Colin_O'Donoghue
Colin O'Donoghue
Irish actor
Colin O'Donoghue (born 26 January 1981)[1][2] is an Irish actor and musician, best known for portraying Captain Killian "Hook" Jones on the ABC TV show Once Upon a Time. He appeared in the horror thriller film The Rite (2011) as a skeptical novice priest, Michael Kovak. He portrayed the character of Douxie Casperan in the Guillermo del Toro animated series Tales of Arcadia for Netflix. He is also portraying Gordon Cooper on Disney+ Original Series The Right Stuff. He starred in Dolly Parton's Heartstrings as J.J. Sneed.
Colin O'Donoghue | |
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O'Donoghue in 2023 at Galaxy Con Raleigh | |
| Born | Colin Arthur O'Donoghue (1981-01-26) 26 January 1981 (age 43) Drogheda, County Louth, Ireland |
| Alma mater | Gaiety School of Acting |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2001–present |
| Height | 178 cm (5 ft 10 in) |
| Spouse | Helen O'Donoghue (m. 2009) |
| Children | 2 |
| Relatives | Harry O'Donoghue (cousin) |
Colin O'Donoghue, the son of Con and Mary O'Donoghue, was born and raised in Drogheda, County Louth, in a Roman Catholic family.[3] He has an older brother named Allen.[4] He is the cousin of musician Harry O'Donoghue.[5] He attended Dundalk Grammar School, and later The Gaiety School of Acting in Dublin.[2] At age 16, he went to Paris for a month to learn French.[6]
O'Donoghue's early career was mainly split between theatre and television work in Ireland and the UK.[7] In 2003, he won the Irish Film and Television Award for "Best New Talent" for his role as Norman in "Home For Christmas".[7]
In 2009, he appeared as Duke Philip of Bavaria in an episode of season 3 of the Showtime historical-fiction series The Tudors. He made his Hollywood film debut alongside Anthony Hopkins in the horror thriller film The Rite (2011).[2] He made an audition video for The Rite in a friend's home studio in Drogheda and sent it to the United States. He plays guitar and sings in a band called The Enemies, formed in 2003 in Ireland.[2]
In 2012, O'Donoghue was cast as Captain Hook/Killian Jones, love interest of the main heroine Emma Swan, in the second season of the hit ABC series Once Upon a Time. In 2014, O'Donoghue was cast as the main character in The Dust Storm, an independent film set in Nashville, Tennessee as a musician named Brennan.[8][9]
Christina Perri wrote a song, "The Words", which she dedicated to Colin's character (Captain Hook) in Once Upon a Time.[10]
In December 2018, O'Donoghue was cast in an episode of the Netflix anthology drama series, Heartstrings.[11] The series premiered on 22 November 2019.[12]
The Enemies
O'Donoghue was part of the five-piece Irish band, "The Enemies", which was formed in 2003 by O'Donoghue and a close friend, Ronan McQuillan. The Enemies released their self-titled debut EP on 7 March 2011[13] prior to their self-funded first album on track.[14] He played guitar and sang backing vocals on the band's first EP and debut album.
Although the band was unsigned, it was commissioned by General Motors to record tracks for their "Chevy route 66" online campaign.[15] The band worked on the music for Coca-Cola's "5BY20" project.[16] Their debut album Sounds Big on the Radio was to be released in March 2013, which was later scheduled for 2014.[17] In May 2013, he announced he was leaving the band due to the filming schedule of Once Upon a Time.[18]
Awards
For his role in Home for Christmas, he was awarded Best New Talent at the 1st Irish Film & Television Awards, held on 1 November 2003.[19]
Podcast host
O'Donoghue has been the co-host of The Sync Report podcast since 2022,[20] his first episode airing in February 2022 and featuring Steve Vai as guest.[21] His fellow co-hosts are American film producer Rose Ganguzza and music supervisor Jason P. Rothberg.
O'Donoghue married his wife Helen, a schoolteacher, in 2009, shortly after his appearance on The Tudors.[22] The couple have been together since they were eighteen and have two children: a son[23] and a daughter.[24]
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Call Girl | Brendan | Short film |
| 2006 | 24/7 | Nick | Short film |
| 2009 | The Euthanizer | Ben | Short film |
| 2011 | The Rite | Michael Kovak | |
| 2012 | Storage 24 | Mark | |
| 2016 | The Dust Storm | Brennan | |
| 2016 | Carrie Pilby | Professor David Harrison | |
| 2018 | What Still Remains | Peter | |
| 2021 | Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans | Douxie (voice) | |
| 2022 | Luck | Gerry (voice) |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Rebel Heart | Rowe | Miniseries; episode 1 |
| 2002 | Home for Christmas | Norman Quested | Television film Irish Film & Television Award for Best New Talent[19] |
| 2004 | Love Is the Drug | Peter | 2 episodes |
| 2005 | Proof | Jamie | 2 episodes |
| Fair City | Emmet Fitzgerald | 3 episodes | |
| 2006–08 | The Clinic | Conor Elliott | 11 episodes |
| 2009 | The Tudors | Duke Philip of Bavaria | Episode: "The Undoing of Cromwell" |
| Wild Decembers | Young guard | Television film | |
| 2011 | Identity | John Bloom | Television pilot |
| 2012–18 | Once Upon a Time | Captain Hook/Killian Jones | Main role (season 2–6) Guest Role (season 7) |
| Wish Hook/Rogers | Guest role (season 6) Main Role (season 7) | ||
| 2018 | Trollhunters | Douxie (voice) | 3 episodes |
| 2019 | 3Below: Tales of Arcadia | 2 episodes | |
| Dolly Parton's Heartstrings | JJ Sneed | Episode: "JJ Sneed"[11] | |
| 2020 | The Right Stuff | Gordon Cooper[25] | Main role |
| Wizards: Tales of Arcadia | Douxie (voice) | ||
| 2022 | The Great North | Dr. Callahan (voice) | 1 episode: "Cillian Me Softly Adventure" |
Video games
| Year | Title | Role | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Trollhunters: Defenders of Arcadia | Douxie (voice) |
Music videos
| Year | Title | Artist(s) | Role | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | "The Words" | Christina Perri | Love interest | [26][27] |
| Year | Title[28] | Role | Theatre | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aoife and Isobel | Project Theatre | Dublin, Ireland | ||
| The Dream of a Summer Day | Storytellers Theatre Company | Dublin, Ireland | ||
| Eclipse | Olivier Theatre | London, England | ||
| Eugene Onegin – The Roadshow | Something Different Theatre Company | Oxford, England | ||
| Leaving | Quarehawks Theatre Company | Monaghan, Ireland | ||
| Moonlight Mickey's | Calipo Theatre Company | Drogheda, Ireland | ||
| Othello | Second Age Theatre Company | Dublin, Ireland | ||
| Outlying Islands | Island Theatre Company | Chicago, US | ||
| Sky Road | Theatre Royal Waterford | Waterford, Ireland | ||
| The Taming Of The Shrew | Rough Magic Theatre Company | Dublin, Ireland | ||
| Walking the Road | Axis Theatre | Vancouver, Canada | ||
| What the Dead Want | Project Theatre | Dublin, Ireland | ||
| 2024 | 2:22 A Ghost Story | Sam | 3Olympia Theatre | Dublin, Ireland |
| Year | Group | Award | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Irish Film and Television Awards | Best New Talent | Won | Home for Christmas |
| 2014 | People's Choice Awards | Favorite On-Screen Chemistry shared with: Jennifer Morrison | Nominated | Once Upon a Time |
| 2015 | Teen Choice Awards | Choice TV Liplock shared with: Jennifer Morrison | Nominated | Once Upon a Time |
| 2016 | Teen Choice Awards | Choice TV Liplock shared with: Jennifer Morrison | Won | Once Upon a Time |
| 2017 | Teen Choice Awards | Choice TV Liplock shared with: Jennifer Morrison | Nominated | Once Upon a Time |
| 2017 | Teen Choice Awards | Choice Scene Stealer | Nominated | Once Upon a Time |
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- "Colin O'Donoghue on Twitter". Twitter. Archived from the original on 22 October 2022.
