Kelly played Dropshadow in David Lynch's film Wild At Heart which won the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 1990. Kelly sang and played mandolin on the Grammy Award winning soundtrack for the Broadway musical Once. He received a Connecticut Critcs Circle Award for his performance in Tartuffe at Hartford Stage. He was nominated for a Lucille Lortel Award for his performance in Nathan Louis Jackson"s When I Come To Die at LCT3. In 1998 Kelly received an Obie Award for sustained excellence for his theater work in classics, new plays and the avant-garde.
Kelly was given a mandolin on St. Patrick's Day 1964 by his mother and considers that the greatest influence on his artistic life.
In his debut role of Luther in the 1979 cult film The Warriors, Kelly screeches the famous line, "Warriors...come out to play-ee-ay!!", which he himself improvised. In the hit 1982 film 48 Hrs., starring Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy Director Walter Hill rewrote a role for Kelly and again named the character "Luther".
Kelly's film credits include Commando (1985), in which he played Sully (a Green Beret-turned-mercenary), The Crow, as well as Crooklyn, Hammett, Wild at Heart, Dreamscape, The Adventures of Ford Fairlane, Last Man Standing, Songcatcher, K-PAX, the 2005 remake of The Longest Yard, Flags of Our Fathers, John Wick (reprising his role as Charlie in John Wick: Chapter Two), and Chi-Raq. He also appeared in the pioneering video game Ripper.
Kelly played Dropshadow in David Lynch's film Wild At Heart which won the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 1990. Kelly sang and played mandolin on the Grammy Award winning Soundtrack for the Broadway musical Once. He received a Connecticut Critcs Circle Award for his performance in Tartuffe at Hartford Stage. He was nominated for a Lucille Lortel Award for his performance in Nathan Louis Jackson"s When I Come To Die at LCT3. In 1998 Kelly received an Obie Award for sustained excellence for his theater work in classics, new plays and the avant-garde.
As a Composer and musician, Kelly participated in New York's rock and cabaret scene playing such legendary venues as Max's Kansas City, Reno Sweeney's, CBGB, and The Lower Manhattan Ocean Club. In May 2008, he released a CD of his original music titled David Patrick Kelly: Rip Van Boy Man, which contained new songs and live recordings from his club days in 1975.
On Broadway, Kelly originated the role of Da in Once, which was awarded the 2012 Tony Award for Best Musical. In 1998 he played Feste in the Lincoln Center production of Twelfth Night.
In 2015 he appeared as Michaud in the Roundabout Theatre Company's Broadway production of Helen Edmundson's adaptation of Thérèse Raquin alongside Keira Knightley at Studio 54.
