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Chris O'Donnell
O'Donnell at the premiere of Max Payne in 2008
Born	Christopher Eugene O'Donnell (1970-06-26) June 26, 1970 (age 54) Winnetka, Illinois, U.S.
Alma mater	Boston College (BS)
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1986–present
Spouse	Caroline Fentress ​(m. 1997)​
Children	5

Christopher Eugene O'Donnell (born June 26, 1970) is an American actor who performs in film and television.

He has played numerous roles since Charlie Sims in Scent of a Woman. Others include Chris Reece in School Ties, D'Artagnan in The Three Musketeers, Jack Foley in the drama film Circle of Friends, Dick Grayson/Robin in Batman Forever and Batman & Robin, Jason Brown in Robert Altman's Cookie's Fortune, Peter Garrett in Vertical Limit, and Wardell Pomeroy in Kinsey.

O'Donnell also starred as Special Agent G. Callen on the CBS crime drama television series NCIS: Los Angeles, a spin-off of NCIS from September 2009 to May 2023.

Early life

O'Donnell was born in the Chicago suburb of Winnetka, Illinois, the son of Julie Ann Rohs von Brecht and William Charles O'Donnell Sr., a general manager of WBBM-AM. He is the youngest of seven children, with four sisters and two brothers, and is of German and Irish descent. O'Donnell was raised in a Catholic family and attended Catholic schools. He graduated from Loyola Academy in Wilmette, Illinois in 1988.

O'Donnell attended Boston College and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in marketing in 1992. He had begun modeling at the age of 13 so was comfortable in front of cameras, and also had already made commercials.

Career

O'Donnell had already appeared in numerous commercials as a teenager, advertising Cap'n Crunch cereal and Fruit Roll-Ups snacks. In a McDonald's fast food commercial, he served NBA great Michael Jordan.

An early television series role was an appearance on the TV series Jack and Mike in 1986. In the early 1990s, he appeared in several films including Men Don't Leave (1990), starring Jessica Lange; Fried Green Tomatoes (1991), appearing again with Kathy Bates from Men Don't Leave; School Ties (1992); and Scent of a Woman (1992) with Al Pacino. For the latter he received two nominations: one for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor-Motion Picture (which was won by Gene Hackman for Unforgiven), and one for a Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Most Promising Actor (which he won). He was also named one of the 12 Promising New Actors of 1992 in John Willis's Screen World, Vol. 44.

After appearing in the film Blue Sky (1994), reuniting him with Jessica Lange, he starred in Circle of Friends (1995) with Minnie Driver, Mad Love (1995) with Drew Barrymore, and In Love and War (1996) with Sandra Bullock.

O'Donnell played the character of Dick Grayson/Robin in Batman Forever, in which Barrymore also had a role. Reportedly the field of candidates for the role of Robin included Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jude Law, Ewan McGregor, Corey Haim, Corey Feldman, Toby Stephens, and Scott Speedman.

Casting directors narrowed their choices to O'Donnell and DiCaprio, and finally selected O'Donnell. He reportedly was considered by 20th Century Fox studios to play the lead role of Jack Dawson in Titanic (1997), but that role was won by DiCaprio.

O'Donnell had a starring role in 1996's The Chamber, based on the John Grisham novel of the same name. He reprised his role as Robin in 1997's Batman & Robin. Although it was a box-office success, the movie was critically panned. O'Donnell later said that he did not believe it turned out well.

O'Donnell did not appear in another movie for two years. He was the choice of one of the producers for the role of James Darrell Edwards III/Agent J in Men in Black (1997), but he turned it down as being too similar to his role in Batman Forever. Will Smith played this role. The subsequent films Cookie's Fortune (1999) and The Bachelor (1999) were moderately successful, while Vertical Limit (2000) was a box office hit.

Following a four-year hiatus, O'Donnell returned in 2004 with the widely praised Kinsey. He also appeared in the 2004 episode of Two and a Half Men, entitled "An Old Flame with a New Wick."

