# Kevin McDonald
**Kevin McDonald** (full name Kevin Hamilton McDonald) is a Canadian actor and comedian born in 1961 in Montréal, Québec, best known as a member of the five-man sketch comedy troupe [The Kids in the Hall](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-kids-in-the-hall). He played the scientist hero Dr. [Chris Cooper](https://www.edgepedia.org/chris-cooper) in the troupe's 1996 feature film *Brain Candy*, voiced Pleakley in the *Lilo & Stitch* franchise, and has been a frequent guest performer on American television sitcoms.
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1961, Montréal, Québec, Canada[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0567852/bio/) |
| Full name | Kevin Hamilton McDonald[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0567852/bio/) |
| Troupe | Co-founded The Kids in the Hall in 1984 with Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Mark McKinney, and Scott Thompson[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0567852/bio/) • [2](https://www.tribute.ca/people/biography/kevin-mcdonald/9102/) |
| TV series | The Kids in the Hall ran in Canada and the US from 1989 to 1995, produced by Lorne Michaels[3](https://www.onstageblog.com/editorials/2019/8/14/from-kids-in-the-hall-to-off-broadway-an-interview-with-kevin-mcdonald) |
| Feature lead | Dr. Chris Cooper in *The Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy* (1996)[4](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/kevin-mcdonald/) |
| Voice role | Pleakley in *Lilo & Stitch* (2002)[4](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/kevin-mcdonald/) |
| Revival | Appeared in the 2022 Amazon season, the first season of *The Kids in the Hall* since 1995[5](https://time.com/6180392/best-tv-shows-may-2022/) |
## Early life and formation of the troupe
McDonald grew up idolizing [Albert Brooks](https://www.edgepedia.org/albert-brooks), Mel Brooks, and [Woody Allen](https://www.edgepedia.org/woody-allen)[3](https://www.onstageblog.com/editorials/2019/8/14/from-kids-in-the-hall-to-off-broadway-an-interview-with-kevin-mcdonald). He enrolled as a drama major at Humber College in Toronto but was kicked out for, by his own account, only being good at comedy[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0567852/bio/). A teacher recommended Toronto's Second City improv workshop, where he met [Dave Foley](https://www.edgepedia.org/dave-foley); the two began working as a comedy team while employed as movie ushers at an art house theater[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0567852/bio/) • [6](https://kithfan.org/kith/kevin.html). In 1984 they merged with another comedy team and formed The Kids in the Hall with Bruce McCulloch, Mark McKinney, and Scott Thompson[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0567852/bio/). The group's name comes from what Jack Benny used to call the young writers who tried to sell him gags[4](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/kevin-mcdonald/).
## The Kids in the Hall
The troupe was discovered by Toronto native [Lorne Michaels](https://www.edgepedia.org/lorne-michaels), who produced their television series, which ran on Canadian television and in the United States on HBO, CBS, and [Comedy Central](https://www.edgepedia.org/comedy-central)[4](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/kevin-mcdonald/). McDonald dates the discovery to a specific stretch of work: the troupe performed from 1984 to 1985, wrote new sketches every week for a year, and in the summer of 1985 rented a theater for a Best Of show that drew big reviews just as Michaels, returning to *Saturday Night Live* after five years away, sent talent scouts to Toronto[3](https://www.onstageblog.com/editorials/2019/8/14/from-kids-in-the-hall-to-off-broadway-an-interview-with-kevin-mcdonald). The show's hallmarks included surreal, ribald sketches and monologues of obscure pop-culture references, and a signature in which the male cast played female characters as fully developed personas rather than drag spectacle[4](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/kevin-mcdonald/).
McDonald's hyper-kinetic style and high-pitched voice placed him in many of the troupe's most surreal sketches[4](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/kevin-mcdonald/) • [7](https://www.avclub.com/kevin-mcdonald-1798221440). Characters he originated include Sir Simon Milligan, and Dean, the King of Empty Promises, which he based on himself and modeled on the way he impersonated Paul Bellini[7](https://www.avclub.com/kevin-mcdonald-1798221440) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0567852/bio/). In a 2010 profile, the A.V. Club noted that the rest of the group has long pointed to McDonald as its funniest member; Scott Thompson once observed that McDonald seems like he was "created in a comedy blender"[7](https://www.avclub.com/kevin-mcdonald-1798221440).
## Film work
McDonald was the first Kid to pursue an independent feature career, with a debut in *National Lampoon's Senior Trip* (1995) that he himself dismissed as "a pretty bad movie"[4](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/kevin-mcdonald/). He followed it with roles in the Canadian independents *Dinner at Fred's* (1997) and *Boy Meets Girl* (1998), and appeared in cameos in *Galaxy Quest* (1999) and *The Ladies Man* (2000)[4](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/kevin-mcdonald/).
**Brain Candy (1996).** In the troupe's feature film, McDonald played the lead, scientist Dr. Chris Cooper. He has said the part was harder and easier than his usual troupe work: easier because he escaped the hours of hair and makeup, harder because he was in every scene, and he has reflected that the role might have suited Dave Foley better[7](https://www.avclub.com/kevin-mcdonald-1798221440).
He also voiced Pleakley in the animated feature *Lilo & Stitch* (2002), a role he has continued in the franchise[4](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/kevin-mcdonald/) • [8](https://www.straight.com/arts/kids-in-halls-kevin-mcdonald-is-ready-to-get-unhinged-at-improv-centre).
