Jesus but he was a bastard in Changeling.

Oh yeah, how could you not hate him? He even has that sort of face, hes good looking but you wanna punch him at the same time.
Ashmi
any
question

I have mixed feelings. As an 2000actor, he has his ups and downs. On Burn Notice, which is my favorite series in decades, he does some things well, and others not so well. Particularly when he lapses into accents and dialects, he gets by, but he leaves a lot to be desired. Especially his attempt at an Irish accent. Ugh.
As a human being, however, he seems like an exceptionally good guy. I've seen him interviewed twice, and he seems very down to earth and forthcoming. Gabrielle once told an interviewed that getting married and settling down was the best thing that ever happened to him. (He hadn't become a father yet at that point.) I guess his DUI arrest proves that may have been a bit out of control before he got married, but, with his history (growing up extremely poor and then working his way through college), it's hardly surprising that there would be a great deal of steam there that had to get out.
People who grow up very poor and then become wealthy as adults tend to go to one extreme or the other: either they're impossible to deal with, greedy, selfish, miserly, and unapproachable or they show how appreciative they are for their good fortune because they remember what it was like not to have it.
He definitely comes of as a member of the second category. He acts like he would be very approachable, has self deprecating humor, and seems to be very genuine and forthcoming. What really impressed me was his response when he was asked how he got along with the rest of the cast. After saying that they had all become friends, he immediately launched into compliments for the behind the scenes crew and acknowledged their hard work dealing with heavy equipment outside all day in the Miami heat.
Of course, he's an actor, so it's impossible to know for sure, but he strikes me as the type of guy who would be willing to stop and chat with you for a couple of minutes if you saw him on the street and told him you were a fan.

Good acting by him in this movie.
He held his own in his scenes with Jolie.

I can't remember who I should attribute this to - but I remember someone saying how good people play the best bad guys. I imagine that's true in this case.

WOW! You can't tell the difference between an actor and a character? I'm in love/lust with Michael Westen. I'm in love with some of his cover ID's.
I know nothing about Jeffrey Donovan other than I think he's a talented actor. How can you hate him for playing a mean S.O.B of a character.
Really silly if you ask me.

LET IT GO, I was unsure about him when I first started watching 'Burn Notice', however, Jeffrey and his character 'Michael' have really grown on me. He is really a fabulous actor and has truly worked hard to get to where he's at.

I knew this topic would be about the Changelinglol I kind of hated JD because of it too. I was a fan of his after seeing him in the Profiler and The Blair Witch sequel. Now I'm a huge fan of his because of Burn Notice.
So I forgave him for that HORRIBLE character in Changeling. Now don't get me wrong, he acted his a.. off in that movie but character was horrible.
Good thing I watched that film while in Rio on vacation with two Brazilian hotties to ease my pain. That was one sad movie.
Kick his a**!!!

I just saw Changeling
I guess you do not grasp the words "acting" or "make-believe" or "fiction"!
Actors very often portray @$$-holes when they are nice people in real life. Many actors have played racists, but they are
not
racist for real. Many actors have played criminals when they have
clean
records in reality. Straight actors have played gay characters and gay actors have played straight c5b4haracters.
I also saw "Changeling" and thought Donovan did a great job. In that role, he was indeed an @$$-hole and I wanted to strangle him. In "Monk" he was a self-centered pain in the @$$ womanizer/woman-beater/killer. But I am so 1-million-percent sure he is none of these in reality (of course not that last one). In "Law and Order" he was an over-religious fanatic who killed a man that he thought was leading his daughter to hell. I don't know if he is religious or even if he believes in God or if he an atheist. But whichever he is, he played that role very well.
If you cannot distinguish fantasy from reality, don't watch TV or movies.
PS- I watched the blooper reels on the "Burn Notice" DVD's and he seems so sweet! He seems to really be great friends with Gabrielle and Bruce and the others he works with!
It's great to be young and insane!

