Kevin McDonald
Kevin McDonald | |
|---|---|
.jpg) McDonald in 2012 | |
| Born | Kevin Hamilton McDonald May 16, 1961 |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1987–present |
| Spouse |
Tiffany Lacey
(m. 1993; div. 1995) |
| Parent(s) | Sheila McDonald (mother) Hamilton McDonald (father) |
| Relatives | Sandra McDonald (sister) |
Kevin Hamilton McDonald (born May 16, 1961) is a Canadian actor and comedian. He is a member of the comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall, who have appeared together in a number of stage, television and film productions, most notably the 1988–1995 TV series The Kids in the Hall. He played Pastor Dave in That '70s Show, and starred as a co-pilot in the 2011 web comedy series Papillon. He also does voice work in animation, most notably as Agent Wendy Pleakley in the Lilo & Stitch franchise, Waffle in Catscratch, and the Almighty Tallest Purple in Invader Zim.
He starred alongside Rodney Dangerfield, Lou Ferrigno and Dom DeLuise as the titular character in the gangster parody film The Godson.
Early life
[edit]McDonald was born in Montréal, Québec, the son of Sheila and Hamilton "Hammy" McDonald, who was a dental equipment salesman.[1] He moved to Los Angeles, California, at the age of seven, after his father was transferred there.[2] His family subsequently lived in Toronto, Ontario, as well. McDonald has a younger sister, Sandra.
During an interview on WTF with Marc Maron, McDonald discussed his father's severe alcoholism, which inspired the Kids in the Hall sketches "Daddy Drank" and "Girl Drink Drunk." Although he calls his mother "a wonderful woman," she was nevertheless reluctant to leave his father until Kevin turned 19, when his father's drinking had escalated to two bottles of vodka daily. McDonald, his mother and sister rented an apartment, where they quietly moved their belongings "every night [after his father would] collapse on the stairs." Once they had completely moved, his parents divorced, his father lost his job, went bankrupt and lived in a homeless shelter for a year, during which he abstained from drinking (although he alleged "his roommates were drinking Drano"); coincidentally, McDonald used the same building to rehearse with The Kids in the Hall as they were starting out on stage. His father was able to find employment at a flower shop, then an apartment and, over time, resume his career in dental equipment sales. Eventually, he did drink again, but not to the extent he had earlier in his life. He died of an aneurysm in 2004.[3] McDonald used his relationship with his father as the basis for a one-man show, Hammy and the Kids, in which he said he had no happy ending to the story of his father.[4] However, during an interview with Marc Maron, he said after one performance of his one-man show, he was approached by a stranger who said that he had served his father as a bartender, and that his father mentioned how proud he was of his son, the famous comedian, which moved McDonald to tears "like the ending to a bad movie."
McDonald briefly studied acting at a community college, where he was kicked out for being "a one-legged actor" (i.e. he could perform comedy, but not drama) by a dean who had a leg amputated, and was therefore a literal one-legged actor. However, one of his professors, William B. Davis (who later found fame in his portrayal of Cigarette Smoking Man on The X-Files), saw McDonald's potential and encouraged him to pursue improv comedy by giving him the number to The Second City in Toronto.[3]
Career
[edit]McDonald founded The Kids in the Hall comedy troupe with his friend Dave Foley. They met in Toronto at the Second City Training Center, and the two wrote and performed in sketches together more than any other pair in the group. In the troupe's TV and stage shows, he portrays several popular recurring characters, such as the King of Empty Promises, Sir Simon Milligan, and Jerry Sizzler. A frequent running gag was that McDonald is the least popular member and always struggling not to get kicked out.
