Kevin Connolly (actor)

Life and career

Connolly was born in New York State, and raised in Medford, New York, on Long Island. His mother, Eileen, is of Irish descent. He has an older brother, Tim, a police detective for Suffolk County, New York, 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. 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 in the short-lived Fox sitcom Great Scott!. His appearance in the series later earned him a Young Artist Award nomination for Best Young Actor Co-starring in a Television Series. He portrayed Dabney Coleman's son in the comedy film The Beverly Hillbillies. 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. Later that year, he landed the role of Ryan Malloy on the situation comedy 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.

Connolly's best-known role is the character Eric Murphy, better known as "E", on the 2004–2011 HBO 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, John Q., The Notebook and He's Just Not That Into You.

Connolly directed his first music video in 2008, for the song "Camera Phone" by rapper The Game, featuring Ne-Yo.

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. A lifelong Islanders fan, Connolly also directed the documentary film Big Shot, which screened at the 2013 TriBeCa Film Festival and the 2013 Hamptons International Film Festival 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 as mobster John Gotti. Connolly was hired after a number of other directors, including Barry Levinson, 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 Rotten Tomatoes.

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.

Filmography

Film

Television

Director

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

References

1. "Kevin Connolly Biography".
2. (September 17, 2018). "Notable Long Islanders". [[Newsday]].
3. (March 9, 2012). "Monitor".
4. (n.d.). "Patchogue-Medford's first Hall of Fame night was a true family affair". GreaterPatchogue.com.
5. Kelly, Antoinette. (July 23, 2009). "'Entourage' premiere dedicated to Kevin Connolly's late Irish mother". Irish Central.
6. Best, Neil. (October 7, 2010). "Actor, LI Native Connolly Has Deep Sports Roots". Newsday.
7. Anderson, John. (February 1, 2009). "Kevin Connolly heads home to Long Island...". Newsday.
8. La Monica, Mark. (June 11, 2006). "A Rocky Start? Hardly". Newsday.
9. [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huffpost-coverage/dicaprio-the-gardene_b_47045.html "DiCaprio, The Gardener of Eden Premiere And The Real Entourage", The Huffington Post, April 27, 2007, Retrieved on August 16, 2007]
10. (January 6, 2014). "Connolly 'crucified' for Entourage spoiler". [[Belfast Telegraph]].
11. Mark, Dagostino. (October 3, 2008). "Kevin Connolly to Direct The Game and Ne-Yo's Video". [[People (magazine).
12. Brooks, Larry. (March 28, 2011). "'Entourage' star is allowed on Islanders bench". New York Post.
13. [http://inthemixxshow.com/3366/fall-season-2013-episode-5 Fall Season 2013: Episode 5. In the Mixx] {{Webarchive. link. (September 30, 2014 . Inthemixxshow.com (October 17, 2013). Retrieved on June 5, 2014.)
14. "Kevin Connolly to direct John Travolta in resurrected Gotti biopic".
15. Coogan, Devan. (June 15, 2018). "John Travolta's Gotti earns zero percent on Rotten Tomatoes". [[Time (magazine).
16. Kiefer, Halle. (June 15, 2018). "John Travolta's ''Gotti'' Currently Has a Zero Percent on Rotten Tomatoes". [[New York (magazine).
17. Kilday, Gregg. (June 15, 2018). "John Travolta's 'Gotti' Gets Rare Zero Percent Score on Rotten Tomatoes". [[Prometheus Global Media]].
18. Evans, Greg. (July 16, 2020). "Kevin Connolly of 'Entourage' accused of sexual assault". [[Global News]].
19. (July 15, 2020). "Kevin Connolly Denies Sexual Assault Accusation Made By Former Costume Designer". [[Deadline Hollywood.
20. (January 11, 2021). "Entourage's Kevin Connolly Is Expecting 1st Child With Pregnant Zulay Henao". [[US Weekly]].
21. (June 9, 2021). "Entourage's Kevin Connolly, Zulay Henao Welcome 'Sweet' Baby Girl After 'Long and Painful' Birth".
22. Glasspiegel, Ryan. (March 16, 2024). "Kelly Stafford jumps into Barstool's Jersey Jerry's Kevin Connolly feud". [[New York Post]].
23. (February 18, 2023). "Nick Frost, Alicia Silverstone, Kevin Connolly to Star in Dark Comedy 'Krazy House'".
24. Galuppo, Mia. (September 9, 2025). "See Emile Hirsch in Horror-Comedy ‘Lice’ (Exclusive First Look)".
25. Ritman, Alex. (May 16, 2025). "Emile Hirsch, Justin Long and Kevin Connolly Teaming for Parasite Horror ‘Lice,’ Highland Film Group Selling in Cannes (EXCLUSIVE)".