An acting major at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, he went on to get his M.F.A. at New York University. Small roles on soaps led to Broadway, where he won praise (The New York Times once noted his “convincingly ragged charm”). But until Donovan moved to Los Angeles, on New Year’s Day 2002, he says he struggled. Nine months later he landed his first pilot, Touching Evil. “That changed the landscape,” he says.
Though that USA series was short-lived, the network liked Donovan enough to find him another vehicle, Burn Notice. A black belt in karate, the actor does most of his own stunts (thus the physique). Despite good reviews and a loyal viewership, the show has endured its share of ribbing, most notably on Saturday Night Live. Last season a skit revolved around “What Is Burn Notice?,” a mock game show on which three contestants, one of them played by Ashton Kutcher, try in vain to describe the program. Finally Kutcher blurts out, “Are they in Miami?”
The show is, in fact, shot on location. Donovan moved recently to Miami, though he still owns a house in Topanga Canyon, whose remoteness he adores. “I loved how hard it was to get there and how hard it was to come down off that mountain,” he says. “There’s an entire side of Topanga that gets no cell service. It’s a black hole. I love that.”
As for what else he loves, Donovan is amiably tight-lipped. “I’ve never spoken about my personal life,” he says. “It’s not that I’m so guarded. My life isn’t that juicy. I’m not in the tabloids. I’m not stumbling out of clubs.” Of paparazzi, he says, “I don’t understand these stars who are going ‘Why won’t they leave me alone?’ Well, because you’re shopping on fucking Robertson and Rodeo! There are other places to shop. Or, ‘I just can’t stand it when the paparazzi take photos of my kids.’ You’re in the Malibu playground where all the paparazzi wait for you to bring your child!”
Now Donovan’s assessing green and purple kale. “It’s really good for you. Chop it up. Squeeze a few lemons into the leaf,” he advises. He’s equally as clear about the best way to manage a career. “You don’t want to be a flash. As fast as you rise in this business is as fast as you fall,” he says as we wander past Pampas Grill, the Brazilian barbecue place he calls “my favorite restaurant.” Like Clint Eastwood, who directed him in the 2008 film Changeling, Donovan is directing now as well as acting (he did the third episode of this season’s Burn Notice). But he’s in no rush. “If it takes me 20 years to rise in this business, then hopefully it’s another 20 years till my demise. That’s a good 40 years. Then I can retire.”
