Hugh O'Conor (born 19 April 1975) is an Irish actor, writer, director, and photographer. In 2020, he was listed as number 49 on ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'' list of Ireland's greatest film actors.

Career

His first film appearance was opposite

Liam Neeson William John Neeson (born 7 June 1952) is an actor from Northern Ireland. He has received several accolades, including nominations for an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and two Tony Awards. In 2020, he was placed 7th on ''The I ...

in the 1985 movie ''

Lamb Lamb or The Lamb may refer to: * A young sheep * Lamb and mutton, the meat of sheep Arts and media Film, television, and theatre * ''The Lamb'' (1915 film), a silent film starring Douglas Fairbanks Sr. in his screen debut * ''The Lamb'' (1918 ...

''. He won a

Young Artist Awards The Young Artist Award (originally known as the Youth in Film Award) is an accolade presented by the Young Artist Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 1978 to honor excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young ...

in 1990 for his role in the Oscar-winning film '' My Left Foot'', in which he portrayed the childhood days of Christy Brown, an Irishman born with

cerebral palsy Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, spasticity, stiff muscles, Paresis, weak muscles, and tremors. There may be p ...

, who could control only his left foot. The film was nominated for five

Oscars The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

, including Best Picture, and won two:

Daniel Day-Lewis Sir Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis (born 29 April 1957) is an English retired actor. Often described as one of the preeminent actors of his generation, he received numerous accolades throughout his career which spanned over four decades, incl ...

for Best Actor and Brenda Fricker for Best Supporting Actress. In his acceptance speech, Day-Lewis said he “shared Christy's life with a remarkable young actor called Hugh O'Conor.” He starred in Benjamin Ross' The Young Poisoner's Handbook, which won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival in 1995. He was nominated as part of the cast for Outstanding Performance by a Cast at the 2001

SAG-AFTRA The Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA, stylized as SAG·AFTRA ) is an American labor union representing approximately 160,000 film and television actors, journalists, radio personalities, recor ...

awards for his performance as Pére Henri in '' Chocolat'' (2000). The film was nominated for five Oscars, including

Best Picture This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

. It was also nominated for eight

BAFTAs The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cere ...

and four

Golden Globes The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

, both including

. In 2007 he was nominated for Best Actor at the

Irish Film and Television Awards Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

for his performance as James Van Der Bexton in Tony Herbert's ''Speed Dating'' (2006). His short film ''Corduroy'' was selected for competition as part of the Generation 14Plus presentation at the 60th

Berlinale The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...

in Berlin. It received the award for Best Fiction/Experimental Film at the 2010 Clones Film Festival. In 2011, his music videos for I Draw Slow (''Swans'') and The Whileaways (''Dear My Maker'') were nominated for the Irish Music Video awards. He was part of the creative and performing team for RTE's sketch comedy ''

Your Bad Self ''Your Bad Self'' is an Irish sketch comedy Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. The form de ...

'' (2010), along with Domhnall Gleeson and Amy Huberman; the show won Best Entertainment at the 2011

. His photograph ''Beckah, Dublin Airport'' was shortlisted and exhibited at the

National Gallery of Ireland The National Gallery of Ireland ( ga, Gailearaí Náisiúnta na hÉireann) houses the national collection of Irish and European art. It is located in the centre of Dublin with one entrance on Merrion Square, beside Leinster House, and another o ...

as part of the inaugural Hennessy Portrait Prize in 2014. In 2014, he received the Best Supporting Actor award at the

Irish Times Theatre Awards The Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards recognise outstanding achievements in Irish theatre. History The awards were founded in 1997 by ''The Irish Times''. Awards were established in numerous categories, ranging from design, to acting, to overal ...

for his performance as the Fool in Selina Cartmell's production of King Lear at the

Abbey Theatre The Abbey Theatre ( ga, Amharclann na Mainistreach), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland ( ga, Amharclann Náisiúnta na hÉireann), in Dublin, Ireland, is one of the country's leading cultural institutions. First opening to the pu ...

in Dublin. In 2018, his feature debut '' Metal Heart'' and animated short film ''

The Overcoat "The Overcoat" (russian: Шине́ль, translit. Shinyél’; sometimes translated as "The Cloak") is a short story by Russian author Nikolai Gogol, published in 1842. The story has had a great influence on Russian literature. Eugène-Me ...

'' premiered at the 2018

Galway Film Fleadh The Galway Film Fleadh (; Irish for "festival") is an international film festival founded in 1989 as part of the Galway Arts Festival. Describing itself as Ireland’s leading film festival, the event is held every July in Galway city in Irel ...

. Jordanne Jones won the Bingham Ray award for Best Newcomer. ''

'' won Best Animated Sequence. In 2018, he received the

Jim Sheridan Jim Sheridan (born 6 February 1949) is an Irish playwright and filmmaker. Between 1989 and 1993, Sheridan directed two critically acclaimed films set in Ireland, '' My Left Foot'' and '' In the Name of the Father'', and later directed the fi ...

Award for Achievement in Irish Film at the Irish Screen America film festival in Los Angeles. He received the Dublin Film Critics' Circle Maverick award at the 2019

Dublin International Film Festival The Dublin International Film Festival (DIFF; ) is an annual film festival held in Dublin, Ireland, since 2003. History Dublin International Film Festival was established in 2003. It was revived by Michael Dwyer, international film critic and ...

. ''

'' received a special mention. He was nominated for the Independent Spirit award at the 2019

Santa Barbara International Film Festival The Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) is an eleven-day film festival held in Santa Barbara, California since 1986. The festival boasts screenings of over 200 feature films and shorts from different countries and regions. SBIFF al ...

for ''Metal Heart''.

Personal life

O'Conor was born on 19 April 1975 in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

, Ireland. He studied drama at the Samuel Beckett Centre in Trinity College Dublin, and received a

Fulbright scholarship The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...

to attend

NYU Film School The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic and media arts school of New York University. Founded on August 17, 1965, Tisch is a training ground for artists, scholars of the ...

Filmography

Film and television as writer and director

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oconor, Hugh 1975 births Living people Irish male film actors Irish male television actors People from County Dublin Irish male child actors 20th-century Irish male actors 21st-century Irish male actors