- O'Doherty, Cahir (19 January 2011). "Colin O'Donoghue's 'Rite' of Passage". IrishCentral. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
- Staff (24 January 2011). "Alice Braga & Colin O'Donoghue Talk Devils, Exorcisms & Sir Anthony Hopkins – Alice Braga & Colin O'Donoghue Interview on The Rite, a New Horror Movie from Director Mikael Håfström and Starring Sir Anthony Hopkins". horror.com. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
- Comyn, Alison (23 February 2011). "Colin's film premieres to rave reviews". Drogheda Independent. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
- O'Donoghue, Harry (4 November 2014). "August 21, 2013". Harry O'Donoghue. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
- Dominguez, Robert (26 January 2011). "Filmed on Location: Colin O'Donoghue of 'The Rite'". Daily News. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
- "Official Website of Colin O'Donoghue". Archived from the original on 8 June 2016. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
- music video, youtube.com; accessed 6 November 2015.
- Petski, Denise (19 December 2018). "Colin O'Donoghue & Willa Fitzgerald Among Five Cast In 'JJ Sneed' Episode Of Dolly Parton Netflix Anthology". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
- Sollosi, Mary (17 October 2019). "First look at the glitz and glamour of Dolly Parton's Heartstrings on Netflix". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
- "The Enemies – EP by The Enemies". iTunes Store Ireland. Apple. Retrieved 28 September 2012.
- "Pop | Rock | Band | Group | Drogheda". The Enemies Music. Retrieved 28 September 2012.
- "ABOUT". THE ENEMIES. Archived from the original on 28 December 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
- Entertainment. "The Enemies making friends around the globe". Drogheda-Independent.ie. Retrieved 28 September 2012.
- "The Enemies on Twitter". Retrieved 21 May 2017.
- "Colin o'donoghue on Twitter". Retrieved 21 May 2017.
- Staff. "Winners of the 1st Annual Irish Film & Television Awards", ifta.ie; retrieved 1 February 2012.
- The Sync Report, instagram; accessed 29 September 2023.
- "S1 Ep9:The Sync Report with Steve Vai". Retrieved 29 September 2023.
- Molony, Julia (9 September 2013). "SUCH a wicked right hook". Irish Independent. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
His first step to stardom took the form of a small part in The Tudors, aka almost every Irish actor's rite of passage. It was here that fate intervened on behalf of our hero. Important people in LA saw his appearance in the show – all eight minutes of it, and on the strength of that, invited him over to LA to sign with a Hollywood agency. The only snag was that all this happened just a few weeks before he was due to marry his childhood sweetheart back in Ireland.
- Colin O'Donoghue [@colinodonoghue1] (5 August 2013). "I'd like to welcome my beautiful baby boy, Evan into the world!! Born early Thursday morning. So proud to be a father!!" (Tweet). Retrieved 29 January 2017 – via Twitter.
- Colin O'Donoghue [@colinodonoghue1] (14 May 2017). "Happy Mother's Day to my wonderful Mum, and to my amazing wife who delivered a beautiful daughter this week! Woohoo!!" (Tweet). Retrieved 14 May 2017 – via Twitter.
- Petski, Denise (12 July 2019). "'The Right Stuff': Colin O'Donoghue To Star In Nat Geo Series In Recasting". Deadline. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
- Wass, Mike (26 January 2015). "Christina Perri's "The Words" Video Is A Fairytale (Of Sorts) Starring 'Once Upon A Time' Actor Colin O'Donoghue: Watch". Idolator. Spin Media. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
- Christina Perri (25 January 2015). "Christina Perri - The Words [Official Video]". YouTube. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
- "Biography". Colinodonoghue.com. Archived from the original on 8 June 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
