Dullea made his debut in a television adaptation of
Mrs. Miniver (1960) with
Maureen O'Hara, playing the German pilot. He was also in the television films
Give Us Barabbas! (1961) and an adaptation of
All Summer Long (1961). He was in demand for guest appearances on television shows such as
Route 66,
The New Breed,
Checkmate and ''
Cain's Hundred. Dullea made his film debut in 1961 in Hoodlum Priest, cast on the strength of his work on Route 66
. His performance was well received. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Disney offered long-term contracts (roles in Two Weeks in Another Town
and Bon Voyage
) but Dullea turned both down. He did accept a non-exclusive contract with Seven Arts and shot a pilot for a series that was not picked up. He appeared in Los Angeles on stage in The Short Happy Life''. In 1962, Dullea starred with
Janet Margolin in
David and Lisa, a film based on the book by Theodore Isaac Rubin, M.D., a psychiatrist who treated the two mentally ill adolescents portrayed in the film. It was a low-budget film that became a break-out hit, making over $2 million, and turning Dullea into an established name.
Film Daily voted him "find of the year". Dullea appeared on television in shows, including
Empire,
The United States Steel Hour,
Bonanza,
Naked City,
Going My Way,
The Eleventh Hour,
Alcoa Premiere,
Kraft Mystery Theater,
Channing and ''
12 O'Clock High. He was second-billed in Mail Order Bride'' (1964), written and directed by
Burt Kennedy. Dullea starred in the first screen adaptation of
James Jones'
The Thin Red Line (1964), then did a television adaptation of
Pale Horse, Pale Rider and went to Italy to star in
The Naked Hour (1964). Dullea went to England to make
Bunny Lake Is Missing (1965), which co-starred Dullea with
Laurence Olivier,
Carol Lynley and
Noël Coward. Although they shared no scenes in the film, when Coward initially met Dullea on the set, he uttered the often quoted line "Keir Dullea, gone tomorrow." Nonetheless, he was voted one of 1965's "stars of tomorrow". Dullea played the son of
Lana Turner's character in
Ross Hunter's remake of
Madame X (1966), which underperformed commercially. He then appeared with
Anne Heywood and
Sandy Dennis in the Canadian box office hit,
The Fox (1967). His first Broadway appearance was in 1967 in
Ira Levin's ''Dr. Cook's Garden
with Burl Ives, which only had a short run. in 2001: A Space Odyssey'' In 1968, Dullea appeared as astronaut
David Bowman in
Stanley Kubrick's film
2001: A Space Odyssey, which became a box-office success and is recognized by critics, filmmakers and audiences as one of the
greatest and most influential films ever made. His line "Open the pod bay doors please, HAL" is #78 on the
American Film Institute's list of
100 film quotes. Dullea accepted the title role in the 1969 film
De Sade, playing the title role (the
Marquis de Sade). He had success on Broadway, starring in the 1969 hit comedy
Butterflies Are Free with
Eileen Heckart and
Blythe Danner. In the play, he introduced the title song written by
Stephen Schwartz (later recording the tune on an album for Platypus Records). The play was a huge hit, running for 1,128 performances, although Dullea did not appear in the film version. He did a series of television films:
Black Water Gold (1970),
Montserrat (1971) and
A Kiss Is Just a Kiss (1971). He did a thriller in Italy,
Devil in the Brain (1972), and guest-starred on
McMillan & Wife. Dullea worked in Canada on the film
Paperback Hero (1973) and worked in that country for a number of years. He had the lead role in a Canadian television series
The Starlost (1973) but it only ran eighteen episodes. He was a regular voice on
CBS Radio Mystery Theater, which ran from 1974 to 1982. He was credited on five episodes. Dullea was in
Paul and Michelle (1974) and had a major role in the Canadian production, 1974 cult classic
Black Christmas as Peter Smythe,
Jess Bradford's boyfriend. Also in 1974, he played Brick in the
Tennessee Williams's drama
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof opposite
Elizabeth Ashley and
Fred Gwynne on Broadway which ran 160 performances. He also starred in the 1975 play
P.S. Your Cat Is Dead. He appeared in the Canadian film
Welcome to Blood City (1977),
The Haunting of Julia (1977),
Three Dangerous Ladies (1977), the British
Leopard in the Snow (1977), the Australian ''
Because He's My Friend (1978), and some films for television: The Legend of the Golden Gun (1978), an adaptation of Brave New World (1980), The Hostage Tower (1980), No Place to Hide (1981) and BrainWaves'' (1982). In 1981, Dullea moved to
Westport, Connecticut. In 1982, he starred in an
off-Broadway production of
A. E. Hotchner's
Sweet Prince under the direction of his wife Susie Fuller. The following year, the couple co-founded the Theater Artists Workshop of Westport. He was in
Blind Date (1984) and
The Next One (1984). In 1984, he reprised his role as
David Bowman in
2010: The Year We Make Contact,
Peter Hyams' sequel to
2001.
2010 was nominated for five
Academy Awards. Dullea returned to Broadway when he joined the cast of the successful
Doubles (1985–86). He toured with a theatre show
Keir Dullea and Friends (1988). In 1990, he said "My career has a lot to do with choices I made in my life. My focus over the last, oh, at least 10 years has been the theater. I really haven't made very much effort with films. I did more than 20 plays before I ever did
The Hoodlum Priest, and (after that) I've done more than 20 films... It wasn't as if the industry had fired me; I had just made certain life decisions I suddenly was having to pay the piper for. So there was no film career at all. I'm always working (in theater). If I'm not engaged on stage in something, I'm working with my wife on another project. I no longer live my life waiting for my phone to ring to give me permission to work." In 2000, he appeared in
The Audrey Hepburn Story as Hepburn's father Joseph. That year he was also in
Songs in Ordinary Time (2000), and episodes of
Witchblade,
Ed,
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and
Law and Order. In summer 2002, he performed in the
Washington Shakespeare Theatre's production of
The Little Foxes. And the following year he could be seen in
Alien Hunter (2003). In 2006, he played Andrew Keener in
Cost of Capital, which was the sixteenth episode of the sixteenth season of the original
Law & Order American television series, and he had a role as a U.S. Senator and a "major influence and mentor" to
Matt Damon's character, in
Robert De Niro's film
The Good Shepherd (2006). He was the narrator in an off-Broadway production of
Mary Rose (2007). Dullea was in
The Accidental Husband (2009),
All Me, All the Time (2009),
Castle,
Fortune (2009) and
Damages. In 2009, Dullea performed the role of Brooks in the stage production of
The Shawshank Redemption in
Dublin,
Ireland. In April 2010, he performed the role of Tom Garrison in the off-Broadway production of the
Robert Anderson play,
I Never Sang for My Father co-starring Oscar-nominated actress
Marsha Mason (as Margaret Garrison) and film and stage actor
Matt Servitto (as Gene Garrison). He was in ''
Isn't It Delicious (2013) with his wife Mia Dillon, Infinitely Polar Bear (2014), Space Station 76 (2014) and April Flowers'' (2017). and
Christopher Nolan at the
2018 Cannes Film Festival Between July 10 and August 2, 2015, Dullea and Dillon were joined by Todd Cerveris, Cameron Clifford, Don Noble and Christa Scott-Reed in the
Bucks County Playhouse production of
Ernest Thompson's
On Golden Pond. He had a regular role in
The Path (2014–16) and could be seen in
Fahrenheit 451 (2018). Dullea was cast as Fleet Admiral Terrence Hood, a high-ranking UNSC officer, in the
Paramount+ television series
Halo which premiered on . ==Personal life==