Todd MacDonald

MacDonald and his older brother Paul were born in British Columbia to a Canadian father Deryle, who met their mother Margret, a former air hostess, while he was working in Australia. When MacDonald was seven years old, the family back-packed across Europe, before moving to Queensland, Australia.^[1]

He developed an interest in acting while in primary school on the Gold Coast, and took classes at Gold Coast Little Theatre.^[2] He played Ham in a production of Samuel Beckett's Endgame in his high school senior year.^[3] He graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in 1996.^[2]

After several minor roles, MacDonald secured a bigger role in the 1995 television film Sahara, which was shot in Sydney.^[1] He considered the film his "big break", but he was out of work for a number of months afterward.^[1] MacDonald attended an audition for television soap opera Neighbours in 1996 and was cast as Darren Stark, the son of Cheryl Stark (Caroline Gillmer).^[1] He relocated to Melbourne from Sydney for filming.^[1] The role of Darren had previously been played by Scott Major briefly in 1993. MacDonald departed the series in 1998, returning for guest appearances in 2004 and 2005, and again in 2007 and 2008.

In the early 2000s, MacDonald played the recurring role of Nathan Lieberman on The Secret Life of Us,^[3] which was one of his favourite roles. He stated "at the time the show was doing something entirely new which was a such a joy to be a part of."^[2] He appeared in the 2004 miniseries Salem's Lot,^[2] and had a supporting role in the drama series Rush in 2008. He has also appeared in BeastMaster, Blue Heelers,^[3] and feature film The Jammed.

In 2013, he appeared as Thomas with Libby Munro as Vanda in a production of David Ives' 2010 play Venus in Fur by the Queensland Theatre Company in Brisbane.^[4]

MacDonald was co-founder and artistic director of The Store Room Theatre in Melbourne in 1999.^[3] He went on to become an artistic associate of the Queensland Theatre Company from 2011 to 2014, and CEO and artistic director of La Boite Theatre Company in Brisbane, from 2015 until 2020.^[2][5]

In 2024, MacDonald appeared in the television film A Vintage Christmas as Mayor Mitchell.^[6]

MacDonald is married to Queensland performer Rebecca McIntosh, whom he met while she was hosting Love TV at the Edinburgh Festival. They have twin daughters.^[7][8]