Cinema Experts

"When I made Batman Forever (1995), I felt like I was making a movie. When I made Batman & Robin (1997), I felt like I was making a toy commercial.”
O'Donnell was discovered when he was cast in a McDonald's commercial, in which he served Michael Jordan. His first television role was an appearance on the series Jack and Mike in 1986. At the age of seventeen, he was offered a chance to audition for a part in the movie Men Don’t Leave, with Jessica Lange, and he won the role. In the early 1990s, O'Donnell was a featured player in many successful movies such as Fried Green Tomatoes (1991) and Scent of a Woman (1992) with Al Pacino. He was named one of the twelve Promising New Actors of 1992 in John Willis' Screen World, Vol. 44.
After the success of Circle of Friends (1995), O'Donnell was chosen over Leonardo DiCaprio for the role of Robin in the hugely successful Batman Forever. The role of Robin was one of the most sought-after roles at that time. O'Donnell was part of a field that included DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Christian Bale (who went on to play the Dark Knight himself in Batman Begins), Jude Law, Ewan MacGregor, Corey Haim, Corey Feldman, Tobey Stephens, and Scott Speedman. Producers narrowed their choices to DiCaprio and O'Donnell. At a comic book convention, they asked a group of eleven year-old boys, the target audience, attending which actor could beat the other in a fistfight. When the boys overwhelmingly declared O'Donnell the winner, he was ultimately given the role.
O'Donnell followed that film with an appearance in the 1996 film The Chamber, based on the John Grisham novel, which was a good success at the box office. He subsequently appeared in the Batman sequel, Batman & Robin, in 1997. Critically panned, the movie turned out to be one of the largest box office failures in history. He was considered for the lead role in Spider-Man, when the project was in development with James Cameron directing in 1996. Tobey Maguire was ultimately cast.
O'Donnell did not appear in another movie for two years. He was the producers' original choice for the role of James Edwards in Men in Black (1997), but the role went to Will Smith. His next appearance was in the Robert Altman film Cookie's Fortune, as part of the ensemble. His more mainstream comeback films The Bachelor (1999) and Vertical Limit (2000) were only moderately successful. Following Vertical Limit, a four-year hiatus led many to believe he had met the same career fate of his Batman & Robin co-star Alicia Silverstone. However, in 2004, he appeared in the widely praised Kinsey.
O'Donnell took a lead role in the Fox Network television series Head Cases in 2005. The show was the first show of the fall 2005 season to be cancelled, and only two episodes were aired. He was subsequently cast as veterinarian Finn Dandridge on the popular ABC drama Grey's Anatomy. O'Donnell appeared in the last six episodes of the 2005-2006 season, and has made additional appearances in the 2006-2007 season.
Most recently, he has figured prominently in the acclaimed TNT miniseries The Company as fictional CIA agent Jack McCauliffe in a performance which subtly portrayed his character's progression from spoon-fed Yale elitist to jaded, post-Cold War cynic.