Peter McDonald (actor)
Encyclopedia
Peter McDonald is an Irish
stage and screen actor. He grew up in Mount Merrion in South County Dublin. His mother, Brenda Costigan is a cookery writer and his father, Richard McDonald sells bailer twine. He is related to Leigh McDonald of Australia
.
He was educated at St Michael's College on Ailesbury Road in Dublin and graduated from University College Dublin with a Bachelor of Arts, English and a Master of Fine Arts, English in 1994.
He got his start in theatre while at University. He was part of UCD's very active Drama Society and was a member of Fly by night theatre company
.
(written and directed by Atom Egoyan
, 1999) and When Brendan Met Trudy (written by Roddy Doyle
and directed by Kieron J Walsh, 2000); television series (the BBC
's Sea of Souls
and Channel 4
's Green Wing
); and theatre productions both in Dublin and London
, including The Lieutenant of Inishmore by playwright Martin McDonagh
, Days of Wine and Roses by Owen McCafferty
, starring alongside Anne-Marie Duff
, and co-starring with Jonathan Pryce
and Aidan Gillen
in Glengarry Glen Ross by David Mamet
at the Apollo Theatre in 2007.
He features prominently in RTE's comedy show Your Bad Self
He made his debut in 1997 as the character Git Hynes in the Irish comedy I Went Down, co-starring alongside Brendan Gleeson
.
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
stage and screen actor. He grew up in Mount Merrion in South County Dublin. His mother, Brenda Costigan is a cookery writer and his father, Richard McDonald sells bailer twine. He is related to Leigh McDonald of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
He was educated at St Michael's College on Ailesbury Road in Dublin and graduated from University College Dublin with a Bachelor of Arts, English and a Master of Fine Arts, English in 1994.
He got his start in theatre while at University. He was part of UCD's very active Drama Society and was a member of Fly by night theatre company
Fly By Night Theatre Company
Fly by Night Theatre Company is an Irish theatre company based in Dublin. It was established in summer 1992, mostly by students from University College Dublin who had been active members of UCD Dramsoc, the student drama society. Regular members of the company were Richard Brennan, Jason Byrne,...
.
Career
McDonald has appeared in films including Felicia's JourneyFelicia's Journey
Felicia's Journey is a 1999 film starring Elaine Cassidy and Bob Hoskins, based on a prize winning 1994 novel by William Trevor. It was directed by Atom Egoyan...
(written and directed by Atom Egoyan
Atom Egoyan
Atom Egoyan, OC is a critically acclaimed Armenian-Canadian stage director and film director. Egoyan made his career breakthrough with Exotica...
, 1999) and When Brendan Met Trudy (written by Roddy Doyle
Roddy Doyle
Roddy Doyle is an Irish novelist, dramatist and screenwriter. Several of his books have been made into successful films, beginning with The Commitments in 1991. He won the Booker Prize in 1993....
and directed by Kieron J Walsh, 2000); television series (the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's Sea of Souls
Sea of Souls
Sea of Souls is a BBC paranormal drama series, based around the fictional activities of a group of investigators into psychic and other paranormal events. Produced in-house by BBC Scotland, initially in association with Sony Pictures Television International, the series debuted on BBC One in the UK...
and Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
's Green Wing
Green Wing
Green Wing is a British sitcom set in the fictional East Hampton Hospital. It was created by the same team behind the sketch show Smack the Pony, led by Victoria Pile, and stars Tamsin Greig, Stephen Mangan and Julian Rhind-Tutt....
); and theatre productions both in Dublin and London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, including The Lieutenant of Inishmore by playwright Martin McDonagh
Martin McDonagh
Martin McDonagh is an Irish-British playwright, filmmaker, and screenwriter. Although he has lived in London his entire life, he is considered one of the most important living Irish playwrights.-Life:...
, Days of Wine and Roses by Owen McCafferty
Owen McCafferty
Owen McCafferty is a playwright from Northern Ireland.Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, McCafferty held several jobs, including tiling and working in an abattoir, before becoming a full-time writer...
, starring alongside Anne-Marie Duff
Anne-Marie Duff
Anne-Marie Duff is an English actress best known for playing Fiona Gallagher in Shameless, and Elizabeth I in The Virgin Queen.-Early life:...
