Keir O’Donnell. (Courtesy photo)
“American Sniper,” nominated for best picture and five other Oscar awards, includes in its cast Bromfield alum Keir O’Donnell. In the movie, O’Donnell plays sniper Chris Kyle’s younger brother.
“I have a small part, but I’m very pleased with my work and thrilled to be in a dramatic movie of this caliber,” O’Donnell wrote in an email to his former Bromfield teacher, Michael McGarty.
On Facebook, O’Donnell called the recent Oscar nominations “a big milestone for me” and said he’s “so proud to be a part of it.”
O’Donnell graduated from Bromfield in 1996 and was deeply involved in the drama program. McGarty, the director of Bromfield’s drama program at the time, remembers O’Donnell well and has stayed in contact with him since his graduation.
“He knew from elementary school that he wanted to be an actor, and that was his focus long before he showed up at Bromfield,” says McGarty. “I just got lucky to be able to use that passion for a few years.”
After graduating from Bromfield, O’Donnell attended The Hartt School in Hartford, Conn., a performing arts conservatory that is part of the University of Hartford, where he was a member of their first-ever actor training class. He graduated in 2000, joined the Hartford Stage Company, and performed with them until 2001, when he moved to Los Angeles.
In 2005, O’Donnell appeared in the hit comedy “Wedding Crashers” as Todd Cleary, the role for which he is perhaps best known.
Beyond his work in “Wedding Crashers” and “American Sniper,” O’Donnell has appeared in dozens of TV shows and movies, including “NCIS,” “Sons of Anarchy,” “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” “My Generation,” and “Paul Blart: Mall Cop.”
