Michael McDonald
Michael James McDonald (born December 31, 1964) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, screenwriter, and director. He is best known for starring in the sketch comedy show MADtv. He was also a writer, director, and producer of the ABC TV series Cougar Town. His best known movie roles are as Little John in Halloween Kills, Ronovan Scargle in The Happy time Murders, Jonathan in Ghostbusters (2016), Bryce Crean in The Boss, Patrick in Spy, Julian in The Heat, and small roles in each Austin Powers movie. He graduated from USC with a degree in Business and became a loan officer at a bank in Los Angeles. A friend took him to see a sketch comedy/improv show at L.A.'s famous Groundling Theater, and everything changed for him. He quit his job as a banker, enrolled in the Groundling's Improv Program, and became a member of the troupe from 1992 to 1997. His first professional writing and acting jobs came from Concorde Pictures, Roger Corman's infamous low-budget movie studio. Starting as an extra, he landed small roles in many B-movies of the early 1990s, and he gradually earned bigger roles as well as eventually writing and directing some films. He joined MADtv during the fourth season (1998) and remained in the cast until the end of the thirteenth and penultimate season, having become the longest-tenured cast member. After 10 years on MADtv, he left the cast, but was a contributing writer and director for the show's final season. He was the last member of the cast to be hired in the 1990s, and the last cast member to have been born in the 1960s, and is the only cast member to have a "best of" clip show special dedicated to him.
86 acting credits · 22 directing credits
Acting · 86
Desperate Housewives
2004
Seinfeld
1989
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
2013
Scrubs
2001
The Drew Carey Show
1995
LIVE with Kelly and Mark
1988
Community
2009
Family Matters
1989
What We Do in the Shadows
2019
Hannah Montana
2006
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
1992
Ellen
1994
The Sex Lives of College Girls
2021
Just Shoot Me!
1997
7th Heaven
1996
Cougar Town
2009
25 Words or Less
2018
NewsRadio
1995
The John Larroquette Show
1993
Pushing Daisies
2007
How I Met Your Father
2022
Reaper
2007
Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List
2005
Invader ZIM
2001
Clone High
2002
Web Therapy
2008
Spy
2015
Web Therapy
2011
Good Times
2024
Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery
1997
Austin Powers in Goldmember
2002
Head Case
2007
Ghostbusters
2016
Greg the Bunny
2002
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me
1999
It's Florida, Man.
2024
Kath & Kim
2008
Halloween Kills
2021
The Heat
2013
Talkshow with Spike Feresten
2006
Fat Actress
2005
Sherman Oaks
1995
Rhett & Link's Buddy System
2016
God's Favorite Idiot
2022
The Happytime Murders
2018
The Boss
2016
MADtv
1995
Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star
2003
Casper: A Spirited Beginning
1997
Mother of the Bride
2024
Slackers
2002
Confessions of an Action Star
2005
Casper Meets Wendy
1998
Leprechaun 2
1994
STILL: A Michael J. Fox Movie
2023
Hideaway
1995
Revenge of the Nerds III: The Next Generation
1992
Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus
2019
Richie Rich's Christmas Wish
1998
Revenge of the Nerds IV: Nerds in Love
1994
The Crazysitter
1994
Bloodfist V: Human Target
1994
In the Heat of Passion
1992
Carnosaur 3: Primal Species
1996
A Bucket of Blood
1995
Watchers II
1990
Carnosaur 2
1995
Body Waves
1992
Virtual Seduction
1995
Final Judgement
1992
Outing Riley
2004
Dance with Death
1992
Bloodfist IV: Die Trying
1992
Bloodfist 7: Manhunt
1995
Bloodfist VI: Ground Zero
1995
Moonpie
2006
Criminal Hearts
1996
Men in White
1998
Revenge of the Red Baron
1994
Uncaged
1991
Twisted Love
1995
The Unborn II
1994
Portal to Hell
2025
No Dessert, Dad, 'Til You Mow the Lawn
1994
The Pursuit Of Victory
—
Michael McDonald: Model. Citizen.
2010
Directing · 22
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
2013
Scrubs
2001
2 Broke Girls
2011
American Housewife
2016
7th Heaven
1996
The Good Place
2016
Cougar Town
2009
Mike & Molly
2010
Man with a Plan
2016
Home Economics
2021
English Teacher
2024
Not Dead Yet
2023
Men at Work
2012
The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers
2021
The Michael J. Fox Show
2013
Powerless
2017
Benched
2014
Outmatched
2020
Save Me
2013
MADtv
1995
The Crazysitter
1994
A Bucket of Blood
1995