, and co-starring with Jonathan Pryce
Jonathan Pryce
Jonathan Pryce, CBE is a Welsh stage and film actor and singer. After studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and meeting his longtime partner English actress Kate Fahy in 1974, he began his career as a stage actor in the 1970s...
and Aidan Gillen
Aidan Gillen
Aidan Gillen is an Irish stage and screen actor and television presenter. He is known in Ireland for his role in Love/Hate, in the UK for his role in Queer as Folk and in the US for his role in HBO's television series The Wire in which he plays Tommy Carcetti and for his role in Game of Thrones as...
in Glengarry Glen Ross by David Mamet
David Mamet
David Alan Mamet is an American playwright, essayist, screenwriter and film director.Best known as a playwright, Mamet won a Pulitzer Prize and received a Tony nomination for Glengarry Glen Ross . He also received a Tony nomination for Speed-the-Plow . As a screenwriter, he received Oscar...
at the Apollo Theatre in 2007.
He features prominently in RTE's comedy show Your Bad Self
He made his debut in 1997 as the character Git Hynes in the Irish comedy I Went Down, co-starring alongside Brendan Gleeson
Brendan Gleeson
Brendan Gleeson is an Irish actor. His best-known films include Braveheart, Gangs of New York, In Bruges, 28 Days Later, the Harry Potter films, The Guard and the role of Michael Collins in The Treaty...
.
Theatre
- "The CaretakerThe CaretakerThe Caretaker is a play by Harold Pinter. It was first published by both Encore Publishing and Eyre Methuen in 1960. The sixth play that Pinter wrote for stage or television production, it was his first significant commercial success...
" (Trafalgar StudiosTrafalgar StudiosTrafalgar Studios, formerly The Whitehall Theatre until 2004, is a West End theatre in Whitehall, near Trafalgar Square, in the City of Westminster, London....
2010) - Glengarry Glen RossGlengarry Glen RossGlengarry Glen Ross is a 1984 play written by David Mamet. The play shows parts of two days in the lives of four desperate Chicago real estate agents who are prepared to engage in any number of unethical, illegal acts—from lies and flattery to bribery, threats, intimidation and burglary—to sell...
(Apollo TheatreApollo TheatreThe Apollo Theatre is a Grade II listed West End theatre, on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster. Designed by architect Lewin Sharp for owner Henry Lowenfield, and the fourth legitimate theatre to be constructed on the street, its doors opened on 21 February 1901 with the American...
2007) - ExilesExiles (play)Exiles is a play by James Joyce, who is principally remembered for his novels. It draws on the story of "The Dead", the final short story in Joyce's first major work, Dubliners, and was rejected by W. B. Yeats for production by the Abbey Theatre...
(National TheatreRoyal National TheatreThe Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
: Cottesloe Theatre 2006) - Resurrection BluesResurrection BluesResurrection Blues is Arthur Miller's penultimate play. Though Miller was not known for his humor, this play uses a pointed comedic edge to intensify his observations about the dangers, as well as the benefits, of blind belief: political, religious, economic and emotional.-Plot:The story is set in...
(Old Vic 2006) - Aristocrats (National Theatre: Lyttelton Theatre 2005)
- Days of Wine and Roses (Donmar WarehouseDonmar WarehouseDonmar Warehouse is a small not-for-profit theatre in the Covent Garden area of London, with a capacity of 251.-About:Under the artistic leadership of Michael Grandage, the theatre has presented some of London’s most memorable award-winning theatrical experiences, as well as garnered critical...
2005) - The Lieutenant of InishmoreThe Lieutenant of InishmoreThe Lieutenant of Inishmore is a black comedy by playwright Martin McDonagh, first produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company in London in 2001.-Plot:...
(Garrick TheatreGarrick TheatreThe Garrick Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Charing Cross Road, in the City of Westminster. It opened on 24 April 1889 with The Profligate, a play by Arthur Wing Pinero. In its early years, it appears to have specialised in the performance of melodrama, and today the theatre is a...
2002) - White Horses (Gate TheatreGate TheatreThe Gate Theatre, in Dublin, was founded in 1928 by Hilton Edwards and Micheál Mac Liammóir, initially using the Abbey Theatre's Peacock studio theatre space to stage important works by European and American dramatists...
, Dublin 2001) - A Lie of the MindA Lie of the MindA Lie of the Mind is a play written by Sam Shepard, first staged at the off-Broadway Promenade Theater on 5 December 1985. The play was directed by Shepard himself with stars Harvey Keitel as Jake, Amanda Plummer as Beth, Aidan Quinn as Frankie, Geraldine Page as Lorraine, and Will Patton as Mike...
(Donmar Warehouse 2001) - The Wexford TrilogyBilly RocheBilly Roche is an Irish playwright and actor. He was born and still lives in Wexford and most of his writings are based there...
