Simon O'Connor (born 1949 in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

)Playwrights: Simon O'Connor
" ''www.playmarket.org.nz''. Retrieved 15 November 2023. is a New Zealand actor and playwright. O'Connor began his stage career in the late 1960s after reading an article about

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

Globe Theatre The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, on land owned by Thomas Brend and inherited by his son, Nicholas Brend, and gra ...

. He travelled to the southern city where he studied theatre for three years. He began writing, with a first short piece, ''Lift'', being produced in 1974. Since this time, O'Connor has appeared as an actor on stage, radio, and television, and notably in the role of Herbert Rieper in Sir

Peter Jackson Sir Peter Robert Jackson (born 31 October 1961) is a New Zealand film director, screenwriter and producer. He is best known as the director, writer and producer of the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy (2001–2003) and the ''Hobbit'' trilogy ( ...

's film ''

Heavenly Creatures ''Heavenly Creatures'' is a 1994 New Zealand biographical psychological drama film directed by Peter Jackson, from a screenplay he co-wrote with his partner, Fran Walsh, and starring Kate Winslet and Melanie Lynskey in their feature film debuts ...

'', for which he was nominated for Best Male Performance in a Supporting Role in the 1995 New Zealand Film and Television Awards. O'Connor's television appearances have included a central role in 2015 black comedy ''

How to Murder Your Wife ''How to Murder Your Wife'' is a 1965 American black comedy film from United Artists, produced by George Axelrod, directed by Richard Quine, that stars Jack Lemmon and Virna Lisi. Quine also directed Lemmon in ''My Sister Eileen'', ''It Happened ...

'', as well as roles in ''

Shark in the Park ''Shark in the Park'' is a New Zealand police procedural. It revolved around the professional and private lives of a group of officers at a Wellington police station under the command of Inspector Brian "Sharky" Finn. The title came from the in ...

'', '' Close to Home'', and ''

Country GP A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

''.Profile: Simon O'Connor
" ''www.nzonscreen.com''. Retrieved 15 November 2023. He was also a writer on both of the latter series. In 1992, O'Connor became a teaching fellow at the University of Otago's Theatre Studies Department, specialising in playwriting. Fellow staff at the department included

Lisa Warrington Lisa Jadwiga Valentina Warrington (born 1952) is a New Zealand theatre studies academic, director, actor and author. She has directed more than 130 productions, and established the Theatre Aotearoa database. In 2014 she was awarded a Lifetime A ...

, Richard Huber,

David O'Donnell David John O'Donnell (born in Nelson in 1956) is a theatre director, actor and academic based in Wellington, New Zealand. He has been a full professor at Victoria University of Wellington since 2019. Education O'Donnell has a diploma in Acting ...

, and Hilary Halba. He was a co-founder of Dunedin's Talking House community arts trust. O'Connor was the winner of the 1984

Bruce Mason Playwriting Award The Bruce Mason Playwriting Award is an annual award that recognises the work of an outstanding emerging New Zealand playwright. The winner is decided by the votes of a panel of leading New Zealand artistic directors and script advisors. The ...

References

External links

* 1949 births Male actors from Wellington City New Zealand male dramatists and playwrights New Zealand male actors Living people Actors from Dunedin Writers from Dunedin Academic staff of the University of Otago {{NewZealand-writer-stub