Tom Cavanagh was born in Ottawa, Ontario, on October 26, 1963, into a Roman Catholic family. His parents, Rosemary and Thomas Cavanagh Sr., relocated to Winneba, a small city in Ghana. They worked as teachers in developing countries. He has four siblings: three sisters and one elder brother.

The family settled in Lennoxville, Quebec, when he was a teenager. He completed his high school there and studied French at the ‘Séminaire de Sherbrooke.’ He also played basketball for the Barons during this time.

He later went on to continue his education at the ‘CEGEP’ level at the ‘Champlain College,’ Lennoxville. He developed an interest in theater and music while studying at the ‘Queen's University’ in Kingston, Ontario.

He graduated with degrees in English, biology, and education.

Before beginning his career as a professional actor, Tom Cavanagh appeared in a number of Canadian TV dramas, including ‘Jake and the Kid’ in the late 1990s. He also did commercials for ‘Labatt Blue Light’ beer and the Canadian bank ‘CIBC.’

He appeared in the ‘Broadway’ revival of ‘Shenandoah’ in 1989. His other shows include ‘Grease,’ ‘Urinetown,’ ‘A Chorus Line,’ and ‘Brighton Beach Memoirs.’

In 2008, he performed in ‘Some Americans Abroad' at the ‘Second Stage Theatre’ in New York.

Later, he appeared in all the four seasons of the ‘NBC’ show ‘Ed’ (2000–2004), after gaining immense popularity for his consistent appearance as ‘Dog Boy’ in the ‘NBC’ program ‘Providence.’ His role in ‘Ed’ was highly appreciated by viewers, and he also received a ‘Golden Globe’ nomination and a ‘TV Guide Award’ for the role.

He is known for his guest role of ‘Dan Dorian’ in ‘My Big Brother,’ the second season of the American comedy ‘Scrubs’ that aired in 2002. He also starred in the movie ‘Bang Bang You’re Dead,’ the same year. He primarily appeared in supporting roles.

In 2005, Cavanagh appeared in the ‘CBS’ pilot ‘Love Monkey,’ alongside Jason Priestley, Judy Greer, and Larenz Tate. The show was a mid-season replacement, which aired on January 17, 2006. Due to low TRP, only three episodes out of eight were aired. Later, ‘VH1’ aired the entire eight-episode show after acquiring it in 2006.

He portrayed the role of King County sheriff ‘David Reichert’ in the ‘Lifetime Movie Network’ short series ‘The Capture of the Green River Killer.’

In March 2006, he acted in the ‘CBS’ comedy show ‘My Ex-Life,’ alongside ‘Lost’ star Cynthia Watros. The same year, he appeared in the romantic comedy ‘Gray Matters.’ Prior to that, in 2005, he had portrayed the role of ‘Nick Snowden’ in the ‘ABC Family’ movie ‘Snow.’ He also starred in ‘Alchemy,’ opposite Sarah Chalke.

He was later seen in ‘ABC’s ‘Eli Stone,’ in 2008, and the TV drama ‘Trust Me,’ in 2009. During that period, he also hosted ‘Stories from the Vaults,’ which was telecast on ‘Smithsonian Networks.’

In 2010, he portrayed the role of ‘Ranger Smith’ in the film ‘Yogi Bear.’

He is also praised for his performances in ‘Heart of the Storm’ (2004), ‘Breakfast with Scott,’ (2007), and ‘Sublime’ (2007).

Cavanagh, along with his ‘Ed’ co-actor Michael Ian Black, has been the co-host of the podcast series ‘Mike and Tom Eat Snacks,’ since 2010.

Since 2014, he has portrayed various versions of ‘Dr. Harrison Wells’ in the ‘CW’ series ‘The Flash.’

His main focus is direction. Some of his noteworthy projects include ‘Money Game’ (2008) and the film ‘Faith.’

His work in ‘Ed’ was highly praised and earned him a ‘Golden Globe’ nomination and a ‘TV Guide Award.’ The show was aired from October 2000 to February 2004.

He gained immense prominence as ‘Dr. Harrison Wells’ in the series ‘Flash.’

His other notable projects include ‘Love Monkey’ (2006), ‘Trust Me’ (2009), ‘Providence,’ and ‘Scrubs’ (2002–2007)

He mesmerized the audiences with his performance in the ‘Broadway’ revival of ‘Shenandoah’ (1989) and his appearance in ‘Jake and the Kid’ (late 1990s).

His roles in the thriller ‘Heart of the Storm,’ in the romantic comedy ‘Alchemy,’ and in the computer-animated comedy ‘Yogi Bear,’ too, were praised.

Tom’s program ‘Ed’ (2000) was nominated for a ‘Golden Globe Award.’ The show also received a ‘TV Guide’ award.

He also received a ‘Daytime Emmy’ nomination for the highly acclaimed TV film ‘Bang Bang You’re Dead’ (2002).

He won the ‘Best Actor Award’ at the ‘Family Television Awards’ (2001), for his role in ‘Ed.’

In 2005, he was awarded the ‘Gold Derby Award’ for the best ‘Comedy Guest Actor’ for his role in ‘Scrubs’ (2001) and was also nominated for the best ‘Drama Guest Actor’ for ‘Jack & Bobby’ (2004).

In 2002, he received an ‘Online Film & Television Association (OFTA) Award’ for the ‘Best Actor in a New Comedy Series’ for his remarkable performance in ‘Ed’ (2000). The same year, he was nominated for an ‘OFTA Award’ for the ‘Best Actor in a Comedy Series’ for ‘Ed’ (2000). He earned an ‘OFTA Award’ nomination for the ‘Best Actor in a Comedy Series’ for ‘Ed’ (2000), in 2001, and another ‘OFTA’ nomination for the ‘Best Guest Actor in a Comedy Series’ in 2003, for ‘Scrubs.’

Tom Cavanagh married his long-time girlfriend Maureen Grise, a photo editor for ‘Sports Illustrated,’ on July 31, 2004 in Nantucket, Massachusetts. They have four children: two daughters, Alice Ann and Katie, and two sons, James Joseph and Thomas Cavanagh Jr.

He has three sisters. One is a chaplain in Ontario and teaches religious education, another is an autism specialist in Toronto, and the third one is a writer. His older brother is a ‘Crown Attorney.’

In 2006, he ran the ‘New York City Marathon.’

He founded the yearly charity basketball tournament ‘Cavanagh Classic’ in 2008, to raise awareness and funding for ‘Nothing But Nets,’ an initiative to curb malaria.

He divides his time between Vancouver and New York City.

He is proficient in both English and French.

Cavanagh is a fan of the ‘Montreal Canadiens.’

He was diagnosed with malaria in his childhood, which became the prime reason behind him working for the charity ‘Nothing But Nets’ that distributes mosquito nets to prevent malaria.

He is allergic to avocados and is afraid of snakes

He did voice-over ads for ‘L.L. Bean’ in September 2004

He participated in the ‘NBA 2002 All Star Weekend's ‘3 on 3 Tournament.’

In his commercial for ‘Labatt Blue’ beer, he uttered the famous line “If I wanted water, I would have asked for water.”