John D Ruddy
John Ruddy | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Letterkenny, Ireland |
| Occupation | Actor |
John D Ruddy is an Irish actor and artist.
Personal life
Ruddy was born in Letterkenny, County Donegal.[1]
Career
Acting
Ruddy has been involved in many theatre productions in his native Ireland. His first notable role was in the multi-award winning production of The 39 Steps directed by Pluincead Ó Fearraigh which toured across Ireland in September 2012.[2]
He went on to play Billy McKeague in The Rising by Joe O'Byrne, a two-man play of a Protestant and a Catholic telling the story of the 1916 Easter Rising. The play premiered in the Powerscourt Theatre, Dublin in June 2012 and toured Ireland in 2013 and 2014.[3]
Ruddy's performance was widely praised with The Irish Times stating "Ruddy's characterisations – particularly his inner-city Concepta and, at times, his Pádraig Pearse – are so funny that they divert us guiltily from the weight of the lesson."[4] Irish culture magazine Vulgo described Ruddy and his co-star Nick O'Connell as "exciting new talent" and "say that you saw the electric O'Connell and Ruddy here first" in their review of the show.[5]
YouTube
Ruddy created the webcomic Manny Man 2010.[6] The weekly strip poked fun at pop culture including Star Wars, Pokemon, Doctor Who and Game of Thrones.
He made his first historical animation, Irish History in 6 Minutes, in 2013 which went viral in his homeland.[7] [8] [9] While his subsequent videos tackling World War I, World War II have each amassed over a million views on YouTube.[10] [11]
Ruddy's animations have since been inducted into the Donegal County Museum.[12]
Artwork
In addition to his animations, Ruddy is also an illustrator, and recently provided illustrations for Kieran Kelly's book, Letterkenny: Where the Winding Swilly Flows.[13]
References
- ^ "John D Ruddy". Irish Actors Guide. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
- ^ "Award-winning '39 Steps' for All Irelands". Donegal News. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
- ^ "The story of the 1916 Rising told by both sides (with a little Irish dancing)". Irish Journal. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
- ^ "This loud and proud telling of the 1916 Rising leaves no soldier behind". The Irish Times. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
- ^ "Exciting new talent in Joe O'Byrne's "The Rising", choreographed by Breandan De Gallai at Powerscourt Theatre". Vulgo. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
- ^ "Manny Man". Smack Jeeves. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
- ^ "Donegal teacher becomes YouTube star with entertaining history lessons". Irish Post. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
- ^ "Animated short tells history of Ireland in six minutes". Joe.ie. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
- ^ "John Ruddy's new Manny Man video gets over 50,000 hits". Donegal News. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
- ^ "Donegal teacher uploads interactive lessons to YouTube - and gets 3 million views". Irish Independent. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
- ^ "Donegal School Teacher goes Viral with Youtube lessons". Retrieved 26 January 2016.
- ^ "Donegal County Museum – Films by John D. Ruddy". Retrieved 26 January 2016.
- ^ "Kieran Kelly – Letterkenny: Where the Winding Swilly Flows". Angrianan. Retrieved 18 April 2015.