Patrick O'Kane is an Irish actor who was born in 1965 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He has been part of the companies of the

Royal National Theatre The Royal National Theatre in London, commonly known as the National Theatre (NT), is one of the United Kingdom's three most prominent publicly funded performing arts venues, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Opera House. I ...

and the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester. He has appeared in London's

West End West End most commonly refers to: * West End of London, an area of central London, England * West End theatre, a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London, England West End may also refer to: Pl ...

and at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin. In addition to his extensive stage work, O'Kane has appeared in movies and on television in many parts. He won a Nesta Fellowship in 2005 and has released a book "Actor's Voices" a series of conversations with modern actors (Oberon Press 2012). He has also been in season 2 of HBO series ''

Game of Thrones ''Game of Thrones'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for HBO. It is an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, the first ...

'', playing the new face of Jaqen H'ghar.

Early years

He attended St Malachy's College, Belfast where he discovered a love of acting and then attended Manchester University, graduating with double honours in Drama and English. This was followed by training at the Central School of Speech and Drama.

Career overview

He has been part of the companies of the

, where he appeared in '' The Playboy of the Western World'' and ''

Peer Gynt ''Peer Gynt'' (, ) is a five- act play in verse by the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen published in 1876. Written in Norwegian, it is one of the most widely performed Norwegian plays. Ibsen believed ''Per Gynt'', the Norwegian fairy tale on wh ...

'', and the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...

, where he played the title role in ''

Macbeth ''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...

''. At the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, he gave an "eye-catching", "triumphant" performance in the title role of

Christopher Marlowe Christopher Marlowe, also known as Kit Marlowe (; baptised 26 February 156430 May 1593), was an English playwright, poet and translator of the Elizabethan era. Marlowe is among the most famous of the Elizabethan playwrights. Based upon the ...

's '' Doctor Faustus'' in 2010. In London's

, he has appeared in '' War Horse''. He played John Proctor in the Lyric Theatre, Belfast's production of Arthur Miller's '' The Crucible'', opening the theatre's new performance space in April 2011 to rave reviews and receiving a nomination for best actor in the Irish Theatre Awards for his performance. In October 2011 O'Kane appeared to great acclaim in the lead role of "16 Possible Glimpses" at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin. In May 2012, he appeared as J. Bruce Ismay in Owen McCafferty's Titanic (Scenes from the British Wreck Commissioner’s Inquiry, 1912) at the newly opened MAC art's venue in Belfast and will be performing in Owen McCafferty's play "Quietly" in the Abbey Theatre in October 2012. In addition to his extensive stage work, O'Kane has appeared in movies and on television in many parts including 'Game of Thrones', seasons two and three of ' The Borgias', series nine of the popular BBC "New Tricks" and the upcoming BBC detective series "The Fall" set in Northern Ireland.

''Doctor Who''

In 2020, O'Kane had a significant guest role in the twelfth revived series of ''

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 ...

'', appearing in three episodes as Ashad ("the Lone Cyberman"): '' The Haunting of Villa Diodati'', '' Ascension of the Cybermen'' and '' The Timeless Children''. This gave him the distinction of being the first actor to play one of the programme's long-running Cybermen opposite Jodie Whittaker's thirteenth incarnation of the Doctor. O'Kane recalled the Cybermen from his childhood and was "delighted" with the role. He reprised the role of Ashad in Whittaker's final episode, " The Power of the Doctor".

Work with Owen McCafferty

O'Kane has appeared in multiple plays written by

Owen McCafferty Owen McCafferty (born 1961) is a playwright from Northern Ireland. Early life Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, McCafferty in 1961 he was brought up in London from the age of 1 until aged 10 when his parents returned to Belfast. He was educat ...

, including ''Closing Time'' at the National Theatre in 2002, ''Scenes from the Big Picture'' (playing a character who works in an abattoir rooted in the playwright's own experience) at the National Theatre Cottesloe in 2003, and ''Shoot the Crow'' at the Royal Exchange Studio, Manchester in 2003. O'Kane and McCafferty grew up in the same Belfast village and attended the same youth club, though McCafferty was four years older. They both played Gaelic football for the local club. The two did not collaborate as theatrical professionals until McCafferty began writing ''Closing Time'' while on secondment at the National Theatre Studio. In 2013/14 he appeared in Quietly in Edinburgh and moved on to Ireland, Germany and London. This was a 3 people theatre production and he played one of the two people arguing over an incident that had happened years before. He was playing the character Jimmy.

Selected theatre performances

* Donny in ''Donny Boy'' by Robert Glendinning ( TMA Award for best new play).World premiere directed by Casper Wrede at the Royal Exchange, Manchester (1990) * Brutus in ''

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...

''. Directed by

Robert Delamere Digital Theatre is a company that provides digital platforms for the arts. Founded by Robert Delamere and Tom Shaw and launched in London in 2009, the company produces and licenses high-definition films of stage productions that can be streamed o ...

at the Royal Exchange, Manchester (1994) * Geoffrey Jackson in '' Absurd Person Singular'' by

Alan Ayckbourn Sir Alan Ayckbourn (born 12 April 1939) is a prolific British playwright and director. He has written and produced as of 2021, more than eighty full-length plays in Scarborough and London and was, between 1972 and 2009, the artistic director of ...

. Directed by James Maxwell at the Royal Exchange, Manchester (1994) * Bernie in '' Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love'' by Brad Fraser. Directed by Braham Murray at the Royal Exchange, Manchester (1995) * Jean in '' Miss Julie'' by August Strindberg. Directed by Braham Murray at the Royal Exchange, Manchester (1995) * Michael in ''

A Whistle in the Dark ''A Whistle in the Dark'' is a play by Tom Murphy that premiered on September 11, 1961 at the Joan Littlewood's Theatre Royal, Stratford East, London, having been rejected by the Abbey Theatre, Dublin. It then went on to be a West End hit. Murp ...

'' by Tom Murphy. Directed by Jacob Murray at the Royal Exchange, Manchester (2006) * Faustus in '' Doctor Faustus'' by

. Directed by Toby Trow at the Royal Exchange, Manchester (2010) * Caravaggio in '' The Seven Acts of Mercy'' by Anders Lustgarten. Directed by Erica Whyman at the

(2017) * Woyzeck in ''Woyzeck in Winter'' adapted and directed by Conall Morrison at the Galway International Arts Festival (2017)

Filmography

References

External links

* * Patrick O'Kane
National Theatre website
* Patrick O'Kane & Ian Redford, Royal Exchange Theatre
The Making Of Doctor Faustus – creating the roles of Faustus and Mephistopheles
{{DEFAULTSORT:OKane, Patrick 1965 births Male film actors from Northern Ireland Male television actors from Northern Ireland Alumni of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama Living people Male actors from Belfast 21st-century male actors from Northern Ireland