Kevin Connolly (actor)
Kevin Connolly | |
|---|---|
| File:Kevin Connolly by David Shankbone (cropped).jpg Connolly at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival | |
| Born | March 5, 1974 New York State, U.S.[a] |
| Education | Patchogue-Medford High School |
| Occupations | Actor, director, producer |
| Years active | 1990–present |
| Partner | Zulay Henao (2019–present) |
| Children | 1 |
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Kevin Connolly (born March 5, 1974)[3] is an American actor and director. He is best known for his role as Eric Murphy in the HBO series Entourage, and his role as the eldest son Ryan Malloy in the 1990s television sitcom Unhappily Ever After. Connolly is also a director, having directed many television episodes as well as the films Gardener of Eden, Dear Eleanor, and Gotti.
Life and career
[edit | edit source]Connolly was born in New York State,[a] and raised in Medford, New York,[4] on Long Island. His mother, Eileen, is of Irish descent.[5] He has an older brother, Tim, a police detective for Suffolk County, New York, police.[6] Connolly graduated from Patchogue-Medford High School in 1992.[7][8]
He began his career at age six, appearing in television commercials, including the "Betcha bite a chip" campaign for Chips Ahoy!. In 1990, he landed his first film role, as Chickie in Rocky V. Two years later, Connolly was cast as Shaun Kelly in the film adaptation of Myron Levoy's novel Alan & Naomi, and co-starred with Tobey Maguire in the short-lived Fox sitcom Great Scott!. His appearance in the series later earned him a Young Artist Award nomination for Best Young Actor Co-starring in a Television Series. He portrayed Dabney Coleman's son in the comedy film The Beverly Hillbillies. Connolly continued guest starring in television series including Wings, Getting By and the medical drama ER.
From 1995 to 1996, Connolly starred in Don's Plum alongside Maguire and Leonardo DiCaprio. Later that year, he landed the role of Ryan Malloy on the situation comedy Unhappily Ever After. The series also marked Connolly's directorial debut when he directed six episodes in its fourth season. In 2007, Connolly made his full-length movie directorial debut with the film Gardener of Eden, which premiered in April 2007 at the Tribeca Film Festival.[9]
Connolly's best-known role is the character Eric Murphy, better known as "E", on the 2004–2011 HBO show Entourage. E is the manager and best friend of Vincent Chase, who is played by Adrian Grenier. In 2009, Connolly was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy for the role. Connolly reprised his role as Eric in the 2015 Entourage film adaptation.[10]
In addition to television work, Connolly has appeared in several major motion pictures including Antwone Fisher, Secretariat, John Q., The Notebook and He's Just Not That Into You.
Connolly directed his first music video in 2008, for the song "Camera Phone" by rapper The Game, featuring Ne-Yo.[11]
Connolly attended the 2010 NHL Entry Draft in Los Angeles and announced the final pick of the first round for his hometown New York Islanders.[12] A lifelong Islanders fan, Connolly also directed the documentary film Big Shot, which screened at the 2013 TriBeCa Film Festival and the 2013 Hamptons International Film Festival[13] The film revisits the fraud perpetrated by would-be Islanders owner John Spano in 1996.
