In an age when celebrities seem willing to confess every and all of their foibles and failings, Chris O'Donnell seems like an anomaly. Variously labeled by the press as "The Last Boy Scout" or "Mr. Squeaky Clean", he is an actor whose ordinary, decent personal life has translated to the screen in wholesome, regular guy roles. Blandly attractive, but possessing enough gravity to be a compelling screen presence, he has provided able support to some of cinema's powerful personalities (e.g., Jessica Lange, Al Pacino) as well as proving a successful light comedian, It was only when he attempted to translate his straight-laced, preppy persona and instinctual approach to performing into a dramatic leading man (as in 1997's "The Chamber") that he stumbled.

The Chicago-area native began his career as a juvenile model after learning that a female classmate earned $60 for a session. Armed with head shots and determination, the blond, blue-eyed O'Donnell soon landed print ads for Marshall Field's department stores. Local TV commercials soon followed before he landed his first professional acting role in a 1986 episode of the ABC series "Jack and Mike" (which was shot in Chicago). Although he preferred to attend crew practice than audition for his breakthrough debut screen role as Jessica Lange's teenage son in "Men Don't Leave" (shot in 1988; released in 1990), O'Donnell subsequently nailed the part and his career began to blossom. He was briefly seen in "Fried Green Tomatoes" (1991) as the doomed brother of Idgie Threadgoode (Mary Stuart Masterson) and offered a fine turn as a preppie rooming with a Jewish student (Brendan Fraser) in "School Ties" (1992), roles which typecast him.

"Scent of a Woman" (1992) also played off his altar-boy looks, casting him as a student reluctantly shanghaied into accompanying a belligerent blind military officer (Al Pacino) to NYC. Although Pacino's histrionics threatened to blow him off the screen, O'Donnell managed to hold the screen, projecting a quiet strength that fit the character. Attempting to shift gears, the actor accepted the role of the callow D'Artagnan in yet another remake of "The Three Musketeers" (1993) but he was upstaged by his more flamboyant co-stars Charlie Sheen and Kiefer Sutherland as well as an ill-advised curly hairdo. Rebounding, O'Donnell tapped his familial Irish roots to portray a big man on campus who catches the eye of an overweight dreamer in "Circle of Friends" (1995). Further honing his chops as a romantic leading man, he was paired with wild child Drew Barrymore in "Mad Love" (also 1995) in Antonia Bird's study of a misunderstood teenage couple. With the same year's revisionist "Batman Forever", O'Donnell allowed his natural charisma to come to the fore as circus acrobat Dick Grayson whom he essayed with the right notes of rebellious cockiness that played off Val Kilmer's stoic Caped Crusader. Attempting to stretch his thespian muscles further, he stumbled as an inexperienced lawyer attempting to save his racist grandfather from Death Row in "The Chamber" and was miscast as the young Ernest Hemingway (opposite Sandra Bullock) in the biographical romance "In Love and War" (both 1996). Following a reprise of his sidekick (this time to George Clooney) in the overproduced and confusing mess "Batman & Robin" (1997), O'Donnell withdrew from showbiz to get married and enjoy quality time with his bride. He returned to the screen as a goofy deputy investigating a possible homicide while romancing the deceased's granddaughter in Robert Altman's Southern Gothic comedy "Cookie's Fortune" (1999). Later that year, under the auspices of his George Street Films, he made his producing debut on "The Bachelor", a romantic comedy loosely based on the 1925 Buster Keaton vehicle "Seven Chances". In the film, O'Donnell starred as a reluctant groom who must marry within a 24-hour period in order to inherit his grandfather's multi-million dollar estate. He then segued to the action adventure "Vertical Limit" (2000), playing a mountaineer who comes out of retirement to save his sister who is trapped in a vertical cave on a climb in the Himalayas.

• Also Credited As:
  Christopher Eugene O'Donnell
• Born:
  June 26, 1970 in Winnetka, Illinois
• Job Titles:
  Actor, Model

Family

• Daughter: Lily Anne O'Donnell. born September 3, 1999 in Christchurch, New Zealand; mother, Caroline Fentress
• Father: William O'Donnell Sr.
• Mother: Julie O'Donnell.
• Son: Charles McHugh O'Donnell. born July 11, 2003 in Los Angeles, California; mother, Caroline Fentress
• Son: Christopher Eugene O'Donnell Jr. born October 24, 2000; mother, Caroline Fentress
• Son: Finley O'Donnell. born March 24, 2006; mother, Caroline Fentress

Significant Others

• Companion: Reese Witherspoon. reportedly dated briefly

Education

• University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California

Milestones

• 1983 Began modeling and appearing in local TV commercials
• 1986 Professional acting debut in an episode of ABC-TV drama series, "Jack and Mike"
• 1987 Appeared in TV commericals for McDonald's
• 1988 Cast in first feature as Jessica Lange's teenage son in "Men Don't Leave" (released in 1990)
• 1990 Again co-starred with Jessica Lange in "Blue Sky" (released theatrically in 1994); played the boyfriend of Lange's onscreen daughter Amy Locane
• 1992 Appeared in the ensemble of "School Ties", playing the WASPy roommate of a Jewish student at an elite prep school; cast included Brendan Fraser, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and Amy Locane
• 1992 Co-starred with Al Pacino, playing a student assigned to escort a bitter, blind former military officer on a trip to NYC
• 1995 Cast as Dick Grayson/Robin to Val Kilmer's Bruce Wayne/Batman in "Batman Forever", helmed by Joel Schumacher
• 1995 Played the romantic lead opposite Minnie Driver in "Circle of Friends"
• 1995 TV debut, hosted "Riddle Me This: Why Is Batman Forever?", an ABC "making of" special
• 1996 Offered a fine turn as an inexperienced lawyer out to save his racist grandfather from Death Row in "The Chamber", adapted from a John Grisham novel
• 1996 Portrayed a young Ernest Hemingway in the based-on-fact WWI love story "In Love and War"
• 1997 Formed production company, George Street Pictures; entered into producing agreement with Warner Bros.
• 1997 Reprised Dick Grayson/Robin, opposite George Clooney's Bruce Wayne/Batman in "Batman & Robin", directed by Schumacher
• 1999 Debut as feature executive producer, "The Bachelor", loosely inspired by the Buster Keaton film "Seven Chances"; also starred as a single man who must marry with a 24-hour period in order to inherit millions
• 1999 Returned to the big screen in supporting role of a cop romancing Liv Tyler in "Cookie's Fortune", director Robert Altman's Southern Gothic comedy
• 1999 TV debut as executive producer, "The Miracle on the 17th Green" (CBS)
• 2000 Starred in the action adventure "Vertical Limit", playing a crack mountain climber who must rescue his sister
• 2001 Appeared at Williamstown Theatre Festival in production of Arthur Miller's play "The Man Who Had All the Luck"; reprised role on Broadway in spring 2002
• 2003 Had a recurring role on the ABC drama, "The Practice"
• 2004 Guest starred on the CBS comedy "Two and a Half Men," as a transsexual
• 2004 Portayed researcher Wardell Pomeroy in "Kinsey" which starred Liam Neeson as Alfred Kinsey, a pioneer in the area of human sexuality research
• 2006 Cast as a lead in "The Company," a limited TNT series about the Cold War-era CIA
• 2006 Guest-starred on the ABC medical drama, "Grey's Anatomy"
• Grew up in Winnetka, Illinois near Chicago's north shore
• Took hiatus from film acting, reportedly turning down a role in "Men in Black" (1997)

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