O'Donnell took a lead role in the Fox Network television series Head Cases in 2005. The show was the first of the fall 2005 season to be canceled, and only two episodes were aired. He was subsequently cast as veterinarian Finn Dandridge on the ABC medical drama Grey's Anatomy.

O'Donnell featured prominently in the TNT miniseries The Company as CIA case officer Jack McAuliffe, a character who progressed from spoonfed Yale elitist to jaded, post-Cold War cynic. In 2008 O'Donnell appeared in Kit Kittredge: An American Girl as the titular character's father Jack Kittredge, and in Max Payne as Jason Colvin.

Between 2009 and 2023, O'Donnell starred on NCIS: Los Angeles, a spinoff of NCIS, as G. Callen, an NCIS Special Agent in charge of the Office of Special Projects Team stationed in Los Angeles. CBS describes Callen as "a chameleon who transforms himself into whomever he needs to be to infiltrate the criminal underworld."

In 2010, O'Donnell appeared in the sequel to the 2001 movie Cats & Dogs, The Revenge of Kitty Galore.

Personal life

O'Donnell married Caroline Fentress in April 1997 at St. Patrick Church in Washington, D.C. They have five children together.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

1. "Chris O'Donnell Biography – Yahoo! Movies". Movies.yahoo.com. Archived from the original on February 9, 2011. Retrieved May 26, 2011.
2. Kessler, Mike (December 8, 2010). "William C. O'Donnell dies at 88 — Winnetka & Northfield news, photos and events —". Triblocal.com. Archived from the original on June 14, 2012. Retrieved January 18, 2013.
3. Polunsky, Bob. "Express-News Archives : MySA.com".
4. "Actor's roles range from the birds & the bees to just a bird – Robin.(Originated from The Virginian-Pilot)". Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service. April 13, 1995.
5. "Music News". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 13, 2007.
6. "Actor Chris O'Donnell sells seldom-used townhouse here". Chicago Tribune.
7. "Chris O'Donnell from 'NCIS LA': Age, net worth, family, children". November 26, 2021.
8. "Boston College to Celebrate 150 Years with Concert at Symphony Hall". March 19, 2013.
9. ^ "Chris O'Donnell helps Boston College celebrate 150 years". www.boston.com.
10. "Watch! Magazine Photos on CBS" – via www.cbs.com.
11. "'Titanic' Casting: What Other Stars Were Considered For James Cameron's Masterpiece?". HuffPost. June 22, 2012. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
12. Archived September 18, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
13. "Trivia for Men in Black". at the Internet Movie Database. Retrieved October 21, 2007.
14. Andreeva, Nellie (February 27, 2009). "O'Donnell nabs lead role in "NCIS" spin-off". Reuters. Archived from the original on January 7, 2016. Retrieved February 27, 2009.
15. "NCIS Los Angeles". CBS. Retrieved August 11, 2009.
16. Smith, Russel Scott (December 8, 2000). "Chris O'Donnell's Personal High". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
17. Chiu, Alexis (December 18, 2007). "Chris O'Donnell and Wife Have Fifth Baby". People. Retrieved November 5, 2019.
18. "Chris O'Donnell's Daughter Steals the Show on 'NCIS: Los Angeles' Set". ET Online. October 12, 2015.
19. Donahue, Wendy (November 25, 2014). "Johnnie-O label finds sweet spot between East and West Coast prep". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved November 5, 2019.
20. "People's Choice Awards 2017: Full List Of Winners". People's Choice. January 19, 2017. Archived from the original on January 20, 2017. Retrieved January 19, 2017.

External links

• Chris O'Donnell at IMDb
• Chris O'Donnell at the TCM Movie Database
• Chris O'Donnell at the Internet Broadway Database
• Feature article on O'Donnell in June 2008 issue of Men's Vogue

• 1970 births
• Male actors from Illinois
• American male film actors
• American people of German descent
• American people of Irish descent
• American male television actors
• Boston College alumni
• Living people
• Loyola Academy alumni
• People from Winnetka, Illinois
• 20th-century American male actors
• 21st-century American male actors
• People from Northfield, Illinois
• People from Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles
• People from Islesboro, Maine
• Catholics from Illinois
• Catholics from Maine