Biography

Director, Writer & Producer D.B. Sweeney

Director, Writer & Producer D.B. Sweeney

Before breaking through as an actor on Broadway in The Caine Mutiny Court Martial, D.B. Sweeney played baseball, worked in construction, drove cabs and cooked in some of America’s finest restaurants. His many stage appearances led to movies and television where he’s played dozens of memorable roles including Shoeless Joe Jackson in Eight Men Out, Doug Dorsey in The Cutting Edge, Travis Walton in Fire in the Sky, and Dish Boggett in the landmark Lonesome Dove miniseries.

During his time in the New York Theatre, D.B. was discovered by directing legend Francis Ford Coppola and offered the leading role of Jackie Willow in Gardens of Stone opposite James Caan and James Earl Jones. This indelible and critically acclaimed performance led to a series of major parts in studio films including No Man’s Land with Charlie Sheen, the World War II hit Memphis Belle, the star studded Eight Men Out and the enduring romantic comedy The Cutting Edge. Other films include Roommates with Peter Falk, Hear No Evil with Marlee Matlin, Blue Desert with Courtney Cox, A Day in October, Spawn, Heaven is a Playground, Spike Lee’s Miracle at St Anna, Hardball with Keanu Reeves and Yellow. Sweeney also made his debut as screenwriter, director and producer with Two Tickets to Paradise.

The film stars John C. McGinley, Ed Harris, Moira Kelly and D.B. in the tale of three high school buddies who try to re-capture their long gone glory days in a hilarious road trip adventure.

The story strikes a chord among viewers who invariably see themselves or their hometown friends as one or more of the film’s deeply resonant and archetypical characters. D.B. has received dozens of accolades and awards for creating Two Tickets to Paradise including Best Narrative Feature at the Savannah Film Festival, the Audience Choice Award at The Vail Film Festival, Best Director at the Boston Film Festival and many more.

On television, D.B. starred in four series: as the mysterious Chance Harper in Strange Luck, Special Agent Scott Stoddard in C-16 FBI, mercenary Mike Pinocchio in Chris Carter’s Harsh Realm and as the clueless Mr. Whitman on Life As We Know It. TV films include the Emmy winning Miss Rose White with Kyra Sedgewick and the Emmy and Golden Globe winning Introducing Dorothy Dandridge opposite Halle Berry. D. B. has guest starred on some of television’s greatest shows from NYPD Blue to House, CSI to Jericho and The Event.

He continues to perform on stage regularly, especially at Hollywood’s Blank Theatre, where he is a founding board member.

One of the preeminent voice talents in the industry, D.B. created characters for the animated Disney films Dinosaur and Brother Bear and is the signature promotional performer for the Oprah Winfrey Network. He will soon be heard on Finneas and Ferb and in the film Boxcar Children. He currently narrates All Access for Showtime, Discovery Channel’s Mountain Men and Ice Pilots for Nat Geo. Past and present advertising accounts include Bud Lite, Lincoln Cars, Coca Cola, Major League Baseball, John Deere, NFL Network, Direct TV, Hallmark, Conocco Phillips and the NHL.

For many years D.B. has devoted himself to supporting our Troops and their families. He’s been overseas to war zones several times and made scores of appearances at posts, bases and ships stateside. In cooperation with the Army, he developed and runs a website called “letters from hollywood” which encourages other celebrities to send messages of support and gratitude to our peerless military.

Photo by: Aaron Farrier