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]

Hugh O'Conor
O'Conor at JDIFF 2014
Born (1975-04-19) 19 April 1975 (age 49)
Dublin, Ireland
Occupation(s)Actor, director, writer
Years active1985–present
Websitehughoconor.com

Career

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His first film appearance was opposite Liam Neeson in the 1985 movie Lamb.

He won a Young Artist Awards 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's The Young Poisoner's Handbook,[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

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O'Conor was born on 19 April 1975 in Dublin, Ireland.

He studied drama at the Samuel Beckett Centre in Trinity College Dublin, and received a Fulbright scholarship to attend NYU Film School.

Filmography

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Hugh O'Conor in 2007
Film
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
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
Television
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

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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

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  1. ^ Clarke, Donald; Brady, Tara. "The 50 greatest Irish film actors of all time – in order". The Irish Times.
  2. ^ a b "My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown - IMDb" – via www.imdb.com.
  3. ^ "Daniel Day-Lewis - 1990 Oscar Speech". Archived from the original on 13 December 2021.
  4. ^ Ebert, Roger. "The Young Poisoner's Handbook movie review (1996) | Roger Ebert". www.rogerebert.com/.
  5. ^ Sharf, Zack (17 January 2018). "Sundance Film Festival: Every Grand Jury Drama Prize Winner in History".
  6. ^ a b c "Hugh O'Conor". IMDb.
  7. ^ "Actor O'Conor makes Portrait Prize shortlist". independent.
  8. ^ "Irish Times Theatre Awards". The Irish Times.
  9. ^ Clarke, Donald. "The best films from the 30th Galway Film Fleadh". The Irish Times.
  10. ^ Clarke, Donald. "Jessie Buckley and Hugh O'Conor scoop Dublin film festival prizes". The Irish Times.
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