For other persons named Kevin McDonald, see Kevin McDonald (disambiguation).
Kevin Hamilton McDonald (born May 16, 1961) is a Canadian comedian and actor, known as a member of the Canadian sketch comedy group Kids in the Hall.
McDonald was born in Montreal, Quebec 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 an older sister.
McDonald founded Kids in the Hall with friend Dave Foley, and the two wrote and performed in sketches together more than any other pair in the group. In the troupe's television series and stage shows, he portrays several popular recurring characters, such as the King of Empty Promises, Sir Simon Milligan, and Jerry Sizzler. Still, it is a frequent running gag that McDonald is the least popular member and always struggling not to get kicked out.
Since the Kids in the Hall show's end in 1994, he has played many small roles in films including Boys First Time 2 and Agent Pleakley the cross-dressing alien in Lilo & Stitch, a role which has continued into three direct-to-video movies and Lilo & Stitch: The Series.
On television, he has appeared on The Martin Short Show, Ellen (as a radio personality), That '70s Show (as a confused young cleric), Seinfeld, Friends (as 'The Guru', a doctor who magically removes Ross's weird skin abnormality), NewsRadio (on which Dave Foley starred), Arrested Development, and Corner Gas. He has done voice work for various animated series. Kevin's also supplied the voice of Almighty Tallest Purple on the Nickelodeon cartoon Invader Zim. He appeared on the short-lived Clerks animated series and guest-starred on The Angry Beavers (also on Nick) as an insane zookeeper who conversed with a ballpoint pen, as well as Waffle, on the new Nick show Catscratch. He also played an imaginary friend named Ivan in the episode Sight For Sore Eyes on Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, and appeared in the music video for "Roses" by Outkast.
In 2006 McDonald hosted a CBC TV special, featuring several of Canada's best sketch comedy troupes. "Sketch with Kevin McDonald" won a Canadian Comedy Award (Best Taped Live Performance - The Minnesota Wrecking Crew), with The Imponderables nominated for the same award.
During his youth he had a weight problem. It wasn't until just prior to the Kids' TV show in the late 1980s that he went from overweight to rather skinny. Several sketches and monologues allude to the issue, and a stockier McDonald can be seen in archival footage on the Kids in the Hall on DVD box sets.
