Evan Handler

Handler was born in New York City, to secular Jewish[1][2] parents Enid Irene, a mental health administrator, and Murry Raymond Handler, an agency owner and advertising designer.[3] He was raised in the Town of Cortlandt, New York, near Croton-on-Hudson, New York, and attended Hendrick Hudson High School in Montrose, New York.[3]

After graduating from high school a year early, he moved to New York City and worked as an intern at the Chelsea Theater Center. During that time he appeared in the Off-Broadway plays Biography: A Game and Strider: The Story of a Horse.[3] He then attended the Juilliard School as a member of the Drama Division’s Group 12 (1979–1983), which also included Kevin Spacey,[4] Ving Rhames,[5] and Elizabeth McGovern.[6] Handler left the four-year program after less than two years to accept a role in the 1981 film Taps.