Denis Leary was born and raised in Worcester, Massachusetts, the son of Nora and John Leary, Irish immigrants who had grown up together. After a childhood in the 1960s, Leary went to Emerson College in Boston, where he tried his hand at acting and writing. He was a charter member of Emerson's Comedy Workshop, and taught at the college for five years after graduating. By that point, he had written several pieces for magazines and had worked at stand-up comedy for a time. In 1990, he and his wife, Ann Lembeck, flew to London to perform in the BBC's Paramount City. That weekend, Ann's water broke. Their planned weekend trip became a stay of months, and Denis, with not a whole lot to do in London, wrote a one-man comedy act. He brought friends in from the States, and they wrote songs to perform on stage. Leary, with Chris Phillips and Adam Roth on guitar, performed "No Cure For Cancer" at the Edinburgh International Arts Festival in Scotland. Despite some protests about the title, the show won the Critic's Award and the BBC Festival Recommendation. The next year, the show was moved to America, and it was eventually taped and broadcast on Showtime (No Cure for Cancer (1992) (TV)). The show spawned a book, CD, cassette, and a videotape. It also started Leary's movie career. Since then, he has starred in several films and has had two of his own TV series.

1. The Amazing Spider-Man (Uimitorul Spider-Man) (2012) - George Stacy

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2. Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012) - Diego (voice)

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3. Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas (2011) - (voice) 4. "Conan" (2010) - Himself (2 episodes, 2011) 5. Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work (2010) - Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)

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6. Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (Epoca de gheaţă 3: Apariţia dinozaurilor) (2009) - Diego (voice)

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7. Recount (2008) - Michael Whouley 8. Lost Historical Films on the Ice Age Period (2006) - Diego (voice) 9. Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006) - Diego (voice) 10. Ice Age 2: The Meltdown (2006) - Diego (voice) 11. "Rescue Me" (2004) - Tommy Gavin (93 episodes, 2004-2011) 12. Comedy Central Roast of Denis Leary (2003) - Himself 13. Bad Boy (2002) - Doug 'Dawg' Munford 14. The Secret Lives of Dentists (2002) - Slater 15. Ice Age (2002) - Diego (voice) 16. Company Man (2000) - Officer Fry 17. Do Not Disturb (1999) - Simon 18. The Thomas Crown Affair (1999) - Michael McCann 19. Wide Awake (1998) - Mr. Beal 20. A Bug's Life (1998) - Francis (voice) 21. Suicide Kings (1997) - Lono Veccio 22. Wag the Dog (1997) - Fad King 23. Underworld (1996) - Johnny Crown / Johnny Alt 24. "The Daily Show" (1996) - Himself (17 episodes, 1997-2011) 25. Two If by Sea (1996) - Francis 'Frank' O'Brien 26. Two If by Sea (1996) - (story) & 27. Gunmen (1993) - Armor O'Malley 28. "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" (1993) - Himself (9 episodes, 1997-2008) 29. Demolition Man (1993) - Edgar Friendly 30. "Late Show with David Letterman" (1993) - Himself / ... (12 episodes, 1996-2011) 31. No Cure for Cancer (1992) - Scenarist 32. No Cure for Cancer (1992) - Himself

1. Originally had a role in Beautiful Girls (1996), directed by good friend Ted Demme, but had to pull out due to schedule conflicts.

2. Graduated from Emerson College

3. Cousin of Conan O'Brien and Jane O'Brien.

4. Is the second of four children.

5. Loves sports and originally wanted to be an NHL star. That all changed when he got kicked off his high school hockey team because of poor grades.

6. Founded the Leary Firefighters Foundation (LFF) charity in response to the Dec. 3, 1999, warehouse fire that killed six firefighters in his hometown of Worcester, Massachusetts. His cousin Jeremiah Lucey was among the six heroic firefighters killed. Leary also established LFF projects for New York's Bravest in response to the FDNY's losses in the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and in New Orleans to help restore firefighting capabilities destroyed in Hurricane Katrina, 2005.

7. He starred in three films directed by Ted Demme: Who's the Man? (1993), The Ref (1994), and Snitch (1996). Demme also directed both his concert specials. Leary and Demme co-produced Blow (2001), and both men were involved in SUBWAYStories: Tales from the Underground (1997) (TV).

8. His song "Asshole" portrays a stereotype of American humor and lifestyles.

9. He is one of the six godparents (all males) of Damian Charles Bing, son of Elizabeth Hurley, and attended the child's baptism at Immaculate Conception church in Mayfair, London.

10. His role on "Rescue Me" (2004) marks his first Golden Globe nomination.

11. Irish-American.

12. Father of Jack Leary.

13. His interest in the perils of firemen and his co-creation of the series "Rescue Me" (2004) stemmed from a tragic 1999 warehouse fire in his hometown of Worcester, Massachusetts, that took the lives of six firemen, including his cousin and a childhood friend.

14. Established the Leary Firefighters Foundation. When 9/11 happened, his foundation went into action and was hailed as "the second-quickest charity" to get money into the hands of grieving families. One auction alone raised $600,000.

15. Denis got behind the wheel of a fire engine during September 11, 2001, when the New York Fire Department was short-handed responding to the collapse of the World Trade center.

16. Is a big Boston Red Sox fan.

17. Joe Rogan has claimed that Leary's "angry comedian" act, first used in his stage show "No Cure for Cancer" (later a Showtime special, No Cure for Cancer (1992) (TV)) was based on the comedy act of Bill Hicks. Leary skewered the charge (http://us.imdb.com/news/ni0070130).

18. Was offered Mark Wahlberg's role in The Departed (2006), but turned it down to scheduling conflicts with his television series, "Rescue Me" (2004). Leary has since commended Wahlberg's performance in the film with admiration.

19. Good friend of Mario Cantone and Gina Gershon at Emerson College.

20. Holds an Irish passport.

21. Leary's "Rescue Me" (2004) character, Tommy Gavin, was probably named for his childhood friend Tommy Spencer, a firefighter who was killed in the December 1999 warehouse fire that inspired Leary to establish the Leary Firefighters Foundation in 2000.

22. Has dual U.S and Irish Citizenship.

23. Lives in New York City.

24. One of seven godparents of Elizabeth Hurley's son Damien.

25. Good friend of Joe Mantegna.

26. When Leary guested on "The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien" (2009), he confessed that he was terrified of bats. Coincidentally, the show concluded with an animal expert who presented Conan with a variety of bats that were conveniently suspended behind Leary on studio "tree branches".