Todd MacDonald (born 1973) is a Canadian Australian actor who is best known for his roles on the soap opera ''

Neighbours ''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera that has aired since 18 March 1985. It was created by television executive Reg Watson. The Seven Network commissioned the show following the success of Watson's earlier soap '' Sons and ...

'' and the drama series ''

The Secret Life of Us ''The Secret Life of Us'' is an Australian television drama series set in the beachside neighbourhood of St Kilda, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is primarily a drama with some comedic moments. The series was produced by South ...

'' and '' Rush''.

Early life

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. He developed an interest in acting while in primary school on the Gold Coast, and took classes at Gold Coast Little Theatre. He played Ham in a production of

Samuel Beckett Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish writer of novels, plays, short stories, and poems. Writing in both English and French, his literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal, and Tragicomedy, tra ...

's '' Endgame'' in his high school senior year. He graduated from the

National Institute of Dramatic Art The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) is an Australian educational institution for the performing arts based in Sydney, New South Wales. Founded in 1958, it offers bachelor's, master's and vocational degrees in subjects including acting ...

(NIDA) in 1996.

Career

After several minor roles, MacDonald secured a bigger role in the 1995 television film ''

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'', which was shot in Sydney. He considered the film his "big break", but he was out of work for a number of months afterward. MacDonald attended an audition for television soap opera ''

'' in 1996 and was cast as Darren Stark, the son of Cheryl Stark ( Caroline Gillmer). He relocated to Melbourne from Sydney for filming. The role of Darren had previously been played by

Scott Major Scott Ian Major (born 4 July 1975) is an Australian actor and TV and film director, known for his roles as Peter Rivers in the 1994 television teen drama series ''Heartbreak High'' and Lucas Fitzgerald in soap opera ''Neighbours''. After leav ...

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 ''

'', 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." He appeared in the 2004 miniseries '' Salem's Lot'', and had a supporting role in the drama series '' Rush'' in 2008. He has also appeared in '' BeastMaster'', ''

Blue Heelers ''Blue Heelers'' is an Australian police drama series that was produced by Southern Star Group and ran for twelve years on the Seven Network, from 1994 to 2006. Although based around the policing of the town, the series generally depicted th ...

'', 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. MacDonald was co-founder and artistic director of The Store Room Theatre in Melbourne in 1999. 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 La Boite Theatre, founded as the Brisbane Repertory Theatre Society, is an Australian theatre company based in Brisbane, Queensland. La Boite was established in 1925 and is Australia’s longest continuously running theatre company. La Boite ...

in Brisbane, from 2015 until 2020.

Personal life

MacDonald is married to Queensland performer Rebecca McIntosh, whom he met while she was hosting ''Love TV'' at the

Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of Arts festival, arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the ...

. They have twin daughters.

Filmography

Theatre

As actor

As director

*Source:

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Macdonald, Todd 1973 births Australian people of Canadian descent Australian male soap opera actors Australian male stage actors Living people Australian male television actors Australian male film actors