Ardal O'Hanlon
Ardal O'Hanlon | |
---|---|
Born | |
Education | Blackrock College |
Alma mater | National Institute for Higher Education, Dublin |
Occupations |
|
Years active | 1991–present |
Spouse | Melanie O'Hanlon |
Children | 3 |
Parent |
|
Relatives | Peter Fenelon Collier |
Ardal O'Hanlon (/oʊˈhænlən/; born 8 October 1965) is an Irish comedian, actor, and author. He played Father Dougal McGuire in Father Ted (1995–1998), George Sunday/Thermoman in My Hero (2000–2006), and DI Jack Mooney in Death in Paradise (2017–2020). His novel The Talk of the Town was published in 1998.
Early life
O'Hanlon was born in Carrickmacross, County Monaghan,[1] the son of Fianna Fáil TD and physician Rory O'Hanlon and Teresa (née Ward).[1] He is the third of six children, and has three brothers and two sisters.[2]
O'Hanlon was schooled in Blackrock College in Dublin and graduated, in 1987, from the National Institute for Higher Education, Dublin (now Dublin City University), with a degree in communication studies.[3]
Career
Together with
He was spotted by
O'Hanlon moved into straight acting alongside
In 2000, O'Hanlon starred in the comedy series My Hero, in which he played a very naive superhero from the planet Ultron.[1] His character juggled world-saving heroics with life in suburbia. He stayed in the role until the first episode of series 6 in July 2006, when he was replaced by James Dreyfus during the same episode.
O'Hanlon also provided the voice of the lead character in the three Christmas television cartoon specials of
In 2006, O'Hanlon wrote and presented an RTÉ television series called Leagues Apart, which saw him investigate the biggest and most passionate football rivalries in a number of European countries. Included were Roma vs Lazio in Italy, Barcelona vs Real Madrid in Spain, and Galatasaray vs Fenerbahce in Turkey. He followed this with another RTÉ show, So You Want To Be Taoiseach? in 2007. It was a political series in which O'Hanlon gave tongue-in-cheek advice on how to go about becoming Taoiseach of Ireland.
He appeared in the
In February 2011, O'Hanlon returned to the Gate Theatre, Dublin starring in the Irish premiere of Christopher Hampton's translation of Yasmina Reza's God of Carnage, alongside Maura Tierney. Later that year, he appeared in the comedy panel show Argumental.
O'Hanlon has written a novel, The Talk of the Town (known in the United States as Knick Knack Paddy Whack), which was published in 1998. The novel is about a teenage boy, Patrick Scully, and his friends.
In February 2015, he officially launched the 2015 Sky Cat Laughs Comedy Festival, which took place in Kilkenny from 28 May–1 June.[7] In 2015 he played the role of Peter the Milkman in the Sky One sitcom After Hours.
On 2 February 2017, it was announced he would play the lead role in the BBC crime drama Death in Paradise taking the role of DI Jack Mooney following Kris Marshall's departure the same day. He announced his intention to leave the series in early 2020 and was replaced by Ralf Little.[8]
On 25 November 2021, it was announced that he would participate in series 13 of Taskmaster.[9] He finished in 4th place ahead of Judi Love.
In January 2024, he presented his first Irish language show, Inis na nIontas, on TG4, exploring the islands around the coast of Ireland.[10]
Personal life
O'Hanlon met his wife Melanie as a teenager. They have three children.
