Brenock Grant O'Connor (born 9 April 2000) is an English actor and singer. He is best known for his portrayal of

Olly Olly, like the similarly spelt Ollie, is a variant of the given names Olivia and Oliver. Notable people and characters with this form of the name include: People * Olly Alexander (born 1990), British musician, actor, television presenter and LG ...

in the HBO fantasy TV series '' Game of Thrones'' (2014–2016). He was part of the main casts of the British series ''

Dickensian Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian er ...

'' (2015–2016), '' Living the Dream'' (2016–2019), and, most recently, the Amazon Prime series ''

Alex Rider ''Alex Rider'' is a series of spy novels written by British author Anthony Horowitz. The novels revolve around a teenage spy named Alex Rider and is primarily aimed towards young adults. The series currently comprises thirteen novels, as we ...

'' (2020–present). He is also a musician under the artist name "McGovern."

Early life

Growing up, O'Connor attended the Chatsmore Catholic High School (changed to Saint Oscar Romeo Catholic School in 2020) in Goring and studied theatre at The Theatre Workshop Stage School in Brighton. He started performing on stage at the age of six in the Hammond Pantomimes at the Pavilion Theatre in

Worthing Worthing () is a seaside town in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 111,400 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Brighton and Ho ...

, and won a theatre scholarship while attending.

Career

O'Connor big break was in 2014 as Olly in the HBO fantasy television series '' Game of Thrones''. The character was introduced originally as a one episode character, to further the story between the

Wildlings George R. R. Martin's '' A Song of Ice and Fire'' saga features a large cast of characters. The series follows three interwoven plotlines: a dynastic war for control of Westeros by several families; the rising threat of the superhuman Others bey ...

and the Night's Watch at Castle Black, but was kept on the show to provide more backstory surrounding the deaths of

Ygritte George R. R. Martin's ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' saga features a large cast of characters. The series follows three interwoven plotlines: a dynastic war for control of Westeros by several families; the rising threat of the superhuman Others beyo ...

and Jon Snow in the fourth and fifth seasons, respectively. O'Connor appeared in seventeen episodes throughout the series, with his last appearance in the sixth-season episode " Oathbreaker," when he was hanged by a resurrected Jon Snow. Regarding his character Olly's betrayal of Jon Snow in the fifth-season episode " Mother's Mercy," O'Connor stated that he received many negative messages from fans of the show, as well as some positive messages from people regarding his performance in the role. In a subsequent interview, O'Connor stated he was content with the controversial reaction to his character, noting "It's very rare for my character to get noticed really, so I was quite happy with the reaction that I got. When you do something bad, you want a bad reaction for it." O'Connor has also appeared in several other roles, including Peter Cratchit in the

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

series ''

'', which premiered in December 2015. He also starred in the 2015 British children's adventure film ''Young Hunters: The Beast of Bevendean''. He's appeared in a music video with

Noah and the Whale Noah and the Whale were a British indie rock and folk band from Twickenham, formed in 2006. The band's last line-up consisted of Charlie Fink (vocals, guitar), Tom Hobden (violin/ keyboards), Matt "Urby Whale" Owens (bass guitar), Fred Abbott ...

as well as several television commercials for

Haribo Haribo ( ) is a German confectionery company founded by Hans Riegel Sr.. It began in Kessenich, Bonn, Germany. The name "Haribo" is a syllabic abbreviation formed from Hans Riegel Bonn. The company created the first gummy candy in 1960 in the f ...

, and as a lead character part in one episode of '' Holby City''. On stage O'Connor has performed in front of audiences on the tour of

Cameron Mackintosh Sir Cameron Anthony Mackintosh (born 17 October 1946) is a British theatrical producer and theatre owner notable for his association with many commercially successful musicals. At the height of his success in 1990, he was described as being "th ...

's '' Oliver!'', playing the part of The Artful Dodger alongside

Iain Fletcher Iain Fletcher is a British actor, best known for his role as DC Rod Skase in the ITV1 drama series ''The Bill''. He portrayed the character for six years from 1994 to 2000. Other television credits include '' Band of Brothers'', '' Murphy’s ...

, Neil Morrissey and

Samantha Barks Samantha Jane Barks (born 2 October 1990) is a Manx actress and singer who rose to fame after placing third in the BBC talent show-themed television series '' I'd Do Anything'' in 2008. She has released three studio albums: ''Looking in Your ...

. In addition to acting, O'Connor is a singer and guitarist, and has posted several cover songs on YouTube. In 2019, O'Connor was cast for the part of Conor Lawlor in the musical adaptation of ''

Sing Street ''Sing Street'' is a 2016 coming-of-age comedy-drama film written and directed by John Carney from a story by Carney and Simon Carmody. Starring Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, Lucy Boynton, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Aidan Gillen, Jack Reynor and Kelly Thor ...

'' based on the 2016 movie by John Carney, who also directed Once and was adapted for the stage as a musical as well. The ''Sing Street'' musical adaptation was originally presented at New York Theatre Workshop in December 2019. It was scheduled to premiere on Broadway at the Lyceum Theatre in Spring 2020 with an Original Cast Recording already released. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the production's premiere was pushed back until the end of 2021. O’Connor auditioned for the role of

in the 2020 television series of the same name, but was instead given the role of Tom Harris, Alex's best friend. In an interview O’Connor stated that he did not mind not playing the lead character, saying "To be involved in this in any way is a dream come true. The books are just a major influence on my childhood."

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

Selected credits

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:OConnor, Brenock 2000 births Living people 21st-century English male actors English male film actors English male television actors English people of Irish descent