenge (1974) and The Return of the Musketeers (1989), and played Louis and Phillippe in The Man in the Iron Mask (1977) (TV). The latter film eliminates the three original Musketeers from the book; including his character of Aramis; and includes only d'Artagnan.
Has served as honorary chair of the advisory board of Hawaii Public Television Foundation.
Played Cyrano on stage in 1973, the same year that The Three Musketeers (1973) was released. This makes him the first actor to play both Cyrano and a Musketeer. Jean-Pierre Cassel, who played King Louis XIII in The Three Musketeers, returned in the sequel The Return of the Musketeers (1989) to play Cyrano, having previously played d'Artagnan in Cyrano et d'Artagnan (1964). José Ferrer played Athos in The Fifth Musketeer (1979), while Gérard Depardieu played Porthos in The Man in the Iron Mask (1998/I).
Ranked #7 in TV Guide's list of "TV's 25 Greatest Teen Idols" (23 January 2005 issue).
Shares two roles with Gérard Depardieu: Edmond Dantes from The Count of Monte Cristo, and Cyrano de Bergerac. He preceded Depardieu in both roles, but played them both in English. Depardieu played both roles in their original French.