Christopher McDonald Biography

Date of Birth: February 15, 1955

Raised in New York City, Christopher McDonald studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London, England, as well as the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, and the Stella Adler Acting Conservatory in New York. After beginning his career in theater, he landed his first television role playing an usher in the TV movie Getting Married (1978), and by the mid-1980s, he had begun to make a name for himself. He has worked with some of Hollywood's top directors in a wide range of projects, including a starring role in he coming-of-age comedy S.L.C. Punk!, the acclaimed Lawn Dogs, the hits The Faculty and Flubber, and as Ward Cleaver in the big screen adaptation of the television classic Leave It to Beaver.

Additional feature film credits include Happy Gilmore (opposite Adam Sandler), Unforgettable, Rich Man's Wife, Robert Redford's Oscar-nominated Quiz Show and Thelma & Louise. His other starring roles include Grumpy Old Men, Chances Are, A Smile Like Yours, Outrageous Fortune, Grease II and Dutch.

McDonald's television credits include a recurring role on the hit series Veronica's Closet and starring roles in HBO's Tuskegee Airmen and ABC's Into Thin Air: Death on Everest. More recent feature projects include Requiem for a Dream (starring opposite Jennifer Connelly, Marlon Wayans and Jared Leto) and The Skulls.

McDonald and his wife, Lupe Gidley, live in Southern California with their four children.

Filmography :

Fanboys (2007)
Player 5150 (2007)
Kickin It Old Skool (2007)
My Sexiest Year (2007)
Awake (2007)
Funny Money (2006)
Rumor Has It... (2005)
Broken Flowers (2005)
The L.A. Riot Spectacular (2005)
Grind (2003)
The Theory of the Leisure Class (2003)
Children on their Birthdays (2002)
Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams (2002)
Magicians (2000)
Requiem for a Dream (2000)
The Perfect Storm (2000)
The Skulls (2000)
Isn't She Great (2000)
Takedown (2000)
The Iron Giant (1999) (voice)
Gideon (1999)
SLC Punk! (1999)
Five Aces (1999)
Dirty Work (1998)
Divorce: A Contemporary Western (1998)
The Faculty (1998)
Gideon's Webb (1998)
Flubber (1997)
Lawn Dogs (1997)
Leave It to Beaver (1997)
A Smile Like Yours (1997)
The Eighteenth Angel (1997)
The Rich Man's Wife (1996)
Best of the Best 3: No Turning Back (1995)
Quiz Show (1994)
Fatal Instinct (1993)
Wild Orchid II: Two Shades of Blue (1992)
Thelma & Louise (1991)
Playroom (1990)
Chances Are (1989)
Paramedics (1987)
Outrageous Fortune (1987)
The Black Room (1984)
Chattanooga Choo Choo (1984) Where the Boys Are '84 (1984)
Breakin' (1984)
Grease 2 (1982)
The Hearse (1980)