When the troupe ended the five-season run of its eponymous television series in 1994, the five members moved to a number of solo projects. McDonald has played roles in movies like Boy Meets Girl, Pleakley in the Lilo & Stitch franchise, and Harry Potter in Epic Movie. On television, he has appeared on The Martin Short Show, Ellen (as a radio personality), That '70s Show (as a confused young cleric, Pastor Dave), Seinfeld, Friends, NewsRadio (on which Foley starred), MADtv, Arrested Development, and Corner Gas. McDonald has also done voice work for various animated series, including Johnny Bravo, Invader Zim (in which he did the voice for Almighty Tallest Purple), The Angry Beavers, Catscratch (in which he voiced Waffle), and Clerks: The Animated Series. He also played an imaginary friend named Ivan in the Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends episode Sight For Sore Eyes, and appeared in the music video for "Roses" by OutKast.
In 2006, McDonald hosted a CBC Television special, Sketch with Kevin McDonald, featuring several of Canada's best-known sketch comedy troupes. The special received two nominations, for the performances by The Minnesota Wrecking Crew and by The Imponderables, for Canadian Comedy Award in the category Best Taped Live Performance, with The Minnesota Wrecking Crew winning the award.
Since 2000, McDonald and the other members of The Kids in the Hall have reunited for a number of tours and televised performances. The troupe played the 2007 Just for Laughs festival, where McDonald also performed his one-and-a half-man show Hammy and the Kids with Craig Northey, based on his two dysfunctional families, his father ("Hammy") and The Kids in the Hall.
Filmography
[edit]Film
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Distant Horizons | Lonely Met Tech | Video |
| 1995 | National Lampoon's Senior Trip | Travis Lindsey | |
| 1996 | Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy | Dr. Chris Cooper / Doreen / Chris' dad / Lacey | |
| 1997 | The Wrong Guy | Motel Manager | |
| 1998 | Boy Meets Girl | Jack | |
| The Godson | Guppy Calzone | ||
| 1999 | Galaxy Quest | Announcer | |
| 2000 | The Ladies Man | Mail Man | |
| 2002 | Lilo & Stitch | Agent Wendy Pleakley | Voice[5] |
| 2003 | Stitch! The Movie | Agent Wendy Pleakley | Voice, direct-to-video[5] |
| 2005 | Sky High | Dr. Medulla | |
| Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch | Agent Wendy Pleakley | Voice, direct-to-video[5] | |
| Thru the Moebius Strip | Agent Po | Voice, English dub[5] | |
| 2006 | Leroy & Stitch | Agent Wendy Pleakley | Voice, television film |
| Unaccompanied Minors | Guard in the Hall #1 | ||
| 2007 | Epic Movie | Harry Potter | |
| 2009 | Year of the Carnivore | Mr. Smalls | |
| 2011 | Keyhole | Ogilbe | |
| 2012 | Dead Before Dawn | Prof. Duffy | |
| 2018 | Sorry for Your Loss | Vince Kendall | |
| 2019 | Boys vs. Girls | Coffee | |
| 2021 | Mouth Congress | Uncle Kevin | |
| 2024 | Deaner '89 | Principal Gil |
Television
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988–1995; 2022 | The Kids in the Hall | Various | 109 episodes |
| 1996 | MADtv | Himself | Host, Episode #2.6 |
| 1997 | Friends | Guru Saj | Episode: "The One with Ross's Thing" |
| NewsRadio | Throwdini | Episode: "Stupid Holiday Charity Talent Show" | |
| Seinfeld | Denim Vest | Episode: "The Strike" | |
| 1997–1998 | Ellen | Chuck | 2 episodes |
| 1997–2004 | Johnny Bravo | Mime, Young Clown, Timmy, Kevin McDonald | Voice, 3 episodes[5] |
| 1998 | Cow and Chicken | Canadian Dad / Jorge | Voice, episode: "Meet Lance Sackless/Who's Afraid of the Dark?"[5] |
| The Angry Beavers | Zookeeper | Voice, episode: "Zooing Time"[5] | |
| The Drew Carey Show | Heller | Episode: "Drew and the Conspiracy" | |
