jb/mcdermott/mike1st/mark2nd

Dan McDermott

Co-head

DreamWorks SKG Television

Age: 33

As a young movie fan, Dan McDermott found himself captivated by the foreign intrigue and adventure that followed James Bond, agent 007.

McDermott never missed an episode on the big screen. And now, looking back on his still-young career, it was the edge-of-your-seat espionage flicks that first turned him on to the entertainment business.

Today, McDermott, 33, is co-head of DreamWorks SKG’s television department, and has been responsible for developing “Spin City,” “Arsenio,” and “High Incident.”

“I love the entertainment business, and have been fascinated by it since I was a kid,” says McDermott. “I think that passion and interest in this business means that, for me, it’s just fun. I still can’t believe that I get paid to do this.”

Previous to joining DreamWorks 21 months ago, McDermott was an executive vice president at Fox Broadcasting Co.

His job was to sift through show proposals for the most-promising ones, shepherd the projects through to their airing on TV, and then monitor their progress.

Today, McDermott’s job is basically the same, except he now develops shows and then markets them to a variety of media outlets.

He began at Fox when the fledgling network had its own programs airing on only two nights a week. By the time he left the company, Fox programming was airing all week long.

McDermott graduated from UCLA in 1985 and continued his education at the American Film Institute. Upon getting a graduate degree in screenwriting, he got his first break as director of development for Wilshire Corp. Productions.

“My intention was always to be a writer,” says McDermott, who actually saw one of his television scripts produced on the short-lived NBC series “13 East.”

“But I got lucky going into the business side of it,” he says.

Joe Bel Bruno