Owen McDonnell

McDonnell was born in Galway, Ireland. He attended the Central School of Speech and Drama in London, England, moving to the city in 1996.{{cite news|title=The Lisa Richards Agency: Owen McDonnell|url=http://www.lisarichards.ie/actorsm/owen-mcdonnell-actor#.Up0JG-LsygQ|accessdate=3 December 2013|publisher=lisarichards.ie}} Before breaking into film and television, McDonnell did a lot of theatre in Ireland and the United Kingdom.{{cite news|title=Tackling the dark side of life pays off for McDonnell|url=http://www.independent.ie/incoming/incoming_dailyfeed/tackling-the-dark-side-of-life-pays-off-for-mcdonnell-26694483.html|accessdate=3 December 2013|work=The Irish Independent|date=31 October 2010}}{{cite news|title=Owen McDonnell and Barry Simner on Single-Handed: interview|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/5949339/Owen-McDonnell-and-Barry-Simner-on-Single-Handed-interview.html|accessdate=3 December 2013|work=The Telegraph|date=31 July 2009}}

McDonnell had a role in the 2003 feature film Conspiracy of Silence. It was RTÉ Television's police drama Single-Handed that was McDonnell's television career break. He starred in all four series of the programme and was nominated for an IFTA Award for the role in 2011. McDonnell was given the lead role of Garda Sergeant Jack Driscoll after receiving a call from casting director Maureen Hughes. Appearing onstage in The Lieutenant of Inishmore in Galway Town Hall at the time, McDonnell, alongside two other cast members, left for Dublin to read the script for the original Single-Handed director Colm McCarthy. He was given the lead role a day later.{{cite news|title=Owen McDonnell on the Case in 'Single-Handed'|url=http://www.iftn.ie/actors/?act1=record&only=1&aid=73&rid=4280897&tpl=archnews&force=1|accessdate=3 December 2013|publisher=iftn.ie|date=13 December 2007}}

McDonnell appeared in RTÉ's Wild Decembers,{{cite news|title=Production starts on Wild Decembers|url=http://www.rte.ie/ten/news/2008/1124/415409-wilddecembers/|accessdate=3 December 2013|publisher=Raidió Teilifís Éireann|date=24 November 2008}} MI5 thriller Spooks on BBC One, crime thriller Silent Witness{{cite news|title=DOCUMENTARY: Dan Snow's History of the Winter Olympics (BBC Two, 9pm)|url=http://www.breakingnews.ie/showbiz/tonights-tv-tips-621283.html|accessdate=11 February 2014|publisher=breakingnews.ie|date=30 January 2014}} also on BBC One, and the first two series of sitcom Mount Pleasant on Sky1.{{cite news|title=Owen McDonnell Interview Extra|url=http://www.tvchoicemagazine.co.uk/interviewextra/owen-mcdonnell-single-handed|accessdate=3 December 2013|publisher=TV Choice Magazine|date=5 July 2011|archive-date=11 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131211060355/http://www.tvchoicemagazine.co.uk/interviewextra/owen-mcdonnell-single-handed|url-status=dead}}

In 2014 McDonnell starred as Inspector Fiachra Greene in the Irish language movie An Bronntanas (The Gift), screened at the Galway Film Fleadh and later put forward as Ireland's submission for the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 87th Academy Awards (2015).{{cite news|url=http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/movies/movie-news/irish-film-an-bronntanas-submitted-for-foreign-language-category-at-the-oscars-2015-30663007.html|title=Irish film 'An Bronntanas' submitted for Foreign Language category at the Oscars 2015|author=Aoife Kelly|publisher=Irish Independent|date=14 October 2014}} The film is edited from the five-episode television series of the same name, screened on TG4 in October and November 2014.{{cite web|url=http://www.rosg.ie/en/productions/An_Bronntanas_16|title=ROSG Productions – An Bronntanas (The Gift)|accessdate=16 October 2014}}{{cite web|url=http://www.iftn.ie/news/?act1=record&only=1&aid=73&rid=4287665&tpl=archnews&force=1|title=IFTN Speaks to 'An Bronntanas' Producer Ciarán Ó Cofaigh|publisher=IFTN|date=2 October 2014|author=Seán Brosnan}}

In 2015 McDonnell starred in the hit TG4 series An Klondike, a western set in the Klondike gold rush. In 2016 he starred in Wrecking the Rising, about time travelling gobdaws who accidentally kill PH Pearse before the Easter Rising, and in the short film An Béal Bocht based on Flann O'Brien's satirical novel.{{cite web| url = https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1711652/| title = Owen McDonnell - IMDb| website = IMDb}}

In 2018, McDonnell first appeared as Niko Polastri, husband to Sandra Oh's title character in Killing Eve. Upon meeting him at the first script read-throughs, Oh immediately felt that their on-screen relationship would be believable, and would serve as an important grounding force for her character.{{YouTube|-ftQeUp018A}}

McDonnell lives in London with his British girlfriend Jill.

{{Reflist|2}}

• {{twitter|owenmcdonnell}}
• {{IMDb name|id=1711652}}
• [http://www.iftn.ie/news/?act1=record&only=1&aid=73&rid=4287626&tpl=archnews&force=1 2014 interview with McDonnell about his career and upcoming roles]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:McDonnell, Owen}}

Category:Living people

Category:1974 births

Category:20th-century Irish people

Category:21st-century Irish people

Category:Irish male film actors

Category:Irish male stage actors

Category:Male actors from Galway (city)

Category:Male actors from London