About Christopher McDonald
Christopher McDonald (born February 15, 1955) is an American actor. He is best known for his villainous role as professional golfer Shooter McGavin in the 1996 sports comedy Happy Gilmore, a role he reprised in its 2025 sequel. Other notable starring roles for McDonald in film include "T-Birds" member Goose McKenzie in Grease 2 (1982), Darryl Dickinson opposite his former fiancée Geena Davis in Thelma & Louise (1991), Ward Cleaver in the film adaptation Leave It to Beaver (1997), Kent Mansley in The Iron Giant (1999), and Tappy Tibbons in Requiem for a Dream (2000). Along with numerous independent and small-budget film roles, he played supporting characters in box-office hits Grumpy Old Men (1993), Flubber (1997), Rumor Has It (2005), The House Bunny (2008) and About Last Night (2014). On television, McDonald was a series regular on network TV shows Walter & Emily (1991–1992), Good Advice (1993–1994), Family Law (1999–2002), Cracking Up (2004) and Harry's Law (2011–2012). In 2022 and 2026, McDonald was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his role as casino CEO Marty Ghilain on the HBO Max show Hacks. McDonald has portrayed several notable real-life people, including game show host Jack Barry in Quiz Show (1994), mountaineer Jon Krakauer in Into Thin Air: Death on Everest on ABC (1997), sportscaster Mel Allen in the HBO film 61* (2001), baseball player Joe DiMaggio in ESPN's The Bronx Is Burning (2007), U.S. Attorney General Harry M. Daugherty on HBO's Boardwalk Empire (2010–2012), 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 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.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.