Robert "Con" O'Neill (born 15 August 1966) is an English actor. He started his acting career at the Everyman Theatre and became primarily known for his performances in musicals. He received critical acclaim and won a

Laurence Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known as ...

for playing Michael "Mickey" Johnstone in the musical '' Blood Brothers''. Subsequently, he was nominated for a

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...

and a

Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. Fo ...

for the same role. He has also appeared in many films and television series.

Early life

O'Neill was born on 15 August 1966 in

Weston-super-Mare Weston-super-Mare, also known simply as Weston, is a seaside town in North Somerset, England. It lies by the Bristol Channel south-west of Bristol between Worlebury Hill and Bleadon Hill. It includes the suburbs of Mead Vale, Milton, Oldmixon ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

Career

O'Neill trained at the Elliott-Clarke College in Liverpool and began his acting career at Liverpool's

Everyman Youth Theatre The Everyman and Playhouse Youth Theatre is a Liverpool-based stage and drama company for young people in Merseyside. Located at Liverpool's Everyman Theatre, the Youth Theatre is open to teenagers and provides weekly sessions in a wide variety o ...

. He was awarded the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical in 1988 for his performance in

Willy Russell William Russell (born 23 August 1946) is an English dramatist, lyricist and composer. His best known works are ''Educating Rita'', ''Shirley Valentine'', '' Blood Brothers'' and ''Our Day Out''. Early life Russell was born in Whiston, Lancash ...

's '' Blood Brothers'', and was nominated for Broadway's 1993

Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical is awarded to the actor who was voted as the best actor in a musical play, whether a new production or a revival. The award has been given since 1948, but the nominees who did no ...

for ''Blood Brothers''. In the 1980s, he had a walk-on role in ''One Summer'' as Jackson. He starred in ''

Dancin' Thru the Dark ''Screen One'' is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and distributed by BBC Worldwide, that was transmitted on BBC One from 1989 to 1998. A total of six series were broadcast, incorporating sixty individual fil ...

'', the 1990 film adaptation of Willy Russell's ''

Stags and Hens ''Stags and Hens'' is a play written by Willy Russell. Like most of Willy Russell's work, the play discusses working class society in England in the 1970s. It makes comments about the working class' intellect, life, party habits and the exclusio ...

''. In 1992, he played Cougar Glass in the world premiere of

Philip Ridley Philip Ridley (born 1957 in East London) is an English storyteller working in a wide range of artistic media. As a visual artist he has been cited as a contemporary of the 'Young British Artists', and had his artwork exhibited internationally. ...

's ''

The Fastest Clock in the Universe ''The Fastest Clock in the Universe'' is a two act play by Philip Ridley. It was Ridley's second stage play and premiered at the Hampstead Theatre, London on 14 May 1992 and featured Jude Law in his first paid theatre role, playing the part of F ...

''. He appeared in ''Moving Story'' (1994), a TV comedy drama, as Nick, part of a removals team. He appeared as

wheelchair A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, used when walking is difficult or impossible due to illness, injury, problems related to old age, or disability. These can include spinal cord injuries ( paraplegia, hemiplegia, and quadriplegia), cerebr ...

user P.C. Ian LeFebre in "The Mild Bunch", the second season's eighth episode of ''

Pie in the Sky Pie in the sky, an idiom meaning an impossible or unlikely idea or plan as well as an empty wish or promise. Pie in the sky may refer to: * ''Pie in the Sky'' (TV series), a UK television series about a police officer turned restaurateur * ''Pie ...

'' (1995). He had a supporting role in ''

Cider with Rosie ''Cider with Rosie'' is a 1959 book by Laurie Lee (published in the US as ''Edge of Day: Boyhood in the West of England'', 1960). It is the first book of a trilogy that continues with ''As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning'' (1969) and '' A ...

'' (1998). In 2003, he portrayed Mickey in ''The Illustrated Mum''. In 2006, he starred as Aston in a tour of

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

theatres' production of

Harold Pinter Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramatists with a writing career that spanne ...

's ''

The Caretaker ''The Caretaker'' is a play in three acts by Harold Pinter. Although it was the sixth of his major works for stage and television, this psychological study of the confluence of power, allegiance, innocence, and corruption among two brothers an ...

