| Birth date | 19 April 1975 (age 51) |
|---|---|
| Birth place | Dublin, Ireland |
| Occupation | Actor, director, writer |
| Years active | 1985–present |
| Website | hughoconor.com |
Hugh O'Conor (born 19 April 1975) is an Irish actor, writer, director, and photographer. In 2020, he was listed as number 49 on The Irish Times list of Ireland's greatest film actors.[1]
Career
His first film appearance was opposite Liam Neeson in the 1985 movie Lamb.
He won a Young Artist Award in 1990 for his role in the Oscar-winning film My Left Foot, in which he portrayed the childhood days of Christy Brown, an Irishman born with cerebral palsy, who could control only his left foot. The film was nominated for five Oscars, including Best Picture, and won two: Daniel Day-Lewis for Best Actor and Brenda Fricker for Best Supporting Actress.[2] In his acceptance speech, Day-Lewis said he "shared Christy's life with a remarkable young actor called Hugh O'Conor".[3]
He starred in Benjamin Ross' The Young Poisoner's Handbook as murderer Graham Young,[4] which won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival in 1995.[5]
He was nominated as part of the cast for Outstanding Performance by a Cast at the 2001 SAG-AFTRA awards for his performance as Pére Henri in Chocolat (2000). The film was nominated for five Oscars, including Best Picture. It was also nominated for eight BAFTAs and four Golden Globes, both including Best Picture.[2]
In 2007, he was nominated for Best Actor at the Irish Film and Television Awards for his performance as James Van Der Bexton in Tony Herbert's Speed Dating (2006).[6]
His short film Corduroy was selected for competition as part of the Generation 14Plus presentation at the 60th Berlinale in Berlin. It received the award for Best Fiction/Experimental Film at the 2010 Clones Film Festival.
In 2011, his music videos for I Draw Slow (Swans) and The Whileaways (Dear My Maker) were nominated for the Irish Music Video awards.
He was part of the creative and performing team for RTE's sketch comedy Your Bad Self (2010), along with Domhnall Gleeson and Amy Huberman; the show won Best Entertainment at the 2011 Irish Film and Television Awards.[6]
His photograph Beckah, Dublin Airport was shortlisted and exhibited at the National Gallery of Ireland as part of the inaugural Hennessy Portrait Prize in 2014.[7]
In 2014, he received the Best Supporting Actor award at the Irish Times Theatre Awards for his performance as the Fool in Selina Cartmell's production of King Lear at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin.[8]
In 2018, his feature debut Metal Heart and animated short film The Overcoat premiered at the 2018 Galway Film Fleadh. Jordanne Jones won the Bingham Ray award for Best Newcomer. The Overcoat won Best Animated Sequence.[9]
In 2018, he received the Jim Sheridan Award for Achievement in Irish Film at the Irish Screen America film festival in Los Angeles.
He received the Dublin Film Critics' Circle Maverick award at the 2019 Dublin International Film Festival. The Overcoat received a special mention.[10]
He was nominated for the Independent Spirit award at the 2019 Santa Barbara International Film Festival for Metal Heart.[6]
Personal life
O'Conor was born on 19 April 1975 in Dublin, Ireland, and is the son of noted Irish pianist John O'Conor.
