Denis Leary hates the New York Yankees because he may well be the biggest Boston Red Sox fan of all time.

Denis also hates the Montreal Canadians because he is - most definitely - the biggest Boston Bruins fan on the planet.

Denis is a Massachusetts native. He was born in Worcester and lived in Boston for almost twenty years, graduating from and briefly teaching at the city's Emerson College.

Denis has appeared in over twenty-five motion pictures including such critically-acclaimed fare as "The Ref," "Wag The Dog," "A Bug's Life," "The Thomas Crown Affair," "Jesus' Son" and the Oscar-nominated "Ice Age." He has been privileged to work opposite many of his acting heroes: Robert DeNiro, Dustin Hoffman, Clint Eastwood, Christopher Walken and Woody Allen.

Up next is "The Secret Lives Of Dentists," directed by Alan Rudolph and starring Denis, Campbell Scott and Hope Davis.

Denis started his own production company, Apostle, in 1993. It produced many of the aforementioned films, as well as Ted Demme's final film "Blow" and the award-winning ABC sitcom "The Job," which was co-written by Denis and Peter Tolan.

Apostle also produced both of Leary's one-man shows and their subsequent presentations on Showtime and HBO: "No Cure For Cancer" and "Lock 'N Load." "Asshole," the theme song of "No Cure for Cancer" became an international hit on radio and MTV and led to gold and platinum records.

Apostle also produced the critical and cult hit "Contest Searchlight" for Comedy Central last year, a completely improvised fake reality show modeled on HBO's "Project Greenlight." "Searchlight" involved over forty actors working with no script and led to much discussion in the press about whether it was really happening or not. Apostle currently brings the animated series "House Arrest" and The Roast to Comedy Central.

In the wake of the tragic Worcester Cold Storage Warehouse fire in December 1999, which killed six firefighters including Denis' cousin Jerry Lucey and childhood buddy Lt. Tommy Spencer, Denis formed The Leary Firefighters Foundation. The foundation became the second-quickest charity to get its money into the hands of the FDNY's victimized families after September 11, 2001.

Every September for the foundation, Denis and many of his hockey-playing celebrity friends (including Tim Robbins, Keifer Sutherland and Rick Moranis) face off against Boston Bruins legends in "The Celebrity Hat Trick."

This fall's event, "Hockey's Greatest Skate for America's Bravest," will feature a game pitting 25 of hockey's all-time greatest (including Bobby Orr, Gordie Howe and Cam Neely) against each other with celebrity players competing on each team. Co-hosted by Denis, Robert DeNiro and Harrison Ford, the evening features a live auction, celebrity presentations and is a tribute to the hundreds of NYC firefighters invited to share in the celebration.

For the last nine years Denis and Apostle have produced the annual "Comics Come Home" gala, now the longest running stand-up comedy benefit in United States history. Over the years the show has included the talents of Jay Leno, Steven Wright, Conan O'Brien, Jon Stewart, Lenny Clarke, Janeane Garafalo, Robert Schimmel, Colin Quinn, Michael J. Fox and many, many others.

The money raised from ticket sales and television broadcasts goes to The Neely Foundation - a charity formed by the ex-Boston Bruins all-star Cam Neely. Cam approached Denis with the idea for "Comics Come Home" in 1994 after his parents both succumbed to cancer in the late eighties. In less than one year, the foundation created The Neely House on the grounds of the Tufts Medical Center, allowing families dealing with a loved one's fight with cancer to live for free next to the hospital. In fact, so much money has been raised that two years ago the foundation expanded to include The Neely Cancer Research Fund, which is dedicated to opening new doors to a cure.

Denis is also annually involved in another friend's fight - The Michael J. Fox Foundation's desire to find a cure for Parkinson's disease, performing in New York City for Mike's "A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Cure Parkinson's" show.

In the fall of 2002, Cam told Denis and Mike about his latest idea - taking over a Boston hotel and turning it into a casino for one night, splitting the proceeds between the foundations of the event's three hosts: Cam, Mike and Denis. January 2003, "Betting On A Cause And A Cure" made its debut at The Charles Hotel. Over 500,000 dollars was raised. "Betting On A Cause And A Cure" will now be added to the annual event list.