Chris O'Donnell

O'Donnell was born in the Chicago suburb of Winnetka, Illinois, the son of Julie Ann Rohs von Brecht and William Charles O'Donnell Sr., a general manager of WBBM-AM.^[1][2] He is the youngest of seven children, with four sisters and two brothers, and is of German and Irish descent.^[3][4] He grew up in a Catholic family and attended Catholic schools.^[5] He graduated from Loyola Academy in Wilmette, Illinois, in 1988.^[6][7]

O'Donnell attended Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in marketing in 1992.^[8][9] He had begun modeling at the age of 13 so he was comfortable in front of cameras and also had made commercials.^[10][9]

O'Donnell appeared in numerous commercials as a teenager, advertising Cap'n Crunch cereal and Fruit Roll-Ups snacks. In a McDonald's fast food commercial, he served NBA great Michael Jordan. An early television series role was an appearance on the TV series Jack and Mike in 1986. In the early 1990s, he appeared in several films including Men Don't Leave (1990), starring Jessica Lange; Fried Green Tomatoes (1991), appearing again with Kathy Bates from Men Don't Leave; School Ties (1992); and Scent of a Woman (1992) with Al Pacino. For the latter he received two nominations: one for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor-Motion Picture (which was won by Gene Hackman for Unforgiven), and one for a Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Most Promising Actor (which he won). He was also named one of the 12 Promising New Actors of 1992 in John Willis's Screen World, Vol. 44.

After appearing in the film Blue Sky (1994), reuniting him with Jessica Lange,^[11] he starred in Circle of Friends (1995) with Minnie Driver,^[12] Mad Love (1995) with Drew Barrymore,^[13] and In Love and War (1996) with Sandra Bullock.^[14] O'Donnell played the character of Dick Grayson/Robin in Batman Forever, in which Barrymore also had a role.^[15] Reportedly, the field of candidates for the role of Robin included Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jude Law, Ewan McGregor, Corey Haim, Toby Stephens, and Scott Speedman.^[16][17]

Casting directors narrowed their choices to O'Donnell and DiCaprio, and finally selected O'Donnell. He reportedly was considered by 20th Century Fox studios to play the lead role of Jack Dawson in Titanic (1997), but that role was won by DiCaprio.^[18] O'Donnell had a starring role in 1996's The Chamber, based on the John Grisham novel of the same name.^[19] He reprised his role as Robin in 1997's Batman & Robin.^[19] Although it was a box-office success, the movie was critically panned and regularly appears on the list of films considered the worst.^[20] O'Donnell later said that he did not believe it turned out well.^[21]

O'Donnell did not appear in another movie for two years. He was the choice of one of the producers for the role of James Darrell Edwards III/Agent J in Men in Black (1997),^[22] but he turned it down as being too similar to his role in Batman Forever.^{[citation needed]} Will Smith played this role.^[23] The subsequent films Cookie's Fortune (1999) and The Bachelor (1999) were moderately successful, while Vertical Limit (2000) was a box office hit.

After a four-year hiatus, O'Donnell returned in 2004 with the film Kinsey.^[19] He also appeared in the 2004 episode of Two and a Half Men, entitled "An Old Flame with a New Wick."^[24] O'Donnell took a lead role in the Fox Network television series Head Cases in 2005. The show was the first of the fall 2005 season to be canceled,^{[citation needed]} and only two episodes were aired.^[25] He was subsequently cast as veterinarian Finn Dandridge on the ABC medical drama Grey's Anatomy.^[26]

O'Donnell was featured in the TNT miniseries The Company as CIA case officer Jack McAuliffe, a character who progressed from being a spoonfed Yale elitist to jaded, post-Cold War cynic.^[27] In 2008, he appeared in Kit Kittredge: An American Girl as the titular character's father Jack Kittredge,^[28] and in Max Payne as Jason Colvin.^[29]

From 2009 to 2023, O'Donnell starred on NCIS: Los Angeles, a spin-off of NCIS, as G. Callen,^[30] an NCIS Special Agent in Charge of the Office of Special Projects Team stationed in Los Angeles. CBS calls Callen "a chameleon who transforms himself into whomever he needs to be to infiltrate the criminal underworld."^[31] In 2010, O'Donnell appeared in the sequel to the 2001 movie Cats & Dogs, The Revenge of Kitty Galore.^[32] During an appearance on Live with Kelly and Mark on October 7, 2025 he talked about the Batman Forever props he has (costumes including outfits, one of which is from the circus aerialist scene). He has his motorcycle helmet from the film. Referring to another prop of his, a costume from The Three Musketeers, he said "even my dad wore it for Halloween one year."^[33]

O'Donnell married Caroline Fentress in April 1997 at St. Patrick Church in Washington, D.C.^[34] They have five children.^[35][36][37]