Christopher McDonald: Biography

In feature films, supporting actor Christopher McDonald first specialized in playing adolescents in films such as Grease 2 (1982) and Breakin' (1984). Playing adult roles by the 1990s, he tended to be typecast as rather ordinary but occasionally sneaky characters, as in Thelma and Louise (1991), in which he played Geena Davis' demanding husband. Before immersing himself in an acting career, the New York City-born and -raised McDonald studied premed at Hobart College. After gaining experience in a touring production of the musical Nightclub Cantata, he settled in Los Angeles. In 1984, he spent 18 months studying drama in London and, after returning to Southern California, found himself busier than ever in films and as a television guest star. By the early '90s, the versatile young actor's career had turned almost exclusively toward film roles, the most memorable of which include his portrayal of game show emcee Jack Barry in Robert Redford's Quiz Show (1994) and McDonald's dead-on but dark turn as television dad Ward Cleaver in the film version of Leave It to Beaver (1997). ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide