Con O'Neill (actor)

Robert "Con" O'Neill (born 15 August 1966) is an English actor. He started his acting career at the Everyman Theatre and became primarily known for his performances in musicals. He received critical acclaim and won a Laurence Olivier Award for playing Michael "Mickey" Johnstone in the musical Blood Brothers. Subsequently, he was nominated for a Tony Award and a Drama Desk Award for the same role. He also appeared in many films and television series.

Con O'Neill
Born
Robert O'Neill

(1966-08-15) 15 August 1966
Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, England
OccupationActor
Years active1983–present

Career

He began his acting career at Liverpool's Everyman Youth Theatre.[1]

He was awarded the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical in 1988 for his performance in Willy Russell's Blood Brothers,[2] and was nominated for Broadway's 1993 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for Blood Brothers.[3]

In the 1980s, he had a walk-on role in One Summer as Jackson. He starred in Dancin' Thru the Dark, the 1990 film adaptation of Willy Russell's Stags and Hens.[4] In 1992, he played Cougar Glass in the world premiere of Philip Ridley's The Fastest Clock in the Universe, then had a supporting role in Cider with Rosie (1998). In 2003, he portrayed Mickey in The Illustrated Mum. In 2006, he starred as Aston in a tour of Sheffield theatres' production of Harold Pinter's The Caretaker.[5] In 1999, he starred in The Last Seduction II.[6]

In 2008, he appeared in Criminal Justice a five-part TV drama on the BBC, playing the part of Ralph Stone, a solicitor. He played the part of Joe Meek in both the 2008 film[7] and 2005 play[8] of Telstar: The Joe Meek Story. In 2011, he took the role of dock worker Eddie Carbone in Arthur Miller's A View From the Bridge at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester (from 18 May to 25 June 2011).[9] This portrayal won the 2011 Manchester Theatre Award for Best Actor.[10][11]

He played St. Paul in the 2013 mini-series The Bible.[12] He portrays Val Pearson in the sitcom Uncle (2014 to 2017).[13] He played Cliff in Cucumber, an eight-part TV drama series.[14] in 2015. He starred in the 35th-anniversary staging of Willy Russell's Educating Rita at The Liverpool Playhouse.[15][16] He appears as Neil Ackroyd in the second series of Happy Valley. In 2016, O'Neill played the part of Joe Brierley in the second series of Ordinary Lies and appeared in two episodes of the Doctor Who spin-off Class. In the 2019 HBO miniseries Chernobyl he portrayed the plant director Viktor Bryukhanov.

References
  1. "Con O'Neill". ATG Tickets. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  2. "Olivier Winners 1988". olivierawards.com. The Society of London Theatre. Archived from the original on 28 March 2014. Outstanding Performance of the Year by an Actor in a Musical
  3. "The official website of the American Theater Wing's Tony Awards". Tonyawards.com. 1 January 2000. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
  4. "Willy Russell Archive". www.ljmu.ac.uk. Liverpool John Moores University. DOC obtained via select tab 'Archive Catalogue' then next select 'Dancin Thru The Dark Film'. Archived from the original on 31 October 2014.
  5. Woodcock, Mike. "The Caretaker @ Sheffield Crucible". BBC. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  6. "The Last Seduction II". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  7. "Telstar — Film". theguardian.com (reviews). The Guardian.
  8. "Telstar Opening in London". playbill.com. Playbill. 24 June 2005.
  9. East, Ben (25 May 2011). "A View From The Bridge". The Stage. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
  10. "2011 Manchester Theatre Awards: Trophy winners". Archived from the original on 7 June 2019. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  11. "2011 Manchester Theatre Awards: Best Actor". Archived from the original on 7 June 2019. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  12. Perkins, Dennis (1 April 2013). "The Bible". The A.V. Club.
  13. "Uncle". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  14. "Russell T Davies drama series". channel4.com (Press release). Channel 4. 6 May 2014.
  15. Jones, Catherine (25 November 2014). "Everyman and Playhouse new season revealed". Liverpool Echo.
  16. Hutchison, David (25 November 2014). "Educating Rita leads new... Playhouse season". The Stage.
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