Christopher McDonald

In 1978, McDonald appeared, as a contestant, on The Dating Game. McDonald has numerous film and television roles, often as a supporting actor and often portraying villains. His credits include Grease 2 (1982), Breakin' (1984), Where the Boys Are '84 (1984), The Boys Next Door (1985), Outrageous Fortune (1987), Thelma & Louise (1991), Fatal Instinct (1993), Grumpy Old Men (1993), Quiz Show (1994), the HBO film The Tuskegee Airmen (1995), Happy Gilmore (1996), Celtic Pride (1996), House Arrest (1996), Flubber (1997), Dirty Work (1998), The Faculty (1998), The Skulls (2000), The Perfect Storm (2000), Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams (2002), Broken Flowers (2005), Rumor Has It (2005), American Pie Presents: The Naked Mile (2006), American Pie Presents: Beta House (2007), and Superhero Movie (2008). In 1994, he starred in the film Terminal Velocity as an aggressive Russian mafia villain. He was featured as Ward Cleaver in the film version of Leave It to Beaver (1997). He also played Tappy Tibbons in Requiem for a Dream (2000), and was in The House Bunny (2008) and About Last Night (2014).

In television, along with a starring role on the TV series Walter & Emily (1991–1992), Family Law (1999–2002), Cracking Up (2004-2006), and recurring roles on North Shore (2004), Veronica's Closet (1997-1999), Good Advice (1993–1994), and Harry's Law (2011–2012), McDonald has also made guest appearances on Matlock, Cheers, Riptide, Knight Rider, The Sopranos, Psych, both the 1985 and the 2002 versions of The Twilight Zone, Home Improvement, Las Vegas, the Law & Order franchise, Stargate Universe, and Star Trek: The Next Generation. He also played the eponymous lead in Peter Gabriel's 2002 music video for the song "The Barry Williams Show".

McDonald has also done voice work, including Jor-El in Superman: The Animated Series and Justice League Unlimited, and an older version of Superman in Batman Beyond. He also voiced the determined government agent Kent Mansley in the animated film The Iron Giant (1999). He subbed for Burt Reynolds as Boss Hogg in The Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning (2007). In 2009, McDonald lent his voice talents in the Thomas Nelson audio Bible production known as The Word of Promise. In this dramatized audio, McDonald played the role of Luke.

McDonald replaced Robert De Niro in the Midnight Run film franchise, playing Jack Walsh in three 1994 films: Another Midnight Run, Midnight Runaround, and Midnight Run for Your Life. He portrayed mountaineer Jon Krakauer in the ABC film Into Thin Air: Death on Everest (1997), famous baseball broadcaster Mel Allen in the HBO film 61* (2001), baseball player Joe DiMaggio in the ESPN original series The Bronx Is Burning (2007) and U.S. Attorney General Harry M. Daugherty on HBO's Boardwalk Empire (2010–2012). In October 2013, McDonald started filming for A Conspiracy on Jekyll Island. Under the title The Crash, it was released direct-to-video in 2017. McDonald also played Texas revolution soldier Henry Karnes in History Channel's Texas Rising (2015), and Clinton lawyer Robert S. Bennett on FX's Impeachment: American Crime Story (2021).

McDonald appeared as Murphy in the Broadway show The Front Page at the Broadhurst Theater, which opened in late 2016.

In 2021, McDonald joined the cast of Hacks on HBO Max as Las Vegas casino owner Marty Ghilain, where he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his role. In May 2021, he was cast in the Disney+ series Secret Invasion, set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. which premiered in 2023. In 2023, McDonald appeared in the music video for country music duo The Reklaws' song "Honky Tonkin' About" with Drake Milligan.