He finished highschool inside Wa, so went in to graduate from either Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts. It took many years prior to his career progressed. He acted Off-Broadway, winning Obie Awards for his performances in Othello in 1979 and Split in 1980.

Within late 1970s, Heard was garnering small roles inside television & film. Around 1979 he played Arthur Dimmesdale in a television production of The Scarlet Letter. By 1981, he was starring in the film ''Cutter's Way.

More films include Cat People, C.H.U.D., The Trip to Bountiful, The Milagro Beanfield War, Home Alone, Radio Flyer, In the Line of Fire, The Pelican Brief, My Fellow Americans, O, The Pilot's Wife, Beaches (movie), Home Alone, Home Alone 2, Deceived (movie), White Chicks, and The Chumscrubber''.

Heard was married for a single month to fellow actor Margot Kidder.