(Oxford Stage Company tour 2001) - Inventing Fortune's Wheel (Firkin Crane Theatre, CorkCork (city)Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...
) - Van Gogh's Ear, The Stars Lose Their Glory, The Brother (International Bar, Dublin)
- The Stranger (Players Theatre, Dublin)
Films
- The Henchman's Tale
- No News from God
- Spin the BottleSpin the bottleSpin the Bottle is a party game in which several players sit/stand/kneel in a circle. One player spins a bottle and must kiss the person to whom the bottle points, who then spins the bottle in turn...
- (Brendan) When Brendan Met TrudyWhen Brendan Met TrudyWhen Brendan Met Trudy is a 2001 motion picture directed by Kieron J. Walsh which tells a story of a teacher who falls in love with a mysterious young woman. Set in Dublin, it is Walsh's first feature film, written by Roddy Doyle.-Plot:...
- (Stanislaus JoyceStanislaus JoyceStanislaus Joyce was an Irish teacher, scholar, and writer who lived for many years in Italy. He was the brother of James Joyce. Considered a "whetstone" by his more famous brother, who shared his ideas and his books with him, Stanislaus was three years younger than James, and a constant boyhood...
) NoraNora (film)Nora is a 2000 film directed by Pat Murphy about Nora Barnacle and her husband, Irish author James Joyce. It stars Ewan McGregor as Joyce and Susan Lynch as the title character of Nora Barnacle.-Cast:-Plot:... - (Frank Beneventi) Saltwater
- The OpportunistsThe OpportunistsThe Opportunists is a 2000 film starring Christopher Walken, with an appearance by Cyndi Lauper as the New Yorker Sally Mahon. It is assigned the criteria of a comedy/crime drama.-Plot:...
- (Dave) Some VoicesSome VoicesSome Voices is an EP by indie rock band Pinback.-Track listing:# "Some Voices" – 3:16# "Trainer" – 2:43# "Manchuria" – 2:41# "June" – 7:17...
- (Johnny) Felicia's JourneyFelicia's JourneyFelicia's Journey is a 1999 film starring Elaine Cassidy and Bob Hoskins, based on a prize winning 1994 novel by William Trevor. It was directed by Atom Egoyan...
- An Inch Over the Horizon
- (Git Hynes) I Went Down
- November Afternoon
- (Johnny GilesJohnny GilesMichael John "Johnny" Giles is a former association footballer and manager best remembered for his time as a midfielder with Leeds United in the 1960s and 1970s...
)The Damned UnitedThe Damned UnitedThe Damned United is a 2009 British sports drama film directed by Tom Hooper and adapted by Peter Morgan from David Peace's bestselling novel The Damned Utd, a largely fictional book based on the author's interpretation of Brian Clough's tenure as manager of Leeds United...
(2009)
Television
- City of ViceCity of ViceCity of Vice is a British historical crime drama television series set in Georgian London and was first screened on 14 January 2008 on Channel 4. It is produced by Touchpaper Television part of the RDF Media Group. The series mixes fiction with fact following the fortunes of the famous novelist...
- The Family ManThe Family ManThe Family Man is a 2000 drama film directed by Brett Ratner and starring Nicolas Cage and Téa Leoni. Cage's production company, Saturn Films, helped produce the film....
- Green WingGreen WingGreen Wing is a British sitcom set in the fictional East Hampton Hospital. It was created by the same team behind the sketch show Smack the Pony, led by Victoria Pile, and stars Tamsin Greig, Stephen Mangan and Julian Rhind-Tutt....
- Sea of SoulsSea of SoulsSea of Souls is a BBC paranormal drama series, based around the fictional activities of a group of investigators into psychic and other paranormal events. Produced in-house by BBC Scotland, initially in association with Sony Pictures Television International, the series debuted on BBC One in the UK...
- Killing HitlerKilling HitlerKilling Hitler is a BBC docudrama that examines the Operation Foxley plot to kill Adolf Hitler.-External links:* by Professor Duncan Anderson at BBC History.....
(2003) - SpooksSpooksSpooks is a British television drama series that originally aired on BBC One from 13 May 2002 – 23 October 2011, consisting of 10 series. The title is a popular colloquialism for spies, as the series follows the work of a group of MI5 officers based at the service's Thames House headquarters, in a...
- Fergus’ Wedding
- Paths to FreedomPaths to FreedomPaths to Freedom was a popular comedy on the Irish television network RTÉ Two. The shows stars two characters, Jeremy and Rats , who have both recently been released from a Dublin prison...