''. In 1999, he starred in ''

The Last Seduction II ''The Last Seduction II'' is a 1999 neo-noir film directed by Terry Marcel and starring Joan Severance. The film is a sequel to ''The Last Seduction'' and features none of the original cast or filmmakers. Plot Bridget Gregory, a femme fatale hid ...

''. In 2008, he appeared in ''

Criminal Justice Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the Rehabilitation (penology), rehabilitation of o ...

'' a five-part TV drama on the BBC, playing the part of Ralph Stone, a solicitor. He played the part of

Joe Meek Robert George "Joe" Meek (5 April 1929 – 3 February 1967) was an English record producer, sound engineer and songwriter who pioneered space age and experimental pop music. He also assisted in the development of recording practices like over ...

in both the 2008 film and 2005 play of '' Telstar: The Joe Meek Story''. In 2011, he took the role of dock worker Eddie Carbone in

Arthur Miller Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist and screenwriter in the 20th-century American theater. Among his most popular plays are '' All My Sons'' (1947), ''Death of a Salesman'' ( ...

's ''

A View From the Bridge ''A View from the Bridge'' is a play by American playwright Arthur Miller. It was first staged on September 29, 1955, as a one-act verse drama with ''A Memory of Two Mondays'' at the Coronet Theatre on Broadway. The run was unsuccessful, and M ...

'' at the

Royal Exchange Theatre The Royal Exchange is a grade II listed building in Manchester, England. It is located in the city centre on the land bounded by St Ann's Square, Exchange Street, Market Street, Cross Street and Old Bank Street. The complex includes the Royal ...

in Manchester (from 18 May to 25 June 2011). This portrayal won the 2011 Manchester Theatre Award for Best Actor. In 2012, he played Dr. Bob Massey in "Fearful Symmetry", S6:E3 of ''

Lewis Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * "Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohead ...

''. He played

St. Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

in the 2013 mini-series ''

The Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

''. The same year he also appeared in ''Life of Crime'' as DCI Ferguson and in ''Midsomer Murders'' "Schooled in Murder" as Jim Caxton. He portrays Val Pearson in the sitcom ''

Uncle An uncle is usually defined as a male relative who is a sibling of a parent or married to a sibling of a parent. Uncles who are related by birth are second-degree relatives. The female counterpart of an uncle is an aunt, and the reciprocal relat ...

'' (2014 to 2017). He played Cliff in ''

Cucumber Cucumber (''Cucumis sativus'') is a widely-cultivated Vine#Horticultural climbing plants, creeping vine plant in the Cucurbitaceae family that bears usually cylindrical Fruit, fruits, which are used as culinary vegetables.

'', an eight-part TV drama series. In 2015, he starred in the 35th-anniversary staging of Willy Russell's ''

Educating Rita ''Educating Rita'' is a stage comedy by British playwright Willy Russell. It is a play for two actors set entirely in the office of an Open University tutor. Commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company, ''Educating Rita'' premièred at The Wa ...

'' at The Liverpool Playhouse. He appears as Neil Ackroyd in the second series of '' Happy Valley''. In 2016, O'Neill played the part of Joe Brierley in the second series of ''

Ordinary Lies ''Ordinary Lies'' is a British television drama series that was first broadcast on BBC One on 17 March 2015. The six-part first series, written by Danny Brocklehurst, is set in a car showroom. The second, also in six-parts, is set in the warehouse ...

'' and appeared in two episodes of the ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

'' spin-off ''

Class Class or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differentl ...

''. In the 2019

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

miniseries ''

Chernobyl Chernobyl ( , ; russian: Чернобыль, ) or Chornobyl ( uk, Чорнобиль, ) is a partially abandoned city in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, situated in the Vyshhorod Raion of northern Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine. Chernobyl is about no ...

'' he portrayed the plant director

Viktor Bryukhanov Viktor Petrovich Bryukhanov ( uk, Віктор Петрович Брюханов, russian: Виктор Петрович Брюханов; 1 December 1935 – 12 October 2021) was the manager of construction of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant ...

. In 2022, he appeared in the HBO series ''

Our Flag Means Death ''Our Flag Means Death'' is an American period comedy television series created by David Jenkins. Set in the early 18th century during the Golden Age of Piracy, the series follows the misadventures of gentleman-turned-pirate Stede Bonnet ( Rh ...<