Gray O'Brien
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Gray O'Brien (born Gerard O'Brien; 11 August 1968) is a Scottish television and film actor, best known for his portrayal of the villainous
Weatherfield Weatherfield is a fictional town based on Salford, Greater Manchester, Salford, Greater Manchester, which has been the setting for the British ITV (TV network), ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' since its inception in 1960. Much of Weathe ...
businessman Tony Gordon in the popular ITV
soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...
''
Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...
'' from 2007–2010, and as Richard McCaig on the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
medical drama ''
Casualty Casualty may refer to: *Casualty (person), a person who is killed or rendered unfit for service in a war or natural disaster **Civilian casualty, a non-combatant killed or injured in warfare * The emergency department of a hospital, also known as ...
'' from 1996–1998.


Biography

O'Brien was born in Glasgow, the second youngest of seven children, and is a graduate of the
Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (), formerly the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama () is a conservatoire of dance, drama, music, production, and film in Glasgow, Scotland. It is a member of the Federation of Drama Schools. Founde ...
. Resident for a time in
Cumbernauld Cumbernauld (; ) is a large town in the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Dunbartonshire and council area of North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is the tenth List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, most-populous locality in Scotl ...
, he has appeared in many television productions, including ''
Taggart ''Taggart'' is a Scottish detective fiction television programme created by Glenn Chandler, who wrote many of the episodes, and made by STV Studios for the ITV network. It originally ran as the miniseries ''Killer'' from 6 until 20 Septe ...
'', ''
Peak Practice ''Peak Practice'' is a British drama series about a GP surgery in Cardale — a small fictional town in the Derbyshire Peak District — and the doctors who worked there. It originally starred Kevin Whately as Dr Jack Kerruish, Amanda Burton ...
'', ''
River City ''River City'' is a Scottish television soap opera created by Stephen Greenhorn which has been broadcast on BBC One Scotland since September 2002. Since 2019, the show has aired episodes a day earlier on the new BBC Scotland channel. Set in ...
'' (as serial womaniser Billy Davis), and the 2007 ''
Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...
'' Christmas special, "
Voyage of the Damned ''Voyage of the Damned'' is a 1976 drama (film and television), drama film directed by Stuart Rosenberg, with an Ensemble cast, all-star cast featuring Faye Dunaway, Oskar Werner, Lee Grant, Max von Sydow, James Mason, Lynne Frederick and Malco ...
". He played
Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...
' valet in the 2006 motion picture '' The Queen''. O'Brien joined the cast of ''Coronation Street'' as the murderous factory boss Tony Gordon in September 2007. The actor explained in an interview that he uses sense-memory technique, drawing on "something dark from the past", to emote his powerful performances. Asked about female reaction to his character's on-screen conspiracy to murder love rival Liam Connor, played by pin-up
Rob James-Collier Robert James-Collier (born 23 September 1976), sometimes billed as Rob James-Collier, is a British actor widely known for his roles as Liam Connor in ''Coronation Street'', Thomas Barrow in ''Downton Abbey'', and Martin Evershed in '' Ackley ...
, O'Brien joked: "I'm sure most viewers believe that it's just a story." O'Brien won Villain of the Year for the role at the 2009
British Soap Awards The British Soap Awards (BSAs) are an annual awards ceremony in the United Kingdom which honours the best moments in British soap operas. The ceremony is televised on ITV (TV network), ITV. The trophies given to the winners are made from metal a ...
. The
Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
show drew the ire of football fans when, in October 2008, several months after the 2008 UEFA Cup final riots, in a scripted line, O'Brien's evil character made a jibe about Rangers F.C. Complaints led to a similar line being cut from the script of a later episode. Professing surprise at the outcry, the star said: "I'm a
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...
supporter but I need to be clear that I certainly wasn't going out of my way to antagonise any Rangers supporters." In May 2009 ''Coronation Street'' producers announced that O'Brien's contract with the show had been extended to 2010.Kris Green
Gray O'Brien extends Corrie contract
Digital Spy (27 May 2009).
Gray left ''Coronation Street'' when his character was killed off at the end of a storyline, in which Tony Gordon held Hayley Cropper (
Julie Hesmondhalgh Julie Claire Hesmondhalgh ( ;) is an English actress and narrator. She is known for her role as Hayley Cropper in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' between 1998 and 2014. For this role she won "Best Serial Drama Performance" at the 20 ...
) and Carla Connor ( Alison King) hostage in the ''Underworld'' factory, which he sets ablaze; although his prisoners manage to escape alive. He played Abanazar in the pantomime ''
Aladdin Aladdin ( ; , , ATU 561, 'Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with '' One Thousand and One Nights'' (often known in English as ''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of the original ...
'' at the
Opera House An opera house is a theater building used for performances of opera. Like many theaters, it usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, backstage facilities for costumes and building sets, as well as offices for the institut ...
,
Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
from 5 December 2009 to 3 January 2010. Between 4 December 2010 and 16 January 2011 he played the role again at the
Theatre Royal, Nottingham The Theatre Royal in Nottingham, England, is a theatre venue in the heart of Nottingham City Centre and is owned by Nottingham City Council as part of a complex that also includes the city's Royal Concert Hall. The Theatre Royal attracts maj ...
.http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/3D-Aladdin-star-Corrie-baddie/story-12225974-detail/story.html O'Brien was judged
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
's eleventh most eligible man in February 2009 by a ''
Scotland on Sunday ''Scotland on Sunday'' is a Scottish Sunday newspaper, published in Edinburgh by National World and consequently assuming the role of Sunday sister to its daily stablemate ''The Scotsman''. It was originally printed in broadsheet format but in ...
'' panel. He once said: "I actually find the heartthrob thing laughable," adding: "I am just a jobbing actor from Scotland and I don't think of myself as particularly good looking." O'Brien has also appeared on '' Lily Savage's Blankety Blank''. In 2017, he appeared in ITV drama '' The Loch''.


Personal life

O'Brien is divorced from his wife Lynn, whom he married on 9 May 1996. They have a son together called Conor (b. 2000), who made a cameo appearance in an episode of Coronation Street. O'Brien's late father, Eddie was also a fan of the long-running TV programme. O'Brien began dating make-up artist Jill Farimond in 2008, but it was reported in April 2009 that the couple had amicably split. His father died of a
heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...
. In 2019 O'Brien was diagnosed with stage 4 tonsil cancer. He has since made a full recovery.


Filmography


Films


TV


References


External links


Fansite on Gray O'BrienMessage Board for Gray O'BrienBBC article about ''Doctor Who'' casting
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Obrien, Gray 1968 births Living people Male actors from Glasgow Scottish male soap opera actors Scottish male television actors Scottish people of Irish descent Scottish Roman Catholics British male soap opera actors Alumni of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland