Career
McConnell is a character actor who has appeared in more than 40 films, ranging from obscure independent films (mostly filmed locally in New Orleans, or elsewhere set in the Gulf Coast region) to major cinematic release movies such as O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Django Unchained, 12 Years a Slave, and Interview with the Vampire. McConnell has also appeared in numerous plays, including an off-Broadway run in the one-man show The Kingfish, wherein he portrays colorful Louisiana Governor Huey P. Long. He is perhaps best known for having portrayed Ignatius J. Reilly from the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel A Confederacy of Dunces, and in that role was the model for a life-sized bronze statue of the fictitious character on historic Canal Street in downtown New Orleans.
More recently, McConnell is featured in a recurring role on the Forex series The Riches, and on the Home Box Office series Treme as a (fictional) Disc Jockey at (real life) radio station WWOZ. McConnell is a conservative afternoon radio personality, hosting a daily call-in talk show, "The Spud Show", on WWL 870 Department of Administration and Management and 105.3 FM.