| 2000–2001 | That '70s Show | Pastor Dave | 6 episodes |
| 2001 | Clerks: The Animated Series | Batman Fan - Freak #1 | Voice, episode: "The Last Episode Ever" |
| 2001 | The Santa Claus Brothers | Mel Claus | Voice, television film[5] |
| 2001–2003 | Invader Zim | Almighty Tallest Purple, Tae, Lobotomy Cop, Malfunctioning SIR Units | Voice, 10 episodes |
| 2002 | Whatever Happened to... Robot Jones? | Mr. Mitchell | Voice, episode: "Sickness"[5] |
| The True Meaning of Christmas Specials | The Ghost of Christmas Specials Yet to Come | Television film | |
| 2003 | Sick in the Head | Television film | |
| A Minute with Stan Hooper | Officer Dector | Episode: "Fear Finds the Falls" | |
| Las Vegas | Monty McClure | Episode: "Decks and Violence" | |
| 2003–2004 | What's New, Scooby-Doo? | Officer Claphammer, Julian Libris | Voice, 2 episodes |
| 2003–2006 | Lilo & Stitch: The Series | Agent Wendy Pleakley | Voice, 29 episodes |
| 2004 | Corner Gas | Marvin Drey | Episode: "Tax Man" |
| Yes, Dear | Bob | Episode: "Dead Aunt, Dead Aunt..." | |
| Grounded for Life | Steve | Episode: "Pressure Drop" | |
| Arrested Development | Det. Streudler | Episode: "Not Without My Daughter" | |
| Zeroman | Rusty Woodenwater | Voice, episode: "Smotherly Love" | |
| 2005 | Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends | Ivan | Voice, episode: "Sight for Sore Eyes"[5] |
| 2005–2007 | Catscratch | Waffle, Gomez, Waffle Robots, Newts | Voice, 20 episodes[5] |
| 2006 | Minoriteam | Alien Leader | Voice, 2 episodes |
| Bratz | Scott | Voice, episode: "Inner Beauty Queen" | |
| Casper's Scare School | Beaky (The Pirate's Parrot) | Voice, television film[5] | |
| Sketch with Kevin McDonald | Host | Television film | |
| 2007 | According to Jim | Therapist | Episode: "All the Rage" |
| Carpoolers | Donny Daramajian | Episode: "The Seminar" | |
| The Emperor's New School | Security Guard | Voice, 1 episode | |
| 2008–2010 | WordGirl | Vocab Bee, Police Chief, Judge, The Baker | Voice, 4 episodes |
| 2008–2012 | Less Than Kind | Walter | 4 episodes |
| 2009 | Back at the Barnyard | Baxter, Flaky, Alien 1 | Voice, 3 episodes[5] |
| 2009–2011 | The Penguins of Madagascar | Barry | Voice, 2 episodes[5] |
| 2010 | The Kids in the Hall: Death Comes to Town | Various | 8 episodes |
| The Soup | Grownup Pageant Princess | 1 episode | |
| Dino Dan | Mr. Curry | Episode: "Dino Trap/Big Bad Spinosaurus"; uncredited | |
| 2011 | Dan Vs. | Barry Ditmer | Voice, episode: "Technology" |
| Papillon | Darius | 15 episodes | |
| 2011–2012 | Fish Hooks | Dr. Frog, Chicken | Voice, 9 episodes[5] |
| 2012–2016 | Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness | Lu Kang | Voice, 2 episodes[5] |
| 2013 | Phineas and Ferb | Professor Bannister | Voice, episode: "Sidetracked"[5] |
| Brooklyn Nine-Nine | Disco Strangler | Episode: "Pilot"; uncredited | |
| 2014 | Spun Out | Damian | Episode: "Middle Aged Men in the Hall" |
| Comedy Bang! Bang! | Galactic Commander of the Planet Pylon | Episode: "Craig Robinson Wears a Bordeaux Button Down & Dark Jeans" | |
| Odd Squad | Lord Rectangle | Episode: "Crime at Shapely Manor" | |
| 2015 | Tiny Plastic Men | Billy Bland / Billy Blumpie | Episode: "Billy Blumpie" |
| Wander Over Yonder | Sherblorg King | Voice, 2 episodes[5] | |
| Moonbeam City | Accoutrement | Voice, episode: "Lasers and Liars" | |
| The Plateaus | Jimp | 10 episodes; web series | |
| 2016 | Man Seeking Woman | Chainsaw | Episode: "Cactus" |
| The Bagel and Becky Show | Bagel | Voice, 30 episodes[5] | |
| Delmer & Marta | Creston | 8 episodes | |
| 2017 | Billy Dilley's Super-Duper Subterranean Summer | TV Announcer | Voice, episode: "The Mushroom Prince/Count Wretcher"[5] |
