The thing to know about Eddie Cahill is that he's living his dream.

The New York City native, born Jan. 15, 1978, was inspired to become an actor after seeing a staging of "Les Misérables" while still in his teens. A few years later, he was in acting school at New York University's Atlantic Acting School.

By age 22, he had his first screen role -- an enviable one -- playing Carrie's boyfriend in a Season 3 episode of the smash-hit romantic comedy "Sex and the City."

That was in 2000, which was a good year for Cahill. He also landed two recurring roles that year: a seven-episode arc on another comedic hit, "Friends," playing Rachel's assistant (and later boyfriend); and a three-episode run on "Felicity" in the much darker role of a violent drug addict.

He was quickly establishing himself as a TV man, but he's done some film work as well. Most notably (definitely so for him) was the role of Olympic hockey player Jim Craig, whom he described as "one of my heroes," in the 2004 Disney film "Miracle."

A longtime hockey fan (he was even given his own blog on NHL.com to write about his beloved New York Rangers' playoff run), Cahill was keen to audition as soon as he heard they were making a movie about the 1980 U.S. Olympic men's hockey team.

In the same year "Miracle" was released, he won what has proven to be the biggest role of his career: the sarcastic Det. Don Flack on "CSI: NY." He also appreciates the gig, he said in another interview, because it's another link to his birthplace, which he's too often away from as an actor.

"One thing I really like about it, and at times miss, is that there's a real loving sarcasm to the way that city works," he told fan site CSIFiles.com. "Amongst friends it's a way of expressing love, in conflict it's a way of getting the upper hand fast, and in situations like the ones (Flack) deals with, it's a way of coping."

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