Donald Harrell is a native of Austin where he graduated from the Original L.C. Anderson High School. There he was very active in sports and academics. From there, he went on to attend the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Houston before joining the U.S. Navy. He served in Vietnam aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise. After service he went on to have many occupations and careers that include civil service, sales of various products and services, local area networking and other computer skills.

He was introduced to acting as an extra in Friday Night Lights. When he realized how much he liked acting, he decided to take some lessons to hone his skills. He is a Miesner trained actor that studied under David Cox. He continues to be a student of the craft in hopes of fulfilling a dream. He has acted in many independent films, commercials and plays around central Texas. As a hobby, he is a collector of paintings, prints and other collectibles.