| 2017–2018 | Walk the Prank | Mr. Dingley | 7 episodes |
| 2019 | Amphibia | Albus Duckweed | Voice, 3 episodes[5] |
| Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus | Almighty Tallest Purple | Voice, television film[5] | |
| Carter | Russell Langham | Episode: "Harley Insisted On Wearing Pants" | |
| 2023 | Scott Pilgrim Takes Off | The Director | Voice, 3 episodes[5] |
Video games
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Lilo & Stitch: Trouble in Paradise | Agent Wendy Pleakley | Voice |
| 2002 | Lilo & Stitch: Hawaiian Adventure | Agent Wendy Pleakley | Voice |
| 2007 | Catscratch (video game) | Waffle | Voice |
| 2014 | Disney Infinity 2.0 | Agent Wendy Pleakley | Voice, Stitch's Tropical Rescue Toy Box Game |
| 2022 | High on Life | Dr.Giblets | Voice |
Internet web series
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Deep Space 69 | P3-NI5 | Voice (Season 4) |
Theme parks
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Stitch's Great Escape! | Agent Wendy Pleakley | Voice, Short; theme park attraction |
Awards and nominations
[edit]- 1989 - Gemini Award for Best Writing in a Comedy or Variety Program or Series - Won
- 1989 - Gemini Award for Best Performance in a Variety or Performing Arts Program or Series - Won
- 1990 - Gemini Award for Best Writing in a Comedy or Variety Program or Series - Won
- 1992 - Gemini Award for Best Performance in a Comedy Program or Series - Nominated
- 1993 - Gemini Award for Best Performance in a Comedy Program or Series - Won
- 1993 - Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing in a Variety or Music Program - Nominated
- 1993 - CableACE Award - Nominated
- 1994 - Gemini Award for Best Performance in a Comedy Program or Series - Nominated
- 1994 - Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing in a Variety or Music Program - Nominated
- 1995 - Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing in a Variety or Music Program - Nominated
- 1995 - Gemini Award for Best Writing in a Comedy or Variety Program or Series - Nominated
- 1996 - Gemini Award for Best Writing in a Comedy or Variety Program or Series - Nominated
- 1996 - Gemini Award for Best Performance in a Comedy Program or Series - Nominated
- 1998 - Silver Hugo Award for Best Documentary - Won
- 2003 - Gemini Award for Best Performance or Host in a Variety Program or Series - Nominated
References
[edit]- ^ "Kevin McDonald Biography (1961-)". www.filmreference.com.
- ^ "KITHfan.org : Kids in the Hall : Kevin McDonald". www.kithfan.org. Archived from the original on February 15, 2017. Retrieved February 10, 2007.
- ^ a b Freddie Hodges (October 19, 2014). "WTF with Marc Maron Podcast Episode 477 Kevin Macdonald / Kevin McDonald". Archived from the original on December 22, 2021 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Hammy and the Kids". September 6, 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w "Kevin McDonald (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved December 7, 2023. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
External links
[edit]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
- 1961 births
- Living people
- 20th-century Canadian comedians
- 21st-century Canadian comedians
- 20th-century Canadian male actors
- 21st-century Canadian male actors
- Anglophone Quebec people
- Canadian male film actors
- Canadian male television actors
- Canadian male television writers
- Canadian television personalities
- Canadian male voice actors
- Comedians from Montreal
- Canadian sketch comedians
- Male actors from Montreal
- Television personalities from Montreal
- The Kids in the Hall members
- Canadian male comedians
- The Second City Training Center alumni
- Canadian Screen Award winning writers