Kevin Hamilton McDonald (born May 16, 1961) is a Canadian actor, comedian and writer. He is a member of the comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall, who have appeared together in a number of stage, television and film productions, most notably the 1988–1995 TV series The Kids in the Hall. He played Pastor Dave in That '70s Show, and starred as a co-pilot in the 2011 web comedy series Papillon. He also does voice work in animation, most notably as Agent Wendy Pleakley in the Lilo & Stitch franchise, Waffle in Catscratch, and the Almighty Tallest Purple in Invader Zim.
He starred alongside Rodney Dangerfield, Lou Ferrigno and Dom DeLuise as the titular character in the gangster parody film The Godson.
Early life
McDonald was born in Montréal, Québec, the son of Sheila and Hamilton "Hammy" McDonald, who was a dental equipment salesman. He moved to Los Angeles, California, at the age of seven, after his father was transferred there. His family subsequently lived in Toronto, Ontario, as well. McDonald has a younger sister, Sandra.
During an interview on WTF with Marc Maron, McDonald discussed his father's severe alcoholism, which inspired the Kids in the Hall sketches "Daddy Drank" and "Girl Drink Drunk." Although he calls his mother "a wonderful woman," she was nevertheless reluctant to leave his father until Kevin turned 19, when his father's drinking had escalated to two bottles of vodka daily. McDonald, his mother and sister rented an apartment, where they quietly moved their belongings "every night [after his father would] collapse on the stairs." Once they had completely moved, his parents divorced, his father lost his job, went bankrupt and lived in a homeless shelter for a year, during which he abstained from drinking (although he alleged "his roommates were drinking Drano"); coincidentally, McDonald used the same building to rehearse with The Kids in the Hall as they were starting out on stage. His father was able to find employment at a flower shop, then an apartment and, over time, resume his career in dental equipment sales. Eventually, he did drink again, but not to the extent he had earlier in his life. He died of an aneurysm in 2004. McDonald used his relationship with his father as the basis for a one-man show, Hammy and the Kids, in which he said he had no happy ending to the story of his father. However, during an interview with Marc Maron, he said after one performance of his one-man show, he was approached by a stranger who said that he had served his father as a bartender, and that his father mentioned how proud he was of his son, the famous comedian, which moved McDonald to tears "like the ending to a bad movie."
McDonald briefly studied acting at a community college, where he was kicked out for being "a one-legged actor" (i.e. he could perform comedy, but not drama) by a dean who had an amputated leg, and was therefore a literal one-legged actor. However, one of his professors, William B. Davis (who later found fame in his portrayal of Cigarette Smoking Man on The X-Files), saw McDonald's potential and encouraged him to pursue improv comedy by giving him the number to The Second City in Toronto.
Filmography
Film
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|- style="background:LightSteelBlue; text-align:center;"
! Year !! Title !! Role !! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1987 || Distant Horizons || Lonely Met Tech || Video
|-
| 1995 || National Lampoon's Senior Trip || Travis Lindsey ||
|-
| 1996 || Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy || Dr. Chris Cooper / Doreen / Chris' dad / Lacey ||
|-
| 1997 || data-sort-value="Wrong Guy, The" | The Wrong Guy || Motel Manager ||
|-
| rowspan=2|1998 || Boy Meets Girl || Jack ||
|-
| data-sort-value="Godson, The" | The Godson || Guppy Calzone ||
|-
| 1999 || Galaxy Quest || Announcer ||
|-
| 2000 || data-sort-value="Ladies Man, The" | The Ladies Man || Mail Man ||
|-
| 2002 || Lilo & Stitch || rowspan="2" | Agent Wendy Pleakley || Voice
|-
| 2003 || Stitch! The Movie || Voice, direct-to-video
|}
Video games
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|- style="background:LightSteelBlue; text-align:center;"
! Year !! Title !! Role !! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 2002 || Lilo & Stitch: Trouble in Paradise || rowspan="2" | Agent Wendy Pleakley || rowspan="3" | Voice
|-
| 2002 || Lilo & Stitch: Hawaiian Adventure
|-
| 2007 || Catscratch || Waffle
|-
| 2014 || Disney Infinity 2.0 || Agent Wendy Pleakley || Voice, Stitch's Tropical Rescue Toy Box Game
|-
| 2022 || High on Life || Dr.Giblets || Voice
|}
Internet web series
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|- style="background:LightSteelBlue; text-align:center;"
! Year !! Title !! Role !! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 2018 || Deep Space 69 || P3-NI5 || Voice (Season 4)
|-
|}
Theme parks
{| class="wikitable"
|- style="background:LightSteelBlue; text-align:center;"
! Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes
|-
| 2004 || Stitch's Great Escape! || Agent Wendy Pleakley || Voice, Short; theme park attraction
|}
Awards and nominations
- 1989 - Gemini Award for Best Writing in a Comedy or Variety Program or Series - Won
- 1989 - Gemini Award for Best Performance in a Variety or Performing Arts Program or Series - Won
- 1990 - Gemini Award for Best Writing in a Comedy or Variety Program or Series - Won
- 1992 - Gemini Award for Best Performance in a Comedy Program or Series - Nominated
- 1993 - Gemini Award for Best Performance in a Comedy Program or Series - Won
- 1993 - Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing in a Variety or Music Program - Nominated
- 1993 - CableACE Award - Nominated
- 1994 - Gemini Award for Best Performance in a Comedy Program or Series - Nominated
- 1994 - Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing in a Variety or Music Program - Nominated
- 1995 - Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing in a Variety or Music Program - Nominated
- 1995 - Gemini Award for Best Writing in a Comedy or Variety Program or Series - Nominated
- 1996 - Gemini Award for Best Writing in a Comedy or Variety Program or Series - Nominated
- 1996 - Gemini Award for Best Performance in a Comedy Program or Series - Nominated
- 1998 - Silver Hugo Award for Best Documentary - Won
- 2003 - Gemini Award for Best Performance or Host in a Variety Program or Series - Nominated