Harris was born at the Englewood Hospital in Englewood, New Jersey, and was raised in Tenafly, New Jersey,[1] the son of Margaret (née Sholl), a travel agent, and Bob L. Harris (1922–2014), who sang with the Fred Waring chorus and worked at the bookstore of the Art Institute of Chicago.[2] He has two brothers, Paul and Robert.[2] His parents were originally from Oklahoma.[3] Harris was raised in a middle class Presbyterian family.[4][5] He graduated from Tenafly High School in 1969, where he played on the football team, serving as the team's captain in his senior year.[6][7]
A star athlete in high school,[1] Harris competed in athletics at Columbia University in 1969.[8] When his family moved to New Mexico two years later, Harris followed, having discovered his interest in acting in various theater plays. He enrolled at the University of Oklahoma to study drama.[1] After several successful roles in local theaters, he moved to Los Angeles and enrolled at the California Institute of the Arts, where he spent two years and graduated with a BFA.[1]