Filmography
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1995–1998 | Father Ted | Father Dougal McGuire | Series 1–3 (25 episodes) |
1996 | Flying Saucer Rock'n'Roll | Eddie Johnny | [13] |
1997 | Whose Line Is It Anyway? | Himself | |
1997 | The Butcher Boy | Mr Percell | |
1997 | Top of the Pops | Himself | Guest Presenter (1 Episode)[14] |
1999 | Hooves of Fire | Robbie | |
1999–2001 | Big Bad World | Eamon Donaghy | |
2000–2006 | My Hero | George Sunday/Thermoman | Series 1–6 (44 episodes) |
2002 | Legend of the Lost Tribe | Robbie | |
2004 | Jack Dee Live at the Apollo
|
Himself | |
2005 | Blessed | Gary Chandler | |
2005–2006 | The Adventures of Greyfriars Bobby | Coconut Tam | |
2007 | Close Encounters of the Herd Kind | Robbie | |
2007 | Doctor Who | Thomas Brannigan | Episode: "Gridlock" |
2008 | Who Do You Think You Are? | Himself | |
2008 | Tales of the Riverbank | Hammy | |
2009 | Wide Open Spaces | Myles | |
2009 | Val Falvey, TD | Val Falvey | |
2009 | Skins | Kieran | |
2010 | Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow | Himself | |
2013 | London Irish | Chris "Da" Lynch | |
2014–2018 | Lily's Driftwood Bay | Bull Dozer | |
2015 | Cucumber | Brian | |
2015 | After Hours | Peter Hannigan | |
2015 | Nelly and Nora | Dad | Voice role |
2016 | Around Ireland | Himself | |
2016 | Handsome Devil | Dan Roche | |
2017–2020 | Death in Paradise | DI Jack Mooney | Series 6-9 (24 episodes) |
2019–2022 | Derry Girls | Eamonn | 2 episodes |
2021 | The Deirdre O'Kane Show | Himself | 1 episode |
2021 | Would I Lie To You? | Himself | Contestant, Christmas Special |
2022 | Taskmaster | Himself | Contestant, series 13 |
2022 | Countdown | Himself | |
2023–2024 | Extraordinary | Martin | Voice only |
2023 | The Woman in the Wall | Dara | |
2024 | Inis na nIontas | Himself | |
TBA | Fran the Man | Jim | In production |
Awards
Year | Name |
---|---|
1994 | Hackney Empire New Act of the Year
|
1995 | Top TV Comedy Newcomer at the British Comedy Awards
|
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Christie, Janet (11 November 2019). "Ardal O'Hanlon: I had to distance myself from Father Ted after it finished". scotsman.com. Archived from the original on 3 June 2020. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
- ^ Palmer, Camilla (27 December 2013). "Ardal O'Hanlon: My family values". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 18 December 2021. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
- ^ Freyne, Patrick. "Ardal O'Hanlon: 'I was always this weird, watchful kind of kid'". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 18 April 2022. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
- ^ "Ardal O'Hanlon Interview Father Ted Death in Paradise". YouTube. Archived from the original on 22 November 2021.
- ^ "9783612650702: Talk of the Town. - O'Hanlon, Ardal: 361265070X - AbeBooks". www.abebooks.com. Archived from the original on 7 November 2022. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
- ^ Masters, Tim (22 March 2007). "Fans mad for Doctor's new companion". BBC News. Archived from the original on 28 March 2007. Retrieved 3 April 2007.
- ^ "Ardal O'Hanlan launches this year's Cats Laughs as the festival comes of age". evoke.ie. 26 February 2015. Archived from the original on 28 February 2017.
- ^ Palmer, Katie (27 January 2020). "Death in Paradise: When is Ralf Little's first episode?". express.co.uk. Archived from the original on 27 January 2020. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
- ^ @Taskmaster (25 November 2021). "Taskmaster will return in 2022" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "Ardal O'Hanlon to present his first Irish language show". 19 December 2023.
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(help) - ^ Dwyer, Ciara (7 May 2012). "Ardal O'Hanlon: Stand up for a life well lived". Irish Independent. Archived from the original on 30 July 2018. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
- ^ Tench, Matt (3 August 2003). "My team: Ardal O'Hanlon". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 4 December 2020. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
- ^ simon_duddy ([email protected]) (1 October 1998). "Flying Saucer Rock'n'Roll (1998)". IMDb. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
- ^ "BBC – Top of the Pops 2 – Trivia". bbc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2 March 2016. Retrieved 5 October 2015.