Colin O'Donoghue Biography

Colin O'Donoghue (born 26 January 1981) is an Irish actor and musician, best known for portraying Captain Killian "Hook" Jones on the TV show Once Upon a Time. The 2011 horror thriller film The Rite (2011), in which he starred as skeptical priest-in-training Michael Kovak, proved to be his mainstream breakthrough.

Early life and education

O'Donoghue, the son of Con and Mary O'Donoghue, was born and raised in Drogheda, County Louth, in a Roman Catholic family. He attended local schools, and later The Gaiety School of Acting in Dublin. At age 17 O'Donoghue went to Paris for a month to learn French.

Career

O'Donoghue's early career was mainly split between theatre and television work in Ireland and the UK. In 2003, he won the Irish Film and Television Award for "Best New Talent" for his role as Norman in "Home For Christmas".

In 2009, he appeared as Duke Philip of Bavaria in an episode of season 3 of the Showtime historical-fiction series The Tudors. He made his Hollywood film debut alongside Anthony Hopkins in the horror thriller film The Rite (2011). He made an audition video for The Rite in a friend's home studio in Drogheda and sent it to the United States. He plays guitar and sings in a band called The Enemies, formed in 2003 in Ireland.

In 2012, O'Donoghue was cast as Captain Hook/Killian Jones in the second season of the hit ABC series Once Upon a Time. In 2014, O'Donoghue was cast as the main character in "The Dust Storm", an independent film set in Nashville, Tennessee as a musician called "Brennan".

Christina Perri wrote a song "The Words" which she dedicated to Colin's character (Captain Hook) in Once Upon a Time

The Enemies

O'Donoghue was part of the five-piece Irish band, "The Enemies", which was formed in 2003 by O'Donoghue and a close friend, Ronan McQuillan. The Enemies released their self-titled debut EP on 7 March 2011 prior to their self-funded first album on track. He played guitar and sang backing vocals on the band's first EP and debut album.

Although the band was unsigned, it was commissioned by General Motors to record tracks for their "Chevy route 66" online campaign. The band worked on the music for Coca-Cola's "5BY20" project. Their debut album Sounds Big on the Radio was to be released in March 2013, which was later scheduled for 2014. In May 2013, he announced he was leaving the band due to the filming schedule of Once Upon a Time.

Awards

For his role in Home for Christmas, he was awarded Best New Talent at the 1st Irish Film & Television Awards, held on 1 November 2003.

Personal life

O'Donoghue and his wife Helen, a schoolteacher, have a son.

O'Donoghue had not made plans to relocate to Los Angeles or Vancouver, Canada where he is shooting Once Upon A Time. He explained, "You don't know what circumstances are going to come up, so it's tough to make a decision like that and move somewhere for two or three years ... Whatever happens, Drogheda will always be my home because it is where my friends and family are." O'Donoghue often wears a silver crucifix his wife gave him because his faith is important to him.

Filmography

Film roles

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2003	Call Girl	Brendan	Short film
2006	24/7	Nick	Short film
2009	'	Ben	Short film
2011	'	Michael Kovak
2012	Storage 24	Mark
2015	The Dust Storm	Brennan	Post-production
2016	Carrie Pilby	Professor Harrison	Post-production

Television roles

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2001	Rebel Heart	Rowe	Miniseries; episode 1
2002	Home for Christmas	Norman Quested	Television film Irish Film & Television Award for Best New Talent
2004	Love Is the Drug	Peter	2 episodes
2005	Proof	Jamie	2 episodes
2005	Fair City	Emmet Fitzgerald	3 episodes
2006-08	'	Conor Elliott	11 episodes
2009	'	Duke Philip of Bavaria	Episode: "The Undoing of Cromwell"
2009	Wild Decembers	Young guard	Television film
2011	Identity	John Bloom	Television film
2012-present	Once Upon a Time	Captain Hook/Killian Jones	Series regular (season 2-present)

Music video roles

Year	Title	Artist(s)	Role	Source
2015	"The Words"	Christina Perri	Love interest

Theatre

Year	Title	Role	Theatre	Location
	Aoife and Isobel		Project Theatre	Dublin, Ireland
	'		Storytellers Theatre Company	Dublin, Ireland
	Eclipse		Olivier Theatre	London, England
	Eugene Onegin - The Roadshow		Something Different Theatre Company	Oxford, England
	Leaving		Quarehawks Theatre Company	Monaghan, Ireland
	Moonlight Mickey's		Calipo Theatre Company	Drogheda, Ireland
	Othello		Second Age Theatre Company	Dublin, Ireland
	Outlying Islands		Island Theatre Company	Chicago, US
	Sky Road		Theatre Royal	Waterford, Ireland
	'		Rough Magic Theatre Company	Dublin, Ireland
	Walking the Road		Axis Theatre	Vancouver, Canada
	What the Dead Want		Project Theatre	Dublin, Ireland

Awards and nominations

Year	Group	Award	Result	Notes
2003	Irish Film and Television Awards	Best New Talent		Home for Christmas
2014	People's Choice Awards	Favorite On-Screen Chemistry shared with: Jennifer Morrison		Once Upon a Time
2015	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV Liplock shared with: Jennifer Morrison		Once Upon a Time

See also

• List of Irish people