Happy St Patrick’s Day Everyone!
Today we celebrate all things on the Emerald Isle’s and all the talent that comes from the great Ireland. This was originally planned as a look at Sky’s fantastic little comedy Moone Boy but slowly turned into an ode to Chris O’Dowd. So why not? Let’s have an ode to all things O’Dowd today, a brilliantly talented Irishman who we’ve all taken to our hearts.
But O’Dowd can be seen in so much more. In fact, he even has effectively transferred his personality, his lovability and his humour abroad. Already a Hollywood favourite, he appeared opposite Kristen Wiig in Bridesmaids as the police officer love interest, was married to Maya Rudolph in Friends With Kids and more recently, stared as the hateable and downright sleaze ball Thomas in Lena Dunham’s hit series Girls. Taking on that dickish behaviour, playing nasty seems to also comes naturally in Nick Frost’s Cuban Fury. You’ll also see him as a villain in Guiliver’s Travels, the drunk Irish manager of an Aborigine girl pop group in The Sapphires,
What most don’t know is that he had his big break in Anne Griffin’s Festival which won him the BAFTA Scotland award, here he played an Irish Stand up and had small roles in Vera Drake and the sweetest one in The Boat That Rocked.
The reason for all this preposition about O’Dowd is that what you might not know is that this actor is a bleeding hard working actor who has truly perfected his draft. He is an utter loveable and likeable rogue in television shows who is now, thankfully, appearing in much more. But he isn’t just that Irish man unlucky in love, too nice or too off the cuff and mean. He can already play a range of people that all equally have charisma to draw you in. It helps that he openly works with women and female writers without condescending them either, translating their work to the screen just as much as his own. Later this year he will appear opposite James Franco in Of Mice and Men on Broadway and it just adds a cap to his “I am taking over the world” crown.
So on a list of top Irish Actors and for this Paddy’s Day, let’s raise a glass to the brilliant legendary Chris O’Dowd.