Dave Williams

David Williams (also Dash) is a fictional character from the ABC television series Desperate Housewives, portrayed by Neal McDonough and created by Marc Cherry. The character was introduced in the fifth season as Edie Britt's (Nicollette Sheridan) motivational speaker husband, and is the mystery star for the fifth season. Development and casting Neal McDonough's casting as Dave Williams was announced in July 2008. McDonough did not audition for the role, but was offered it after meeting with Marc Cherry. The series creator wanted McDonough to portray Dave after he saw the actor playing the role of David McNorris, an alcoholic County Asst. D.A. in NBC's short-lived crime drama Boomtown, and thus wanted to see the dark side of David McNorris "infused in the dark side of David Williams". McDonough described his character as "this really sweet guy next door and then something tragic happens to him and his personality splits in half. You like Dave and you feel for him, but he also creeps the hell out of you." Half-way through the season, just after the death of Nicollette Sheridan's character Edie Britt was filmed, McDonough already knew that his character would last just one season, and though he hinted that Dave might return for a brief arc in subsequent seasons, this never happened. History