American screen and stage actor, travel writer and television director, most known as a member of the ‘Brat Pack,’ with roles in 1980s films such as St. Elmo’s Fire (1983), Pretty in Pink (1986), and Less Than Zero (1987). As a director he is known for his work on the Emmy Award-winning series Orange Is the New Black.
After attending New York University, McCarthy, amiable and boyish, was cast in sensitive character roles. He starred on and off-Broadway, before and after his screen debut, later maturing into romantic leads.
In 2008, he starred in the NBC television series Lipstick Jungle as a billionaire, but was eventually cancelled, and had a minor role in The Spiderwick Chronicles.
As a travel writer, he is currently an Editor at Large at National Geographic Traveler magazine. A book written by McCarthy, The Longest Way Home: One Man’s Quest for the Courage to Settle Down, was published in 2012.
In 1992, he entered a detoxification program and has been sober since. In 2004, he announced that he once had a serious alcohol problem, which began at age 12.
In 1999, McCarthy married his college sweetheart Carol Schneider 20 years after they first dated. In 2002, Schneider gave birth to a son, Sam. The couple divorced in 2005.
On 28 August 2011, he married Dolores Rice. They have a daughter, Willow, and a son Rowan.

Link to Wikipedia biography