Brian Christopher O'Halloran (born December 20, 1969) is an American actor, producer and podcaster best known for playing

Dante Hicks This is a list of major and recurring characters in Kevin Smith's fictional universe known as the View Askewniverse. ''Clerks'' (1994) Dante Hicks Dante Hicks, played by Brian O'Halloran, is 22 (33 in ''Clerks II, 49 in Clerks III''), works at ...

Kevin Smith Kevin Patrick Smith (born August 2, 1970) is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. He came to prominence with the low-budget buddy comedy film ''Clerks (film), Clerks'' (1994), which he wrote, directed, co-produced, and acted i ...

's debut 1994 film ''

Clerks A clerk is someone who works in an office. A retail clerk works in a store. Office holder Clerk(s) may also refer to a person who holds an office, most commonly in a local unit of government, or a court. *Barristers' clerk, a manager and administ ...

'' and its 2006 and 2022 sequels ''

Clerks II ''Clerks II'' is a 2006 American black comedy film written and directed by Kevin Smith, the sequel to his 1994 film ''Clerks'', and his sixth feature film to be set in the View Askewniverse. The film stars Brian O'Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Rosa ...

'' and ''

Clerks III ''Clerks III'' is a 2022 American black comedy-drama film written, directed, and edited by Kevin Smith and starring Brian O'Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Trevor Fehrman, Austin Zajur, Jason Mewes, Rosario Dawson and Smith. It serves as a seq ...

''. He has also made appearances in most of Smith's

View Askewniverse The View Askewniverse is a fictional universe created by writer/director Kevin Smith, featured in several films, comics and a television series; it is named for Smith's production company, View Askew Productions. The characters Jay and Silent ...

films, either as Dante Hicks or one of Dante's cousins.

Career

O'Halloran's first role was as main character Dante Hicks in

's film ''

'', in 1994. He has returned many times as Dante or another of the Hicks family in films by Smith. O'Halloran is the lead actor in the 2000 film '' Vulgar'', about a small town clown who is traumatised after he is attacked during one of his performances. Writer/director Bryan Johnson wrote the lead specifically with O'Halloran in mind. He has worked on theatre productions since high school. He has said on the subject of doing theatre: "Oh, yeah. It's the best training you can do, as an actor. To be in front of a live audience. There's no 'Stop, wait, oh geez, what was that line again?' It just sharpens your reflexes. It sharpens your interaction. And it definitely sharpens your memory because you have to know an entire show from beginning to end." Since ''Clerks'' (1994), O'Halloran has primarily been a stage actor, working with The Boomerang Theatre Company, The New Jersey Repertory Company and The Tri-State Actors Theatre, among others. In 2020, O'Halloran began presenting his own pop culture podcast, The O'HalloRant, on YouTube. In 2025, O'Halloran appeared as a contestant on the American version of '' The Floor'' on

FOX Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

. He was eliminated in the first duel of the Semifinal episode. He won $110,000 for holding the most floor across episodes 2-6.

Personal life

A first-generation Irish-American, with parents from Galway and Roscommon, O'Halloran was born in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, and lived in

Old Bridge Township, New Jersey Old Bridge Township is a township in Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of th ...

, from the age of 13. His father died when O'Halloran was 15 years old in 1985. He graduated from Cedar Ridge High School. He has two older brothers.

Filmography

References

External links

*
Brian O'Halloran
at NJTheater.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Ohalloran, Brian 1969 births American male film actors Living people American people of Irish descent Male actors from New Jersey Old Bridge High School alumni People from Old Bridge Township, New Jersey 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American male stage actors American film and television podcasters Actors from Middlesex County, New Jersey