Damian O'Hare was born on 13th August 1977 in Belfast. Throughout his childhood, he participated in various stage productions and radio plays. He also appeared in the music video "Belfast Child" of Scottish 80s cult band Simple Minds.
At the age of 18, Damian moved to London and attended LAMDA (The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art). He has since worked on stage frequently, for example in Peter Gill's "Small Change" and the West End production of "The Countess", in which he portrayed pre-Raphaelite painter John Everett Millais. Recent theatre work included "The Revenger's Tragedy" at the Royal Exchange in Manchester.
In 2002, Damian delivered a much-praised performance as Finn in "The Magic Toyshop". To quote The Observer:
"Red-haired, lithe Damian O'Hare looks the part and plays him with a proper understanding of the gaiety that is the flipside of despair."
That should answer the question "and what does he look like...?"
Damian has made many guest appearances on popular TV shows; "Foyle's War", "Red Cap", "P.O.W.", "The Bill", "Doctors" and "Casualty" to name but a few. Among his finest TV work so far was the role of Sean Weir in the drama series "Ultimate Force".
He became known to a wider audience thanks to his excellent portrayal of the slightly buffoonish Lt. Gillette in "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl". The dramatised documentary "Titanic: Birth of a Legend" in which he played ill-fated shipbuilder Thomas Andrews was also very successful.
In 2008, Damian joined the cast of ITV1's hospital drama series "The Royal" as a regular for one season, portraying Dr. Nick Burnett, and quickly became a favourite of the fans. Damian's next show "Taking the Flak", a mockumentary about a team of journalists reporting from a fictional war in Africa, was aired on BBC2. Damian played BBC cameraman Rory Wallace.
2009 saw Damian's return to stage as Tom Joad in Frank Galati's adaptation of John Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath", a co-production between Chichester Festival Theatre and the English Touring Theatre.
In 2010, Damian reprised his role as Lt. Gillette in "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides".
From July to September 2011, Damian performed in "Double Feature" at the National Theatre Paintframe, London, and in the following months he filmed "The Hatfields & McCoys" in Romania. The History Channel three-part mini-series starring Kevin Costner will premier on Memorial Sunday, 28th May, 2012.
Also scheduled for 2012 is the pilot of the crime drama "L.A. Noir" on TNT, in which Damian will play a character called Pat Dolan.
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For TV schedule and dates of theatre performances, please have a look at our calendar.
Watch Damian O'Hare's showreel @ Hamilton Hodell.