As a teenager, future supporting actor Kevin Dillon got a crash course in being a supporting player when his older brother, Matt Dillon, became a hot acting commodity at a young age. Even with his brother’s fame, Dillon still found ways to cope, especially when many attractive women would visit the house looking for Matt.
As Matt Dillon became more famous, Kevin Dillon became more interested in art school. He studied acting in high school, but after graduating, he enrolled at New York’s School of Visual Arts. Try as he might, the acting bug still found him, and so did a talent agency. While attending the premiere of his brother’s film, Tex, the president of an agency approached him and his first role — as a delinquent youth in the 1983 telefilm, No Big Deal — came next.
Kevin Dillon stars in platoon and guest stars on nypd blue
Delinquency was also a factor in Kevin Dillon’s next major role, as the troubled soldier Bunny in Oliver Stone’s 1986 war epic, Platoon. Having read the memoirs of a former marine captain to enter the fractured psyche of his character, Dillon was menacing as an army man who turns to brutal violence during a key village invasion. After unsuccessfully trying to fill the legendary shoes of Steve McQueen in the ill-advised 1988 remake of The Blob, Dillon reunited with Oliver Stone for 1991′s The Doors, where he played the band’s drummer, John Densmore. Despite these two visible roles, Dillon’s career stalled through the first half of the ’90s, including a one year dry spell that he later described as “pretty scary.” After finding work again in a series of straight-to-video films, Kevin Dillon decided that maybe television would be a better creative outlet for him than movies.
The departure of Jimmy Smits from NYPD Blue triggered Kevin Dillon’s foray into network television. He auditioned for the role of Danny Sorensen, but eventually lost it to former teen idol, Rick Schroeder. All was not lost, though, as Dillon did get the recurring role of Officer Neil Baker, which started in 1998 and ended in 2000. Now comfortable on television, he made the leap into situational comedy as Paul DeLucca on That’s Life. Set in New Jersey, the series was a good match for Dillon since he could infuse his role with some of his New York roots.
Kevin Dillon stars on entourage and in poseidon
The cancellation of That’s Life after its second season in 2002 led Kevin Dillon to a stint on 24 where he played Lonnie McRae, a lonely cabin dweller who succumbs to being male and becomes infatuated by Elisha Cuthbert. From there, Dillon went Hollywood to join Mark Wahlberg’s semi-autobiographical HBO series, Entourage, as Johnny “Drama” Chase, a moderately successful actor who talks bigger than he actually acts. Besides the opportunity to play a fun character, enjoy regular work, and experience a spike in his fame, Dillon especially enjoyed the chance to become as close with his Entourage costars as their characters are on the show. Not only did it make the work easier, it also made for better television and critical acclaim, thanks to two Emmy Award nominations and one Golden Globe nom that Kevin Dillon has earned from the show thus far.
Although he is totally content to keep playing Johnny, Kevin Dillon’s career resurgence has allowed him a ticket back to the big screen. In 2006′s Poseidon, he played Lucky Larry, a gambler who doesn’t get so lucky when the ship he’s on goes down for the count. Perhaps as a nod to his new family and his two dogs at home, he went the kid and pet-friendly route with a supporting role in the 2009 effort, Hotel for Dogs. Now more than a blip on the career radar of his brother, Matt Dillon, Kevin Dillon has an endearing television character to his name, and a career that won’t only be defined by acting genes.
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