Hugh O'Conor facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Hugh O'Conor
O'Conor at the Dublin International Film Festival in 2014.
Born	(1975-04-19) 19 April 1975 (age 50) Dublin, Ireland
Occupation	Actor, director, writer
Years active	1985–present

Hugh O'Conor (born 19 April 1975) is an Irish actor, writer, director, and photographer. He is known for starting his acting career as a child and has appeared in many famous films and television shows. In 2020, The Irish Times newspaper named him one of Ireland's greatest film actors.

Acting Career

Early Success with My Left Foot

Hugh O'Conor's first movie role was in the 1985 film Lamb, where he acted alongside Liam Neeson.

His big break came in 1989 with the movie My Left Foot. In the film, he played the childhood version of Christy Brown, a real-life Irish artist who had cerebral palsy. This condition meant Brown could only control his left foot. For his amazing performance, O'Conor won a Young Artist Award in 1990.

My Left Foot was a huge success and was nominated for five Oscars, including Best Picture. The actor who played the adult Christy Brown, Daniel Day-Lewis, won the Oscar for Best Actor. In his speech, Day-Lewis praised O'Conor, saying he "shared Christy's life with a remarkable young actor called Hugh O'Conor."

Notable Film Roles

In 1995, O'Conor starred in The Young Poisoner's Handbook. The movie was very popular at the Sundance Film Festival and won the Grand Jury Prize.

He was also part of the cast of the 2000 film Chocolat, where he played Pére Henri. The cast was nominated for a SAG Award. Chocolat was a major hit and received nominations for five Oscars, eight BAFTAs, and four Golden Globes.

In 2007, he was nominated for Best Actor at the Irish Film and Television Awards for his role in the movie Speed Dating.

Expanding His Talents

Directing and Writing

Besides acting, O'Conor is also a talented director and writer. His short film Corduroy was shown at the famous Berlin International Film Festival in 2010. That same year, it won an award for Best Fiction/Experimental Film at a festival in Ireland.

He also directed music videos for Irish bands like I Draw Slow and The Whileaways, which were nominated for awards in 2011. In 2018, he directed his first full-length movie, Metal Heart.

Photography and Theatre

O'Conor is also a skilled photographer. In 2014, one of his photos, called Beckah, Dublin Airport, was chosen to be displayed in the National Gallery of Ireland.

He has also performed on stage. In 2014, he won the Best Supporting Actor award at the Irish Times Theatre Awards for his role as the Fool in a production of King Lear at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin.

Personal Life

Hugh O'Conor was born in Dublin, Ireland. His father is the famous Irish pianist John O'Conor.

He studied drama at the Samuel Beckett Centre at Trinity College in Dublin. He later earned a special Fulbright scholarship to study at the NYU Film School in the United States.

Filmography

Hugh O'Conor in 2007

Film and television as writer and director