His brooding, sincere looks were steadily used on television screens in the '80s, but in hindsight, actor Ken Olin will probably be considered a more significant force behind the camera. Born in Chicago, Ken studied at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and headed to Hollywood in the late '70s. After the typical path of episodic roles, he began to advance rapidly in top television shows. A couple of strong roles as a series regular for one season on Hill Street Blues (1981) and Falcon Crest (1981) ultimately led to his casting as the introspective and quietly sexy Michael Steadman in thirtysomething (1987), which ran for four seasons and received numerous awards for its liberal writing and sensitive content. Ken appeared alongside his wife Patricia Wettig on the show, but the multiple Emmy winner Wettig did not play Ken's wife (that was actress Mel Harris), and audiences were often confused about who Ken's actual wife was.

Ken also got the opportunity to occasionally direct thirtysomething (1987), and this had a significant influence on the direction of his career in the following years. After thirtysomething (1987), Ken sought acting work in miniseries as both a hero (Police Story: Cop Killer (1988)) and a villain (Dead Man on Sunset (1995)), but it almost always seemed that he was about to leave acting entirely. His growing interest in directing took over, and since then he has found steady work as a director on such popular shows as Felicity (1998) and The West Wing (1999). His television drama Doing Time on Maple Drive (1992) was nominated for three Emmys.