Spotted by a Universal Studiostalent scout while starring at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Canada in 1975, Macht was signed to a contract and by the mid 1970s had left teaching and was making frequent appearances in TV episodes and movies. In Raid on Entebbe, he portrayed Yoni Netanyahu, the Israeli officer killed in the rescue of hostages in Uganda. In 1978, he had a lead role in The Immigrants a syndicated miniseries about the rise of the son of Italian immigrants in turn-of-the-century San Francisco. The successful television movieAmerican Dream led to a critically acclaimed short-lived series which cast Macht in the role of a family man who chucks the suburban life to set up home in the inner city of Chicago. The following season, he landed the role of Joe Cooper, brother of Karen MacKenzie, on Knots Landing. Other notable roles included playing Nancy McKeon's father in Strange Voices. He was Benedict Arnold in the miniseries George Washington and played one of the survivors of an air crash in '. He spent three seasons as David Keeler, love interest to Cagney, on Cagney & Lacey. During his run on the show, he moved behind the cameras to make his directorial debut. In 1993, Macht played Krim Aldos in "The Siege |The Siege", an early Season 2 episode of '. Macht had been Gene Roddenberry's first choice to play Captain Jean-Luc Picard in ', but the role eventually went to Patrick Stewart in 1986. More recent credits have included playing an Austrian Jew who must be baptized along with his wife and daughter in order to escape the Nazis in A Friendship in Vienna ; a doctor helping Jane Seymour in the syndicated miniseries Sidney Sheldon's Memories of Midnight, and as cult member Joan Van Ark's suffering husband in '. Macht appeared in the 1995 third season Babylon 5 episode "A Day in the Strife" as the character 'Na'Far'. Na'Far was the new official Narn representative, replacing G'Kar, after the Centauri's invasion of the Narn homeworld. In 1996 he did a six-month stint on the ABC daytime drama One Life to Live as Elliot Durban. From August 24, 2007 to February 13, 2009 he portrayed Trevor Lansing, attorney of organized crime boss Anthony Zacchara and father of attorney Ric Lansing, in the soap operaGeneral Hospital for which Soap Opera Digest nominated him Best Villain of 2007. In 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2019, Macht guest starred opposite his son, actor Gabriel Macht, in Suits. Macht's work in feature films has been more sporadic, beginning with a turn as one of The Choirboys. He also had roles in Nightwing, The Mountain Men, Galaxina, The Last Winter, The Monster Squad, Stephen King's Graveyard Shift, , The Legend of Galgameth, and Watchers Reborn. Macht has also played Dr. Harris in three instalments of the Trancers series of films.
Personal life
Macht has been married to archivist/museum curator Suzanne Victoria Pulier since 1964. He has four children: Julie, Ari Serbin, actor Gabriel Macht and musician Jesse Macht. Macht is also an ordained chaplain; and his book Moral Change: a Tragedy or a Return?: How Aristotle’s Tragic Reversal Illuminates Maimonides’ Teshuva was published on Amazon.com in October 2016.
