Born on February 15, 1955 in New York City, Christopher McDonald is an actor who has earned a reputation for playing pompous, arrogant and villainous roles. Although often landing supporting roles, he has more than 85 films and television credits to his name and has been able to successfully portray a wide range of characters.
Christopher McDonald’s credits include Grease 2, The Perfect Storm, The Theory of the Leisure Class 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. But among all his projects, he is perhaps best known for playing Shooter McGavin in Happy Gilmore and Tappy Tibbons in Requiem for a Dream. Additionally, McDonald was featured as Ward Cleaver in the movie version of Leave It to Beaver and famous baseball broadcaster Mel Allen in 61*, as well as an aggressive Russian mafia villain alongside Charlie Sheen in the 1994 film Terminal Velocity.In 2011, he joined the cast of NBC's Harry's Law.
In between roles, Christopher McDonald also graced the realm of television, landing recurring roles and guest stints on series like Family Law, North Shore and Veronica’s Closet. He also appeared on Cracking Up, Las Vegas, The Sopranos, Home Improvement and as Lt. Richard Castillo in the season 3 episode “Yesterday's Enterprise” of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
As a voice actor, Christopher McDonald has also carved a niche for himself in the world of animation. Aside from lending his voice to 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 served as Hego in Kim Possible.
Christopher McDonald is presently married to Lupe Gidley and is living in Southern California with his wife and four children.