Film

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 improvised while clanging three empty beer bottles together.^{[7][better source needed]} In the 1982 film 48 Hrs., starring Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy, director Walter Hill rewrote a role for Kelly and again named the character "Luther".^[7]

Kelly's film credits include Commando (1985, as Sully), The Crow, Crooklyn, Hammett, Wild at Heart, Dreamscape, The Adventures of Ford Fairlane, Last Man Standing, Songcatcher, K-PAX, The Longest Yard, Flags of Our Fathers, John Wick (reprising his role as Charlie in John Wick: Chapter Two), and Chi-Raq. He appeared in the 1996 video game Ripper.^[7]

Television

Kelly's television guest appearances include Twin Peaks, Miami Vice, Moonlighting, Spenser: For Hire, Ghostwriter, Third Watch, Hack, Kidnapped, Law & Order, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Gossip Girl, Louie, Blue Bloods, The Blacklist, and Feed the Beast.^{[8][better source needed]}

Stage

He performed in a few off-off-Broadway theater productions during the 1970s and 1980s. These included Wilford Leach's C.O.R.F.A.X. (Don't Ask), produced at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club in 1975,^[9] and Ireneusz Iredyński's An Altar to Himself, as adapted by Michal Kobialka and Liz Diamond and directed by Virlana Tkacz at La MaMa in 1989.^[10] He also appeared in the April 1974 production of Mr. Jello, written and directed by George Birimisa,^[11] and then performed a song for which he wrote the music from Mr. Jello, at a benefit hosted by La MaMa to honor H.M. Koutoukas, called "For the Benefit of Harry", also in 1974.^[12] In 1976, he performed in La MaMa's "Cracker Club Country Fair Gala" in segments from Paul Foster's Silver Queen and Leonard Melfi's Horse Opera.^[13]

In 1998, Kelly played the role of Feste in the Lincoln Center production of Twelfth Night directed by Nicholas Hytner.^[14] Kelly originated the role of Da in Once on Broadway, which was awarded the 2012 Tony Award for Best Musical.

Kelly has frequently appeared at the Hartford Stage Company in Hartford, Connecticut, starring in the title roles in Georg Büchner's Woyzeck and Molière's Tartuffe. He played Iago in Othello and Hoss in Sam Shepard's Tooth Of Crime. At the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts, he played the title role in Luigi Pirandello's Enrico IV and starred in an adaption of the Yuan dynasty classic Snow in June.

He has appeared in four plays by avant-garde playwright Richard Foreman: Pearls for Pigs, The Mind King, Film Is Evil/Radio Is Good, and The Cure.^[15][16] In 2015, he appeared as Michaud, alongside Keira Knightley, in the Roundabout Theatre Company's production of Helen Edmundson's adaptation of Thérèse Raquin in the Studio 54 space.^[17]

In 2022, Kelly played the Narrator and the Mysterious Man in Sondheim's Into the Woods at Encores! and later at the St. James Theatre on Broadway and on the 2023 national tour.^[18][19][20]

In 2024, Kelly played King Sextimus the Silent in Once Upon a Mattress at Encores!.

Kelly is playing Morten Kiil in Amy Herzog's new adaptation of An Enemy of the People at Circle in the Square Theatre on Broadway, directed by Sam Gold.

Music

As a composer and musician, Kelly participated in New York's rock and cabaret scene, playing such venues as Max's Kansas City, Reno Sweeney's, CBGB, and The Lower Manhattan Ocean Club.^{[citation needed]} He wrote the music for the titular song of George Birimisa's Mr. Jello, which was produced at La MaMa in 1974.^[21]

In May 2008, he released an album 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.^[22]

Film

Television

Video games

Theatre

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