Brendan O'Carroll
Brendan O'Carroll | |
|---|---|
| Born | Brendan O'Carroll 15 September 1955 |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, comedian |
| Years active | 1990–present |
| Notable work | Mrs. Brown's Boys |
| Spouse(s) | Doreen O'Carroll (1977–1999) (divorced) Jennifer Gibney (2005–present) |
| Children | Danny O'Carroll Eric O'Carroll Fiona O'Carroll Brendan O'Carroll (deceased) |
| Parent(s) | Maureen (deceased) Gerard O'Carroll (deceased) |
| Relatives | Maureen O'Carroll (sister) Pat O'Carroll (sister) Martha O'Carroll (sister) Eilish O'Caroll (sister) Fiona O'Carroll (sister) Micheal O'Carroll (brother) Fin O'Carroll (brother) Amanda Wood (daughter-in-law) Martin Delany (son-in-law) Jamie O'Carroll (grandson) Blake O'Carroll (grandson) Eli Delany (grandson) Felix Delany (grandson) |
Brendan O'Carroll (born 15 September 1955) is an Irish BAFTA-winning writer, producer, comedian, author, actor and director.[1] A popular comedian in Ireland since the early 1990s, O'Carroll is best known internationally for portraying the foul-mouthed Irish matriarch Agnes Brown in Mrs. Brown's Boys.[2]
Early life
O'Carroll was born in 1955 in Finglas West, a suburb of north Dublin and was the youngest of 11 children. His mother, Maureen, was a Labour Party TD and his father Gerard O’Carroll a carpenter and he says this has had a huge impact on his life. He left school aged 12 and had a string of occupations including waiter, milkman, DJ, before making the move to comedy. Much of his comedy is about his childhood in Finglas and Dublin City.
Career
As an author
O'Carroll has written seven novels, including The Mammy, The Chisselers, The Granny, The Scrapper (originally published as "Sparrows Trap") and The Young Wan; a number of these have been translated into 12 languages and have been best sellers worldwide.[3]
He has also written four films and nine comedy shows. These include The Course (1995), Grandad's Sure Lilly's Still Alive(1997), The Last Wedding (1999), Mourning Mrs. Brown (2000), Mrs. Brown Rides Again (2004), For the Love of Mrs. Brown (2007), How Now Mrs. Brown Cow? (2009), and Good Mourning Mrs. Brown (2011).
As an actor
He has appeared in many movies and TV shows over the years and has had parts in Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere, Angela's Ashes, Agnes Browne alongside Anjelica Huston (for which he also wrote the screenplay),[4] Sweety Barret with Brendan Gleeson, The Fattest Man in Britain and The Van. He also has his own feature length series box set of his most famous character, Mrs Agnes Brown. Brendan also starred in Security Men written by Caroline Aherne and Jeff Pope, for ITV. Mrs. Brown's Boys debuted on RTÉ and BBC in 2011, the second series was filmed in October 2011 and aired on January 2012. The BBC commissioned it for a third series which aired from December 2012 to January 2013. [5]
As a presenter
He presented Brendan O'Carroll's Hot Milk and Pepper on RTÉ from 1996 until 1998. This was over a two-year period.
Personal life
He is a member of Mensa with an IQ of 156 which is in the top 2% for Ireland.[6][7]
For a long time he had a ponytail until it was removed by Leeds United and Ireland footballer Gary Kelly with a pen-knife in 1994 at the World Cup in America. The ponytail was subsequently auctioned for $10,000 for US charity Give Kids the World.[citation needed]
He married his childhood sweetheart Doreen in 1977; they had four children together before separating in 1999 and subsequently divorcing. In 2005 O'Carroll married his second wife, the actress Jennifer Gibney (Goodbye to the Hill, Some Mother's Son, Cathy Browne, Mrs. Brown's Boys – BBC One).[8]
O'Carroll has four children: Brendan (born 1976 who died at just a few days old suffering from spina bifida and hydrocephalus), Fiona (born 1980), Daniel "Danny" (born 16 October 1983) and Eric (born September 1992).[9] He turned down a move to the United States so that he could spend more time with them.[10]
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | The Van | Weslie | |
| 1998 | Sparrow's Trap | Writer and director | |
| 1998 | The Tale of Sweeney Barret | Rissolli | |
| 1999 | Agnes Browne | Seamus the Drunk | Writer |
| 1999 | Angela's Ashes | Funeral Carriage Driver | |
| 2002 | The Last Wedding | Agnes Brown | Star, writer and co-director |
| 2004 | Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere | Gypsy Joe | Channel 4, 1 episode |
| 2009 | The Fattest Man in Britain | Fr O'Flaherty | ITV, 1 episode |
| 2011–present | Mrs. Brown's Boys | Agnes Brown | BBC One, actor, writer |
References
- ^ St. Canices Girls National School
- ^ McGreevy, Ronan (27 April 2011). "Necessity the mammy of invention as O'Carroll's Mrs Brown is up for Bafta". The Irish Times.
- ^ Brendan O'Carroll: O'Brien Press author
- ^ Brendan O'Carroll at IMDb
- ^ "Mrs. Brown's Boys". RTÉ News.
- ^ Power, Ed (2006-01-07). "Article on 60th anniversary of Mensa". Irish Independent.
- ^ Profile: Brendan O'Carroll, The Sunday Times, 22 February 2009, retrieved 6 August 2009
- ^ Jennifer Gibney at IMDb
- ^ Of chips and old blocks
- ^ "O'Carroll turns down big bucks in US". RTÉ Ten. 3 April 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
External links
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
