Ray O'Leary
{{short description|New Zealand comedian and actor}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Ray O'Leary
| image = Ray O'Leary at the 2024 Edinburgh Festival Fringe 3 (cropped).jpg
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name = Matthew O'Leary{{cite news |last1=Russell |first1=Emma |title=Whanganui comedian nominee for Billy T award |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/whanganui-chronicle/news/whanganui-comedian-nominee-for-billy-t-award/QMJZQL2WUCGFRHI5N2W3H2D5JY/ |work=Whanganui Chronicle |date=16 May 2017}}
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1989|2|5|mf=y}}The Doctor Squee Show - Ray O'Leary Interview - Time stamp 2:10mins https://www.youtube.com/live/MzGH_FRaxc8
| birth_place = Whanganui, New Zealand
| death_date =
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| occupation = {{hlist|Comedian|actor}}
| alma_mater = Victoria University of Wellington (MPhil)
| known_for =
| notable_works =
|module={{Infobox comedian|child=yes
| medium = {{hlist|Television|stand-up}}
| active = 2015{{endash}}present
| genre = {{hlist|Observational|deadpan}}
| subject =
}}
}}
Matthew "Ray" O'Leary is a New Zealand comedian, TV personality and actor, known for his deadpan humour and large grey suit.
Early life and education
O'Leary grew up in Whanganui, New Zealand, where he attended Cullinane College.{{cite news |title=120-year-old tree falls on house of Whanganui comedian Ray O'Leary |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/whanganui-chronicle/news/120-year-old-tree-falls-on-house-of-whanganui-comedian-ray-oleary/NANQ4AOXWMULW5W3ICDYZWIKOM/ |access-date=2 August 2023 |work=NZ Herald |date=16 April 2018}}{{cite web |last1=Empson |first1=Madelaine |title=Don't ask Ray O'Leary about his dogs |url=https://www.regionalnews.kiwi/articles/dont-ask-ray-oleary-about-his-dogs |website=Regional News – Eyes on Wellington |date=27 April 2021}} He has a bachelor's and master's degree in philosophy from Victoria University of Wellington.{{cite news |last1=Hubbard |first1=Catherine |title=Ray O'Leary's dark, observational comedy tickles the funny bone |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/131007321/ray-olearys-dark-observational-comedy-tickles-the-funny-bone |work=Stuff.co.nz |date=17 February 2023}}{{cite news |last1=Wilson |first1=Zaryd |title=Big read: Whanganui comedian Ray O'Leary on dark comedy, philosophy and making a living being funny |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/whanganui-chronicle/news/big-read-whanganui-comedian-ray-oleary-on-dark-comedy-philosophy-and-making-a-living-being-funny/PTQ55IM3TPWXZ24JZJ7XDYGU2E/ |work=Whanganui Chronicle |date=14 June 2019}}
At university, O'Leary's friends gave him the nickname "Ray" because they thought he sounded like Ray Romano.
Peter Singer's 1975 book Animal Liberation convinced O’Leary to become vegan.{{cite web|url=https://www.sporty.co.nz/canta/newsarticle/111489?newsfeedId=1453017|title=Comedian Corner: Ray O'Leary|publisher=Canta|access-date=9 October 2023}}
Career
Tired of working as a public servant, O'Leary began performing stand-up comedy in 2015 in Wellington.{{cite web |last1=Miller |first1=Ayla |title=Twenty plus questions with comedian Ray O'Leary |url=https://ontherecordco.wordpress.com/2018/09/24/twenty-plus-questions-with-ray/ |website=On the Record |date=24 September 2018}} By 2018, he was also writing for television shows. He has written for 7 Days.
O'Leary has appeared on various panel shows, including Have You Been Paying Attention?, The Cheap Seats, Guy Montgomery's Guy Mont-Spelling Bee, 7 Days, and Patriot Brains.{{cite news |last1=James |first1=Shauni |title=Comedian Ray O'Leary bringing his deadpan and whip-smart humour to Rotorua |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/rotorua-daily-post/news/comedian-ray-oleary-bringing-his-deadpan-and-whip-smart-humour-to-rotorua/IHWXHTC6U5B6PKQ3ZTZ53YEFGI/ |work=Rotorua Daily Post |date=19 January 2023}} Other television programs O'Leary has been in include Thank God You're Here, Raised by Refugees, Golden Boy, and My Favourite Dead Person. Podcasts he has participated in include Waterdeep Mountain High and Socrates Walks Into A Bar.
In 2018, O'Leary and Lucy Roche performed the show Young, Dumb and Full of Comedy.{{cite web |last1=Longshaw-Park |first1=Rachel |title=REVIEW: Lucy Roche and Ray O'Leary: Young, Dumb and Full of Comedy (NZ International Comedy Festival) |url=http://www.theatrescenes.co.nz/review-lucy-roche-and-ray-oleary-young-dumb-and-full-of-comedy-nz-international-comedy-festival/ |website=Theatre Scenes |date=11 May 2018}} O'Leary presented his comedy show Everything Funny All the Time Always in 2023 across New Zealand and then at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and the Sydney Comedy Festival.{{cite news |last1=Low |first1=Lenny Ann |title=The new wave of Kiwi comics ready to tickle Australian audiences |url=https://www.smh.com.au/culture/comedy/the-new-wave-of-kiwi-comics-ready-to-tickle-australian-audiences-20230328-p5cvz7.html |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=31 March 2023}}
He appeared in the fourth series of Taskmaster NZ in 2023. In 2024, he performed his show Your Laughter Is Just Making Me Stronger in Perth, Melbourne, Brisbane, Auckland, and Wellington.{{cite web |last1=Burnett |first1=Jamie |title=Comedian Ray O'Leary |url=https://www.6pr.com.au/comedian-ray-oleary-in-studio/ |publisher=6PR |date=21 February 2024}}{{cite web |last1=Jones |first1=Bridget |title='That is how Ray eats for cheap' |url=https://www.thepost.co.nz/culture/350242006/how-ray-eats-cheap |publisher=The Post |date=12 April 2024}}{{cite web |last1=Bennett |first1=Steve |title=Ray O'Leary: Your Laughter Is Just Making Me Stronger |url=https://www.chortle.co.uk/review/2024/04/11/55387/ray_oleary%3A_your_laughter_is_just_making_me_stronger |publisher=Chortle |date=11 April 2024}}
Influences on O'Leary include Scott Aukerman, Nate Bargatze, Ellen DeGeneres, Stewart Lee, Norm Macdonald, Guy Montgomery, and Tig Notaro. Fans of O'Leary have been known to dress up as him at his shows.
O'Leary won Best Newcomer at the 2016 Wellington Comedy Awards, and was nominated for the Billy T Award in 2017, for his show A Pessimist's Guide to Optimism,{{cite web |title=Meet the 2017 Billy T Nominees |url=https://www.comedyfestival.co.nz/news-feed/meet-the-2017-billy-t-nominees/ |access-date=26 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170416132033/https://www.comedyfestival.co.nz/news-feed/meet-the-2017-billy-t-nominees/ |archive-date=2017-04-16 |date=7 March 2017 |url-status=dead}} and in 2020, for his show Ray Against the Machine.
{{As of|2024}}, O'Leary is repped by Jubilee Street Management.{{cite web |title=Ray O'Leary |url=https://www.jubileest.com/ray-oleary |publisher=Jubilee Street Management |access-date=2 September 2023}}
References
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Category:21st-century New Zealand male actors
Category:Date of birth missing (living people)
Category:New Zealand male comedians
Category:People educated at Cullinane College
Category:Contestants on New Zealand game shows
Category:Victoria University of Wellington alumni
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)