Con O'Neill (born Robert O'Neill; 15 August 1966) is an English actor. He started his acting career at the Everyman Theatre and became primarily known for his performances in musicals. He received critical acclaim and won a Laurence Olivier Award in 1988 for his performance as Michael "Mickey" Johnstone in the musical Blood Brothers. When the production was staged on Broadway in 1993, he was nominated for a Tony Award and a Drama Desk Award for the same role. He has also appeared in many films and television series, including Chernobyl, The Batman and Our Flag Means Death.
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Early life
O'Neill was born on 15 August 1966 in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset to Irish parents. Aged one, O'Neill moved with his family to Parbold, growing up in the village of Up Holland, both near Wigan, in Lancashire. He attended St Peter's Roman Catholic High School in Wigan.
Career
O'Neill began his acting career at Liverpool's Everyman Youth Theatre.
He was awarded the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical in 1988 for his performance in Willy Russell's Blood Brothers, and was nominated for Broadway's 1993 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for Blood Brothers.
In the 1980s, he had a walk-on role in One Summer as Jackson. He starred in Dancin' Thru the Dark, the 1990 film adaptation of Willy Russell's Stags and Hens. In 1990, he played a principal role in Amongst Barbarians, part of the BBC ScreenPlay series. In 1992, he played Cougar Glass in the world premiere of Philip Ridley's The Fastest Clock in the Universe. He appeared in Moving Story, a TV comedy drama, as Nick, part of a removals team. He appeared as wheelchair user PC Ian LeFebre in "The Mild Bunch", the second season's eighth episode of Pie in the Sky (1995). He had a supporting role in Cider with Rosie (1998). In 2003, he portrayed Mickey in The Illustrated Mum. In 2006, he starred as Aston in a tour of Sheffield theatres' production of Harold Pinter's The Caretaker. In 1999, he starred in The Last Seduction II.
