After graduating from Woodward Academy in College Park, Georgia in 1981, Stepakoff earned a degree in journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
The contact helped introduce him to an agent and David Milch, creator of "Deadwood" and NYPD Blue.
Although he was offered a job as a scab writer for CBS's Charles in Charge, produced by Universal Television, he turned it down.
[4] His credits include Zoe Busiek: Wild Card (hired by Lynn Marie Latham), Major Dad, Dawson's Creek, Tarzan, Hyperion Bay, "C-16: FBI", "Flipper", "Sisters (Creative Consultant), "The Wonder Years", "Major Dad", and "Simon & Simon".
He developed and wrote major motion pictures, including Disney's Tarzan and Brother Bear.