He studied drama at the Samuel Beckett Centre in Trinity College Dublin, and received a Fulbright scholarship to attend NYU Film School.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Lamb | Owen Kane | |
| 1986 | Rawhead Rex | Robbie Hallenbeck | |
| 1988 | Da | Boy Charlie | |
| 1989 | My Left Foot | Young Christy Brown | |
| 1993 | Red Hot | Yuri | |
| 1993 | The Three Musketeers | King Louis | |
| 1994 | Words Upon the Window Pane | Cabin Boy | |
| 1995 | The Young Poisoner's Handbook | Graham Young | |
| 1996 | The Boy from Mercury | Paul | |
| 1997 | Sawdust Tales | Isaac | |
| 2000 | Hotel Splendide | Stanley Smith | |
| 2000 | Chocolat | Father Henri | |
| 2002 | Deathwatch | Anthony Bradford | |
| 2003 | Coney Island Baby | Satchmo | |
| 2003 | Il compagno americano | Muffa | |
| 2003 | Bloom | Stephen Dedalus | |
| 2004 | Blueberry | Young Mike Blueberry | AKA, Renegade |
| 2005 | The Unusual Inventions of Henry Cavendish | Mr. Henry Cavendish | Short film |
| 2005 | George | Short film | |
| 2007 | Botched | Dmitry | |
| 2007 | Speed Dating | James Van Der Bexton | |
| 2007 | Waiting for Dublin | Twickers | |
| 2008 | Flick | Johnny 'Flick' Taylor | |
| 2008 | Summer of the Flying Saucer | Father Burke | |
| 2008 | A Film with Me in It | Detective | |
| 2008 | The Man Inside | Annoying Guy (voice) | Short film |
| 2010 | Miss Remarkable & her Career | Boyfriend (voice) | Short film |
| 2010 | Reuniting the Rubins | Yona Rubin | |
| 2011 | Killing Bono | Gary | |
| 2013 | The Stag | Fionnan | |
| 2013 | A Terrible Beauty | Lt. Arthur Dickson | |
| 2015 | Shem the Penman Sings Again | James Joyce | |
| 2015 | Pilgrimage | Brother Cathal | |
| 2016 | Handsome Devil | Dr. Eoin Mee | |
| 2016 | Property of the State | Fr. Joe Walsh | |
| 2017 | Mary Shelley | Samuel Taylor Coleridge | |
| 2018 | Sonja The White Swan | Winnie | |
| 2019 | Fritzi | Voice of Dad |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | The Irish R.M. | Jim Donovan | Episode: "Oweneen the Sprat" |
| 1991 | Perfect Scoundrels | Liam | Episode: "The Carpetbaggers" |
| 1998 | 30 Years to Life | Vinnie Dawson | TV film |
| 2002 | Fergus's Wedding | Sex Shop Assistant | Episode: "1.3" |
| 2005 | Showbands | Karl | TV film |
| 2006 | Showbands II | Karl | TV film |
| 2007 | Northanger Abbey | James Morland | TV film |
| 2008 | 10 Days to War | Magoo | Episode: "Our Business Is North" |
| 2009 | Psych Ward | Danny O'Hagan | Recurring role (4 episodes) |
| 2009 | Wild Decembers | The Crock | TV film |
| 2010 | Your Bad Self | 6 episodes | |
| 2010 | Lewis | Father Jasper | Episode: "The Dead of Winter" |
| 2010 | Three Wise Women | Tom | TV film |
| 2011 | Garrow's Law | Cathal Foley | Episode: "3.2" |
| 2012 | Saving the Titanic | Jonathan Shepherd | TV film |
| 2012 | Moone Boy | Elf | Episode: "Dark Side of the Moone" |
| 2013 | Ripper Street | Eagles | Episode:In My Protection |
| 2013 | A Terrible Beauty... | Lt. Arthur Dickson | TV film |
| 2015 | The Frankenstein Chronicles | James Hogg | |
| 2016 | The Fall | Dr. Lucas | Series 3 |
| 2019 | Resistance | Dr. Laurence Moore |
Film and television as writer and director
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Metal Heart | Director, film |
| 2010 | Your Bad Self | Writer, TV series |
| 2009 | Corduroy | |
| 2008 | Spacemen Three | |
| 2001 | Guilty of Love | Also producer |
References
- ^ Clarke, Donald & Brady, Tara. "The 50 greatest Irish film actors of all time – in order". The Irish Times
- ^ "My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown – IMDb". IMDb.
- ^ "Daniel Day-Lewis – 1990 Oscar Speech". YouTube. 28 September 2009. Archived 2021-12-13 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ Ebert, Roger (April 19, 1996). "The Young Poisoner's Handbook movie review (1996)". Chicago Sun-Times. – via Rogerebert.com
- ^ Sharf, Zack (17 January 2018). "Sundance Film Festival: Every Grand Jury Drama Prize Winner in History". IndieWire
- ^ "Hugh O'Conor". IMDb.
- ^ "Actor O'Conor makes Portrait Prize shortlist". Irish Independent. 7 November 2014.
- ^ "Irish Times Theatre Awards". The Irish Times
- ^ Clarke, Donald. "The best films from the 30th Galway Film Fleadh". The Irish Times
- ^ Clarke, Donald. "Jessie Buckley and Hugh O'Conor scoop Dublin film festival prizes". The Irish Times