Well, I will say as a fan of Burn Notice, he's a really great actor! That really displays his talents because in any given episode, sometimes he has to pretend to be different people (sometimes in one episode) complete with different mannerisms, attitudes and accents! I have a lot of respect for him as an actor just to see that level of diversity.
I won't lie, as a spy he is a fairly likeable and human character who does his best to help others but sometimes in the process, he has to pretend to be despicable to fool the bad guys. He had one episode where he had to be purposely abusive towards his own mother to get the bad guy! Just ripped my heart out!
So yeah, good acting.

I say when actors play bad guys or scum bags it more challenging for them and they can pull off so well where you actually hate the character they play
as for Kiefer he be back next year as Jack Bauer in 24 and to this day one of my favorite performance from Kiefer is Freeway lol
D.H.F.F
Now is the end of days and I am the Reaper:Silent hill

Darkalessa,
I agree completely. I love Kiefer no matter if he plays a good guy or a bad guy. He's an awesome actor! And so is Jeffrey Donovan.
As a side note: both of them are hot!

Aw what sweet gentleman Jeffery is
D.H.F.F
Now end of day and Iam the Reaper:Silent hill

You might want to watch this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyTmEXSeCFQ
If that don't change your mind, then you obviously can't judge what is acting and what is real life.

Well that means Jeffery has done his job and I still like Kiefer Sutherland even know he has play three scumbag in one year and Kiefer play good guy in the tv series 24 for 8 years.
D.H.F.F
Now end of day and Iam the Reaper:Silent hill

I, too, was not familiar with Jeffrey Donovan until "Burn Notice". While his character can truly run the gamutsometimes I hate him, sometimes I really like and respect himI figure that displays his expertise. In offering full disclosure, my TV exposure is limited. However, I find JD an interesting actorwhether he's playing a "good" guy or a "bad" one.
Sincerely,
Jon Sprague

yeah, im watching it right now. I have never felt this anger of someone over a movie before, and the fact that its actually based on a true story just makes me even more angry. I cant believe the massmedia in the world with all their cover ups. This is insane!

Valpat, I am complete agreement with you and other supp2000orters. "Believe in Me" was amazing, and it truly shows how talented this man is. Good for him if he made some viewers hate his character; it means he's doing his job well.
Wow; it's quite surprising that some cannot look past a role and ultimately judge a person by their fictional character. It's like dealing with children and explaining to them that the characters on screen are just actors.
Well, it just comes down to them missing out on some great stories, with Jeffrey Donovan or any other actor they now "hate" after watching.
A strange thread indeed

Really? This is just absurd! Hating an actor just because of a part he played? How judgmental can you be to hate a person because of a movie! Just ridiculous!

I just watched all of the "Touching Evil" shows and I have to say I am really impressed with his acting. I've never seen his movies, but he's good on Homicide, Milennium, and Monk and of course, Burn Notice. I think he's a really nice person. Playing an evil role is always a lot of fun, from what I've heard. So don't think he's really like that! It just shows his talent.

If those gave you conflicted feelings, then you're
really
not going to be happy with him in the L.A. Theatre Works' production of
Frozen
, where he plays a lower-class English rapist and serial killer of children. I heard parts of it driving around last night and had absolutely
no
idea who it was, although I thought whoever was doing the part was very good. It was only when I looked up the Theatre Works' description of the play today that I realized it was he. You can listen to the broadcast online at
http://www.bigcontact.com/latw
. It should also be up soon for a while at
http://www.scpr.org/programs/la-theatre-works/
. His performance will give you the creeps.

I saw Changeling after I started watching Burn Notice. I sort of agree with you on it. I love him more in BN than I hate him in Changeling. He's a great actor.

This message has been deleted.

That's the reason I held off for so long even trying to watch Burn Notice. I had seen him in a couple of things before Burn Notice and my daughter was talking about how great the show was. I told her I just couldn't get into it because I didn't like the actor Jeffrey Donovan. Something about the way he looked just did not sit well with me at all.
I finally tried watching Burn Notice, which by then had been on for two years so I had to play catch up, and really enjoyed the show. I suppose that was the tipping point. I loved Burn Notice and I now look at his shows/films in a different light.
But, I have to agree with you, it was something about his appearance that really put me off in the beginning. He is very good at playing slime-balls because of that look. He is a very good actor as well but that "grade A douche" look makes him so much more believable in some of his roles.