Liev Schrieber was born in San Francisco on October 4, 1967. He began his acting career in 1996, with starring roles in several indie films, Daytripper, Big Night, and Walking and Talking, before starring in Wes Craven's Scream that same year.

He has since appeared in films like The Sum Of All Fears and the 2004 remake of The Manchurian Candidate. An acclaimed classical actor, he has appeared in many Shakespearean productions and won a Tony Award in 2005 for his performance in David Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross. Also in 2005 he made his directorial debut with Everything Is Illuminated based on the novel by Jonathan Safran Foer, starring Elijah Wood

He is currently dating Naomi Watts. The couple has two sons, Alexander Pete, born in July 2007, and Samuel, born in December 2008.