Kelly is also known for his collaborations with Spike Lee, in the films Malcolm X (1992), Crooklyn (1994), and Chi-Raq (2015), and with David Lynch, appearing in Wild at Heart (1990) as well as Twin Peaks (1990–91) and its 2017 revival.

(1982), Commando (1985), The Crow (1994), The Funeral and Last Man Standing (both 1996), The Longest Yard (2005), as President Harry S. Truman in Flags of Our Fathers (2006), and a recurring role in The Blacklist (2015).

[citation needed] Kelly graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Detroit, and was a student of Marcel Marceau and Mira Rostova.

[14] 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.

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.

[17][18] 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.

Kelly played 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.

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.

[23] 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.