Colin Arthur O'Donoghue (born 26 January 1981) is an Irish actor and musician, best known for portraying Captain Killian "Hook" Jones on the ABC TV show ''

Once Upon a Time "Once upon a time" is a stock phrase used to introduce a narrative of past events, typically in fairy tales and folk tales. It has been used in some form since at least 1380 (according to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'') in storytelling in the ...

''. He appeared in the 2011 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 Guillermo del Toro Gómez (; born October 9, 1964) is a Mexican filmmaker, author, and actor. He directed the Academy Award–winning fantasy films ''Pan's Labyrinth'' (2006) and ''The Shape of Water'' (2017), winning the Academy Awards for Be ...

animated series ''

Tales of Arcadia ''Tales of Arcadia'' is a trilogy of computer-animated science fantasy television series created for Netflix by Guillermo del Toro and produced by DreamWorks Animation and Double Dare You. The series comprising the trilogy follows the inhabit ...

'' for Netflix''.'' He is also portraying

Gordon Cooper Leroy Gordon "Gordo" Cooper Jr. (March 6, 1927 – October 4, 2004) was an American aerospace engineer, test pilot, United States Air Force pilot, and the youngest of the seven original astronauts in Project Mercury, the first human spac ...

on Disney+ Original Series '' The Right Stuff''. He starred in ''

Dolly Parton's Heartstrings ''Dolly Parton's Heartstrings'', or simply ''Heartstrings'', is an American anthology dramedy streaming television series that premiered on November 22, 2019 on Netflix. Premise ''Dolly Parton's Heartstrings'' showcases "the stories, memories ...

'' as J.J. Sneed.

Early life and education

Colin O'Donoghue, the son of Con and Mary O'Donoghue, was born and raised in

Drogheda Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...

County Louth County Louth ( ; ga, An Lú) is a coastal county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of Meath to the south, Monaghan to the west, Armagh to the north and Down to the ...

, in a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

family. He has an older brother named Allen. He is the cousin of musician

Harry O'Donoghue Harry O'Donoghue is an Irish musician. Childhood Harry was born in 1954 in the town of Drogheda on the banks of the river Boyne on the East coast of Ireland. Early career At age twenty, Harry began playing guitar and bodhran and was soon pe ...

. He attended Dundalk Grammar School, and later

The Gaiety School of Acting The Gaiety School of Acting (GSA) is a drama school located on Essex Street West in Temple Bar, Dublin, Ireland. It was founded by theatre director Joe Dowling in 1986. Organisation and location The Gaiety School of Acting was founded in 19 ...

in Dublin. At age 16, he went to Paris for a month to learn French.

Career

O'Donoghue's early career was mainly split between theatre and television work in Ireland and the UK. In 2003, he won the

Irish Film and Television Award The Irish Film & Television Academy (IFTA) is an all-Ireland organisation focused on film and television. It has about 1000 members, and is based in Dublin, with branches in London and Los Angeles. The IFTA now holds separate ceremonies for the ...

for "Best New Talent" for his role as Norman in "Home For Christmas". In 2009, he appeared as Duke Philip of Bavaria in an episode of season 3 of the

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

historical-fiction series ''

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''. He made his Hollywood film debut alongside

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in the horror

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'' The Rite'' (2011). 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. In 2012, O'Donoghue was cast as

Captain Hook Captain James Hook is a fictional character and the main antagonist of J. M. Barrie's 1904 play ''Peter Pan; or, the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up'' and its various adaptations, in which he is Peter Pan's archenemy. The character is a pirate captain ...

/Killian Jones, love interest of the main heroine

Emma Swan Emma Swan is a fictional character in ABC's television series ''Once Upon a Time'' and the protagonist of seasons 1-6. She is portrayed by Jennifer Morrison as an adult, by Abby Ross as a teenager, and by Mckenna Grace as a child. Emma appears ...

, in the second season of the hit

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

series ''

''. In 2014, O'Donoghue was cast as the main character in ''The Dust Storm'', an independent film set in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

as a musician named Brennan.

Christina Perri Christina Judith Perri (born August 19, 1986) is an American singer and songwriter. After her debut single "Jar of Hearts" was featured on the television series ''So You Think You Can Dance'' in 2010, Perri signed with Atlantic Records and releas ...

wrote a song, "The Words", which she dedicated to Colin's character (

) in ''

''. In December 2018, O'Donoghue was cast in an episode of the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

anthology drama series, '' Heartstrings''. The series premiered on 22 November 2019.

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 prior to their self-funded first album on track. 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 The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...

to record tracks for their "Chevy route 66" online campaign. The band worked on the music for

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...

's "5BY20" project. Their debut album ''Sounds Big on the Radio'' was to be released in March 2013, which was later scheduled for 2014. In May 2013, he announced he was leaving the band due to the filming schedule of ''Once Upon a Time''.

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.Staff
"Winners of the 1st Annual Irish Film & Television Awards"
ifta.ie; retrieved 1 February 2012.

Personal life

O'Donoghue married his wife Helen, a schoolteacher, in 2009, shortly after his appearance on ''

''. The couple have been together since they were eighteen and have two children: a son and a daughter.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Music videos

Theatre

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Odonoghue, Colin Living people 1981 births 21st-century guitarists 21st-century Irish male actors 21st-century Irish male singers Irish guitarists Irish male film actors Irish male soap opera actors Irish male stage actors Irish male television actors Irish male guitarists Male actors from County Louth Musicians from County Louth People from Drogheda