He's David Hyde Pierce, the oh-so-funny TV novice who plays Frasier Crane's oh-so-proper psychiatrist brother, Niles, on the hit NBC comedy "Frasier" (8:30 p.m. Thursdays, 9 p.m. this week). And, though he's billed as a supporting player, he's becoming the hottest comedy star of sitcom-saturated prime-time TV.

In his Niles persona, Pierce, 34, is all prissy mannerisms and fastidious delivery. Off-camera, relaxing on the "Frasier" set in chinos, classic Nikes and paisley shirt, Pierce is both similar and different. Serious but unpretentious, he's taken aback by his sudden TV stardom, which comes after 10 years of more-work-less-glory in regional and Broadway theater and a brief supporting stint on last year's failed Norman Lear series "The Powers That Be" on NBC.

After "Powers That Be" bit the dust, "Wings" casting director Sheila Guthrie showed Pierce's mug shot to David Angell, Peter Casey and David Lee, who were developing "Frasier." They were wowed by Pierce's striking resemblance to Grammer and blown away by his edgy performance as suicidal mumbler Theodore on "Powers That Be."