Keir O'Donnell explained

Keir O'Donnell
Occupation:Actor
Nationality:Australian, American
Years Active:2002–present

Keir O'Donnell is an Australian–American actor, best known for his roles in the films Wedding Crashers, The Break-Up, and American Sniper as well as numerous television appearances.

Early life

O'Donnell attended high school at The Bromfield School, and was involved in numerous productions both on the festival circuit and in community theater.[1] In 1996 he was awarded a Massachusetts High School Drama Guild Acting Scholarship. Upon graduation he joined the first class of the newly created four-year classical theatre acting conservatory at The Hartt School in Hartford, Connecticut. The Hartt School of Theatre was established by Malcolm Morrison and Alan Rust (North Carolina School of the Arts). At the Hartt School he performed in numerous plays including Three Sisters, Lysistrata, Twelfth Night, Philadelphia Here I Come, and played Romeo in Romeo and Juliet opposite Hannah Mello. He graduated in 2000 and was accepted to the Hartford Stage Co. Regional Theatre, where he appeared in Macbeth and A Christmas Carol. In the fall of 2001 he was cast as a lead in the US premiere of The Man Who Never Yet Saw Woman's Nakedness by Moritz Rinke, at The Odyssey Theatre in West Los Angeles.

Feature films

After several student and independent films, O'Donnell landed the role of Todd Cleary in Wedding Crashers. The film went on to become the highest grossing R-rated comedy of all time. Not long after Crashers, Vince Vaughn invited O'Donnell to join him on the road for his Wild West Comedy Tour, a tour that hit 30 cities in 30 days across the country. O'Donnell would appear on stage with Vaughn as a special guest doing improv skits. The tour was filmed and can be seen as the documentary: Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Show.

In 2002, he played the role of Todd Jarvis in the movie Splat!, a troubled teen who played paintball to help him succeed. O'Donnell re-teamed with Vaughn for The Break-Up. O'Donnell costarred in the indie comedy Flakes with Zooey Deschanel, which premiered at the 2007 South By Southwest Film Festival. O'Donnell also appeared in Henry Bean's film Noise, which was featured at the 2008 Toronto Film Festival. He appeared as the villain Veck Simms in and appeared in the 2010 romantic comedy, When in Rome, with Kristen Bell and Josh Duhamel. The same year he had a cameo in The Mother of Invention.

O'Donnell had his directorial debut in 2024, with Marmalade.

Television work

O'Donnell made guest appearances on Lost, CSI, The Closer, and United States of Tara. He made several appearances on the first season of the FX series Sons of Anarchy. He appeared in an episode of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, which aired on 2 October 2008. He was part of the ensemble cast of the short-lived ABC documentary-style dramedy, My Generation (2010), developed by Noah Hawley, and later had recurring roles on Hawley's other series Fargo and Legion.[2] In 2011, he had a recurring role on the Showtime series United States of Tara, appearing for the second half of the third season as Evan, Kate's love interest. In 2013, he made a guest appearance on NCIS playing Ramsey Boone.

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
2002In Your FaceTodd Jarvis
2004StarkweatherBob Von Buch
2005Wedding CrashersTodd Cleary
2006Paul Grant
2007FlakesStuart
2007What We Do Is SecretChris Ashford
2007After SexDavid
2007DeadboxTucker
2008Bar StarzDick
2008PathologyBen Stravinsky
2008AmusementThe Laugh
2009Veck Simms
2009Taking ChancesDigger Morris
2009CivilEverette HigginsShort
2009Tears of a Child Villain
2010
2010When in RomeFather Dino
2010Miss NobodyL.J. Feffer
2010No DealKyganVideo short
2011Ralph WinstonShort
2012Free SamplesDanny
2012ComplacentThomas Pulchek
2013WormDustin (voice)
2013EliotAlso writer & producer
2014Dawn of the Planet of the ApesFinney
2014Bound for GreatnessDarren MeadowsWorld Music & Independent Film Festival Award - Best Lead Actor in a Short Film
2014Speed DatingRickyShort
2014American SniperJeff Kyle
2015Return to SenderTony DesantosVideo
2015David Ramirez: Rock and a Hard PlaceBenShort
2015In the NightA.P.Short
2016IncarnateOliver
2017GiftedBradley Pollard
2017Heart, BabyRandy
2020The DryGreg Raco
2022AmbulanceFBI Agent Anson Clark
2024MarmaladeWriter & director

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
20048 Simple RulesDerek"Mall in the Family"
2004LostThomas"Raised by Another"
2005Killer InstinctChester"Shake, Rattle, and Roll"
2006Ken Richmond"Up in Smoke"
2006Gerald Curtis"No Good Deed"
2006Introducing Lennie RoseHarperTV film
2007It's a Mall WorldDennisTV miniseries
2008It's Always Sunny in PhiladelphiaJan"Mac and Charlie Die: Part 2"
2008Sons of AnarchyLowell Harland Jr.Recurring role
2009FlashForwardNed Ned"Black Swan"
2010Ghosts/AliensMike StevensTV film
2010My GenerationKenneth FinleyMain role
2011United States of TaraEvanRecurring role
2012Daniel FlynnTV film
2012Stuart"Street Revenge"
2013NCISRamsey Boone"Prime Suspect"
2013CalifornicationBeckett Fetch"Blind Faith"
2013MaronMatt"Mexican Angel"
2014Rizzoli & IslesCraig Johnson"Tears of a Clown"
2015Masters of SexVincent"Two Scents"
2015FargoBen SchmidtRecurring role
2016Niccolò Machiavelli / John Wilkes Booth"Mona Lisa", "Lincoln"
2017Sun RecordsDewey PhillipsTV series
2017–19LegionDaniel3 episodes
2017Ray DonovanGeorge WinslowRecurring (Season 5)
2018Drunk HistoryMullenEpisode: "Death"
2019Into the DarkLarry AdamsEpisode: "I'm Just F*cking With You"
2024William Barlowe[3] Season 5 Episode 13: PowderFinger

Notes and References

  1. Web site: archivenew.html. Harvardtheatre.org. 3 March 2014.
  2. Web site: ABC Unveils 2010–11 Primetime Schedule. 18 May 2010. The Futon Critic. 29 May 2010.
  3. Web site: "FBI: Most Wanted" Powderfinger (TV Episode 2024) - IMDb . .