Kevin Connolly (actor)
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Kevin Connolly (born March 5, 1974) is an American actor and director. He is best known for his role as Eric Murphy in the
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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

Connolly was born in
New York State New York, also called New York State, is a state in the northeastern United States. Bordered by New England to the east, Canada to the north, and Pennsylvania and New Jersey to the south, its territory extends into both the Atlantic Ocean and ...
, and raised in Medford, New York, on
Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...
. His mother, Eileen, is of Irish descent. He has an older brother, Tim, a police detective for
Suffolk County, New York Suffolk County ( ) is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of New York, constituting the eastern two-thirds of Long Island. It is bordered to its west by Nassau County, to its east by Gardiners Bay and the open Atlantic Ocean, to its no ...
police. Connolly graduated from Patchogue-Medford High School in 1992. 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 ''Rocky V'' is a 1990 American sports drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and written by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It is the sequel to '' Rocky IV'' (1985) and the fifth installment in the ''Rocky'' franchise. It also stars Talia S ...
''. 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 Tobias Vincent Maguire (born 27 June 1975) is an American actor and film producer. He is best known for starring as Peter Parker (2002 film series character), Spider-Man in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man in film#Sam Raimi's trilogy, ''Spider-Man'' tr ...
in the short-lived Fox sitcom ''Great Scott!''. His appearance in the series later earned him a
Young Artist Award The Young Artist Award (originally known as the Youth in Film Award) is an accolade presented by the Young Artist Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 1978 to honor excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young ...
nomination for Best Young Actor Co-starring in a Television Series. He portrayed Dabney Coleman's son in the comedy film ''
The Beverly Hillbillies ''The Beverly Hillbillies'' is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from 1962 to 1971. It had an ensemble cast featuring Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, and Max Baer Jr. as the Clampetts, a poor backwoods family ...
''. 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 Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio (; ; born November 11, 1974) is an American actor and film producer. Known for Leonardo DiCaprio filmography, his work in biographical and period films, he is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received ...
. Later that year, he landed the role of Ryan Malloy on the
situation comedy A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...
'' 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 The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Enterprises. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. The festival ...
. Connolly's best-known role is the character Eric Murphy, better known as "E", on the 2004-2011
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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. In addition to television work, Connolly has appeared in several major motion pictures including '' Antwone Fisher'', ''
Secretariat Secretariat may refer to: * Secretariat (administrative office) * Secretariat (horse) Secretariat (March 30, 1970 – October 4, 1989), also known as Big Red, was a champion American thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse who was the ninth winn ...
'', '' John Q.'', '' The Notebook'' and '' He's Just Not That Into You''. Connolly directed his first
music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...
in 2008, for the song "
Camera Phone A camera phone is a mobile phone that is able to capture photographs and often record video using one or more built-in digital cameras. It can also send the resulting image wirelessly and conveniently. The first commercial phone with a color c ...
" by rapper The Game, featuring
Ne-Yo Shaffer Chimere Smith (born October 18, 1979), known professionally as Ne-Yo ( ), is an American singer and songwriter. Regarded as a leading figure of Contemporary R&B#2000s, 2000s R&B music, he is the recipient of numerous accolades, includi ...
. 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 The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (N ...
. A lifelong Islanders fan, Connolly also directed the documentary film ''Big Shot'', which screened at the 2013
TriBeCa Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Enterprises. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. The festival ...
and the 2013
Hamptons International Film Festival The Hamptons International Film Festival (HIFF) is an international film festival founded in 1992, by Joyce Robinson. The festival has since taken place every year in East Hampton, New York. It is usually an annual five-day event in mid-October ...
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 John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an American actor. He began acting in television before transitioning into a leading man in films. List of awards and nominations received by John Travolta, His accolades include a Primetime Em ...
as mobster
John Gotti John Joseph Gotti Jr.Capeci, Mustain (1996), pp. 25–26 ( , ; October 27, 1940 – June 10, 2002) was an American '' mafioso'' and boss of the Gambino crime family in New York City. He ordered and helped to orchestrate the murder of Gambin ...
. Connolly was hired after a number of other directors, including
Barry Levinson Barry Lee Levinson (born April 6, 1942) is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Levinson won the Academy Award for Best Director for '' Rain Man'' (1988). His other best-known works are ''Diner'' (1982), '' The Natural'' (1984 ...
, were attached to the project during its lengthy development process. 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
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. 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. Connolly later denied the allegation through a spokesperson, stating that the encounter was consensual. On January 11, 2021, it was announced that Connolly was expecting his first child with actress Zulay Henao. Their daughter was born in June 2021. In 2024, Connolly was accused by multiple people of
wage theft Wage theft is the failing to pay wages or provide employee benefits owed to an employee by contract or law. It can be conducted by employers in various ways, among them are failing to pay overtime; violating minimum wage, minimum-wage laws; the m ...
.


Filmography


Film


Television


Director


Awards and nominations


Notes


References


External links

*
Profile
on
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.com
Kevin Connolly in the Hot Seat. Interview
by Alison Rosen of
Time Out New York ''Time Out'' is a global magazine published by Time Out Group. ''Time Out'' started as a London-only publication in 1968 and has expanded its editorial recommendations to 333 cities in 59 countries worldwide. In 2012, the London edition became ...
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Connolly, Kevin 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