Christopher McDonald (actor)

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Christopher McDonald

Born	February 15, 1955 (age 53) New York City

Christopher McDonald (born February 15, 1955) is an American actor. He is known for playing pompous, arrogant and/or villainous characters, such as Shooter McGavin from Happy Gilmore and Tappy Tibbons from Requiem for a Dream.

1 Biography
2 Filmography
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Biography

[edit] Personal life

McDonald was born in New York City, the son of Patricia, a nursing professor and real estate agent, and James McDonald, an educator.^[1] He was raised in upstate Romulus, New York and is a graduate of Hobart College in Geneva, New York, where he was an active member of the Kappa Alpha Society. McDonald is married to Lupe Gidley and together they are the parents of four children. He has five surviving siblings following the death of his younger brother, actor Daniel McDonald (1960 - February 15, 2007), who died on Christopher's 52nd birthday. He is a Bills fan. He marched with the Geneva Appleknockers Jr. Drum and Bugle Corps in the late 1960's

[edit] Career

McDonald has numerous film and television roles to his name, often as a supporting actor. In addition to the above, his credits also include Thelma and Louise, Grumpy Old Men, Quiz Show, Flubber, The Faculty, The Perfect Storm, House Arrest, Dirty Work, American Pie 5: The Naked Mile, Broken Flowers and Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams. He was featured as Ward Cleaver in the movie version of Leave It to Beaver and famous baseball broadcaster Mel Allen in 61*. In 1994 he starred in the film Terminal Velocity as an aggressive Russian mafia villain alongside Charlie Sheen.

In the realm of television, along with recurring roles on the television series Family Law, North Shore and Veronica's Closet, McDonald has also made guest appearances on Cheers, Riptide, Knight Rider, The Sopranos, Home Improvement and Star Trek: The Next Generation as Lt. Richard Castillo in the season 3 episode "Yesterday's Enterprise".

His voice work includes the determined government agent Kent Mansley in the animated film The Iron Giant. He also voiced Superman's father Jor-El in Superman: The Animated Series and subsequently a much older Superman in the Batman Beyond two part episode The Call. He has recalled great affection for these roles, saying that he enjoyed them because he was (and continues to be) such a fan of Superman and because they were in such contrast to his less than sympathetic on screen roles that he is famous for. He subbed for Burt Reynolds as Boss Hogg in The Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning.

He was also in Peter Gabriel's music video for the song The Barry Williams Show with McDonald as the eponymous lead. He also replaced Robert De Niro in the Midnight Run movie franchise; he played "Jack Walsh" in three TV films - Another Midnight Run, Midnight Runaround, and Midnight Run for Your Life.

He portrayed baseball player Joe DiMaggio in the ESPN original series The Bronx Is Burning.

[edit] Diversity of roles

McDonald has been able to successfully portray a wide range of characters. In Happy Gilmore, The Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning and Dirty Work, McDonald played the devious villain. He has also lent his voice in animated films such as The Iron Giant. In Home Improvement, he played Stu Culter, Tim's obnoxious, party animal roommate in college.