## Television and voice work
McDonald has been a steady guest presence on series television[4](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/kevin-mcdonald/). His appearances include small parts in sitcoms such as *Friends* and *Arrested Development*, a 1997 *Seinfeld* episode as the "Denim Vest", and a recurring role as Pastor Dave on *That '70s Show*, a part created for him after [Topher Grace](https://www.edgepedia.org/topher-grace), a Kids fan, saw the troupe's 2000 comeback tour; he played the character in six episodes[7](https://www.avclub.com/kevin-mcdonald-1798221440). His distinctive voice has appeared in cartoons from *Invader ZIM* to *[WordGirl](https://www.edgepedia.org/wordgirl)*[7](https://www.avclub.com/kevin-mcdonald-1798221440). In the eight-part miniseries *Death Comes to Town*, he played a forgetful delivery driver and a defense attorney devoted to his dying cat[7](https://www.avclub.com/kevin-mcdonald-1798221440).
In May 2022, the sketch-comedy quintet of Foley, Thompson, McDonald, McCulloch, and McKinney released eight new episodes on Amazon, the first season of *The Kids in the Hall* since 1995[5](https://time.com/6180392/best-tv-shows-may-2022/).
## Solo work and teaching
Since the troupe's original run, McDonald has performed solo shows of comic monologues, including *Kevin McDonald ALIVE on 42nd Street*, which premiered [Off-Broadway](https://www.edgepedia.org/off-broadway) in New York[3](https://www.onstageblog.com/editorials/2019/8/14/from-kids-in-the-hall-to-off-broadway-an-interview-with-kevin-mcdonald). His solo material mixes true but exaggerated stories with original songs; he has described himself as musically self-taught, having first picked up a guitar at 32 with a Beatles fake book[3](https://www.onstageblog.com/editorials/2019/8/14/from-kids-in-the-hall-to-off-broadway-an-interview-with-kevin-mcdonald). He has also created more esoteric projects, including a rock opera, *Kevin McDonald: Superstar*[8](https://www.straight.com/arts/kids-in-halls-kevin-mcdonald-is-ready-to-get-unhinged-at-improv-centre).
**Teaching sketch comedy.** McDonald teaches two-day master classes, eight hours a day, in writing sketches through improv, the method the Kids used as a stage act in the mid-1980s[9](https://indyweek.com/news/culture/art/interview-kids-hall-s-kevin-mcdonald-headlines-nc-comedy-arts-festival/). His teaching emphasizes that every sketch begins with a one-line premise[10](https://www.dallasobserver.com/arts/we-learned-sketch-comedy-from-kevin-mcdonald-at-dallas-stomping-ground-comedy-theater-11206415). His stated advice to aspiring comedians is to perform constantly, because "lucky breaks" happen two or three times a year and only a prepared performer recognizes them[3](https://www.onstageblog.com/editorials/2019/8/14/from-kids-in-the-hall-to-off-broadway-an-interview-with-kevin-mcdonald).
In recent years he has lived in Winnipeg, Manitoba[3](https://www.onstageblog.com/editorials/2019/8/14/from-kids-in-the-hall-to-off-broadway-an-interview-with-kevin-mcdonald). In 2018 he filmed the independent comedy *Boys vs Girls*, set at a 1990s summer camp during its first summer after going co-ed, with fellow comedian [Colin Mochrie](https://www.edgepedia.org/colin-mochrie) and director Mike Stasko[11](https://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/201/300/519_magazine/2020/30-519Dec2020web.pdf?nodisclaimer=1).
## References
1. [Kevin McDonald Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0567852/bio/)
2. [Kevin McDonald biography and filmography | Kevin McDonald movies](https://www.tribute.ca/people/biography/kevin-mcdonald/9102/)
3. [From Kids In The Hall to Off-Broadway: An Interview with Kevin McDonald, OnStage Blog](https://www.onstageblog.com/editorials/2019/8/14/from-kids-in-the-hall-to-off-broadway-an-interview-with-kevin-mcdonald)
4. [Kevin McDonald - Actor, Comedian, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/kevin-mcdonald/)
5. [The 5 Best New TV Shows Our Critic Watched in May 2022, TIME](https://time.com/6180392/best-tv-shows-may-2022/)
6. [KITHfan.org: Kids in the Hall - Kevin McDonald](https://kithfan.org/kith/kevin.html)
7. [Kevin McDonald, The A.V. Club (Random Roles, 2010)](https://www.avclub.com/kevin-mcdonald-1798221440)
8. [The Kids in the Hall's Kevin McDonald is ready to get "Unhinged" at The Improv Centre, Georgia Straight](https://www.straight.com/arts/kids-in-halls-kevin-mcdonald-is-ready-to-get-unhinged-at-improv-centre)
9. [Interview: The Kids in the Hall's Kevin McDonald headlines the NC Comedy Arts Festival, INDY Week](https://indyweek.com/news/culture/art/interview-kids-hall-s-kevin-mcdonald-headlines-nc-comedy-arts-festival/)
10. [We Learned Sketch Comedy From Kevin McDonald, Dallas Observer](https://www.dallasobserver.com/arts/we-learned-sketch-comedy-from-kevin-mcdonald-at-dallas-stomping-ground-comedy-theater-11206415)
11. [519 Magazine, December 2020 (Library and Archives Canada)](https://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/201/300/519_magazine/2020/30-519Dec2020web.pdf?nodisclaimer=1)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Theater and dance › Stand-up comedy and comedians*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license