He directed the 2018 film Gotti, which starred John Travolta as mobster John Gotti. Connolly was hired after a number of other directors, including Barry Levinson, were attached to the project during its lengthy development process.[14] The film was a critical and commercial disaster, and is one of the few films to hold an approval rating of 0% on the website Rotten Tomatoes.[15][16][17]
On July 15, 2020, Connolly was accused of rape by assistant costume designer Gracie Cox. The alleged assault occurred in December 2005, during a wrap party for Gardener of Eden.[18] Connolly later denied the allegation through a spokesperson, stating that the encounter was consensual.[19]
On January 11, 2021, it was announced that Connolly was expecting his first child with actress Zulay Henao.[20] Their daughter was born in June 2021.[21]
In 2024, Connolly was accused by multiple people of wage theft.[22]
Filmography
[edit | edit source]Film
[edit | edit source]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Rocky V | Chickie | |
| 1992 | Alan & Naomi | Shaun Kelly | |
| 1993 | The Beverly Hillbillies | Morgan Drysdale | |
| 1995 | Angus | Andy | |
| 1997 | Sub Down | Petty Officer Holliday | Alternative title: Sub Down: Take the Dive |
| 1999 | Tyrone | Sam Adams | Alternative title: Bad Trip |
| 2000 | Up, Up and Away | Malcolm | TV movie |
| 2001 | Drum Solo | ||
| Don's Plum | Jeremy | ||
| 2002 | Devious Beings | Casey | |
| John Q. | Steve Maguire | ||
| Antwone Fisher | Slim | ||
| 2004 | The Notebook | Fin | |
| 2005 | The Check Up | Mike | |
| 2009 | He's Just Not That Into You | Conor Barry | |
| The Ugly Truth | Jim Ryan | ||
| 2010 | Secretariat | Bill Nack | |
| Wax On, F*ck Off | Himself | Short film | |
| 2014 | Reach Me | Roger | |
| 2015 | Entourage | Eric 'E' Murphy | |
| 2020 | Chick Fight | Dr. Roy | |
| 2024 | Krazy House | Jesus | [23] |
| TBA | Lice | Detective Sikorski | Post-production;[24] also creator of original concept[25] |
Television
[edit | edit source]| Year | Title | Role(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Great Scott! | Larry O'Donnell | Series regular, 13 episodes |
| 1993 | Wings | Scotty Nelson | Episode: "Joe Blows: Part 1" |
| 1994 | Getting By | Spider | Episode: "It Takes a Thief" |
| 1994 | ER | uncredited | Episode: "9 1/2 Hours" |
| 1995–1999 | Unhappily Ever After | Ryan Malloy | Series regular, 100 episodes, also director (6 episodes) |
| 2001 | First Years | Joe | 5 episodes |
| 2004–2011 | Entourage | Eric 'E' Murphy | Series regular, 96 episodes, also director (2 episodes) |
| 2007 | Robot Chicken | Psychiatrist/Cowboy Curtis/Leonard Baker | Episode: "More Blood, More Chocolate" |
| 2014 | Friends with Better Lives | Bobby Lutz | Series regular |
| 2016 | Pitch | Charlie Graham | Recurring role |
| 2019 | The Oath | James Hoke | 2 episodes |
| 2025 | All's Fair | Damien Lord | Episode: "I Want Revenge" |
Director
[edit | edit source]| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1997–1999 | Unhappily Ever After | 6 episodes |
| 2003 | Whatever We Do | |
| 2007 | Gardener of Eden | |
| 2008 | Camera Phone - The Game ft. Ne-Yo | Music video |
| 2010–2011 | Entourage | 2 episodes: "Porn Scenes from an Italian Restaurant", Second to Last" |
| 2013 | ESPN 30 for 30 | Big Shot |
| 2014 | Dear Eleanor | |
| 2018 | Snatch | 3 episodes: "Bomba", "Heavy Wears the Crown", "Diamonds Ain't Forever" |
| 2018 | Gotti | |
| TBD | Lice |
Awards and nominations
[edit | edit source]| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Young Artist Award | Best Young Actor Co-Starring in a Television Series | Great Scott! | Nominated |
| 2005 | Satellite Award | Outstanding Actor in a Series, Comedy or Musical | Entourage | Nominated |
| 2006 | Teen Choice Award | Choice Chemistry - Television (Shared with the cast of Entourage) | Nominated | |
| 2007 | Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (Shared with the cast of Entourage) | Nominated | |
| 2008 | Nominated | |||
| 2009 | Golden Globe Award | Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy | Nominated | |
| 2009 | Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (Shared with the cast of Entourage) | Nominated | |
| 2019 | Golden Raspberry Award | Worst Director | Gotti | Nominated |
Notes
[edit | edit source]- ^ a b either in New York City[1] or Patchogue, New York[2] (sources differ)
References
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- ^ "DiCaprio, The Gardener of Eden Premiere And The Real Entourage", The Huffington Post, April 27, 2007, Retrieved on August 16, 2007
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- ^ Fall Season 2013: Episode 5 | In the Mixx Archived September 30, 2014, at the Wayback Machine. Inthemixxshow.com (October 17, 2013). Retrieved on June 5, 2014.
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External links
[edit | edit source]
- Kevin Connolly at IMDb
- Profile Archived January 9, 2010, at the Wayback Machine on HBO.com
- Kevin Connolly in the Hot Seat. Interview by Alison Rosen of Time Out New York
- Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
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- 1974 births
- Male actors from New York (state)
- American male child actors
- American male film actors
- Film directors from New York (state)
- American people of Irish descent
- American male television actors
- American television directors
- Living people
- People from Patchogue, New York
- 20th-century American male actors
- 21st-century American male actors
- People from Medford, New York