Chris Walley (actor)
Chris Walley | |
|---|---|
| Born | 21 June 1995 County Cork, Republic of Ireland |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2016–present |
| Relatives | William Norton (great-grandfather) |
Chris Walley (born 21 June 1995) is an Irish actor. He is best known for his role as Jock O'Keeffe in the comedy film The Young Offenders (2016), for which he won an IFTA Award, and its subsequent RTÉ and BBC Three series. He won a Laurence Olivier Award for his performance in The Lieutenant of Inishmore revival on the West End.[1][2]
Early life
[edit]Walley was born in County Cork, Ireland, and raised in the area of Glanmire. He was a pupil of Christian Brothers College, Cork. Walley is a great-grandson of William Norton, former Tánaiste.[citation needed]
From an early age, Walley took an interest in Drama and Theatre studies, attending classes in the Gaiety School of Acting and the Cork School of Music.[3] As a student in the Cork School of Music Walley was a member of their Youth Theatre group, performing in productions such as Anouilh's Antigone, as well as undertaking individual lessons under the tutelage of Trína Scott.[3][4] Walley auditioned for the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London after completing his secondary education, however, he was unsuccessful in his application and instead began studying full-time at Cork School of Music as part of their BA in Drama and Theatre studies. The following year Walley re-auditioned for RADA, and was offered one of their coveted 28 places, ahead of 3,500 other applicants.[3]
Career
[edit]Prior to commencing third level education, Walley had auditioned for and won a role in an independent Irish film, set to be based and filmed locally in Cork. The resulting film, The Young Offenders, written and directed by Peter Foott, became the fastest Irish film to break the €1 million mark at the Irish box office in 2016.[5] For his role as Jock, Walley was nominated for numerous awards, including the IFTA for Best Supporting Actor. With the popularity of the film, on 9 May 2017, it was confirmed that a six-episode television programme, based on the film with the same name, had been ordered by RTÉ.[6] The first series began broadcasting on 1 February 2018, broadcast by RTÉ Two in Ireland and airing through the online television service BBC Three.[7] With a popular and high reception, the series was recommissioned for a second series, the projected release date was not disclosed.[8] For his role in the television series, Walley was awarded the IFTA for Best Male Performance - Television.[9]
In 2018, Walley was cast alongside Aidan Turner in a revival of Martin McDonagh's play The Lieutenant of Inishmore, which opened at the Noël Coward Theatre in June of that year.[10] For his performance, Walley received exceptional reviews, with Time Out London writing, "in a uniformly strong cast, special praise should go to Walley. A virtual newcomer, he is excruciatingly brilliant as the mullet-clad Davey, who meets each new indignity heaped upon him with an impressive mix of resignation and hysteria", Broadway World saying that, "you would never be able to guess this is his West End debut", and The New York Times stating, "Chris Walley ... effortlessly conveys the illogical logic and perverse mundanity of the dialogue".[11][12][13] For this performance Walley was nominated for the Evening Standard Emerging Talent Award, and was selected as a BAFTA Breakthrough Brit, an initiative established by the British Academy of Film and Television Awards to foster the talents of up-and-coming members of the arts world by offering them mentorship for a year.[14][15]
Filmography
[edit]Film
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Directed by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | The Young Offenders | Jock Murphy | Peter Foott | |
| 2019 | 1917 | Private Bullen | Sam Mendes | |
| 2020 | Pixie | Daniel Donnelly | Barnaby Thompson | |
| Spanish Pigeon | John | Stefan J Fideli & Philip Barantini | Short film | |
| 2023 | Unwelcome | Killian | Jon Wright | |
| The Last Voyage of the Demeter | Abrams | André Øvredal | a.k.a. Dracula: Voyage of the Demeter | |
| Lies We Tell | Edward | Lisa Mulcahy | ||
| 2024 | Peat | TBA | Padraig Baggott | Short film |
Television
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018–2024 | The Young Offenders | Jock O'Keeffe | Main cast |
| 2021–2022 | Bloodlands | Birdy | Main cast |
| 2023 | Falling for the Life of Alex Whelan | Alex Whelan | Television film |
| 2024 | Bodkin | Seán O'Shea | Main cast |
Stage
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Theatre | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | The Lieutenant of Inishmore | Davey | Noël Coward Theatre | [10] |
| 2023 | Portia Coughlan | Raphael Coughlan | Almeida Theatre | [16] |
| 2024 | The Sugar Wife | Alfred Darby | The Abbey | [17] |
| 2024 | Juno and the Paycock | Charles Bentham | Gielgud Theatre | [18] |
Awards and nominations
[edit]| Year | Work | Award | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | The Young Offenders | Súil Eile Award | Won | Shared with Alex Murphy |
| Ros Hubbard Award for Acting | Won | |||
| 2017 | IFTA Best Actor in a Leading Role – Film | Nominated | ||
| 2018 | IFTA Best Male Performance – Television | Won | ||
| The Lieutenant of Inishmore & The Young Offenders | BAFTA Breakthrough Brit | Won | ||
| The Lieutenant of Inishmore | Evening Standard Theatre Award for Emerging Talent | Nominated | ||
| Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Most Promising Newcomer[19] | Won | |||
| 2019 | Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role | Won | ||
| The Young Offenders | Royal Television Society Awards Comedy Performance - Male | Nominated | Shared with Alex Murphy | |
| 2024 | Lies We Tell | IFTA Supporting Actor – Film | Nominated |
References
[edit]- ^ Clarke, Donald. "Iftas 2017: 'The Young Offenders' leads film nominations". The Irish Times.
- ^ the-young-offenders-tv-series-2 www.thejournal.ie [dead link]
- ^ a b c "The young contender... Cork actor Chris Walley". independent. 11 February 2018.
- ^ "Trína Scott". csm.cit.ie.
- ^ Molumby, Deirdre (21 October 2016). "The Young Offenders crosses €1 million at the Irish Box Office". Entertainment.ie.
- ^ Clarke, Donald. "The Young Offenders is to become a TV series". The Irish Times.
- ^ "The Young Offenders - Series 1: Episode 1" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ "OFFICIAL: Brilliant news because The Young Offenders will be getting a second season". JOE.ie.
- ^ "The Young Offenders star says reaction to show is 'mad'". rte.ie. 31 May 2018.
- ^ a b "Young Offenders actor to star in Martin McDonagh play". rte.ie. 12 January 2018.
- ^ "'The Lieutenant of Inishmore' review | Theatre in London". Time Out London. 26 June 2018.
- ^ Ackman, Nicole. "BWW Review: The Lieutenant of Inishmore, Noel Coward Theatre". BroadwayWorld.com.
- ^ Brantley, Ben (4 July 2018). "Orlando Bloom and Aidan Turner Are Drenched in Blood in London". The New York Times – via NYTimes.com.
- ^ "Meet the ones to watch shortlisted for our Emerging Talent Award". Evening Standard. 6 November 2018.
- ^ "'I am most definitely not British' - Young Offenders star Chris Walley on his BAFTA selection as a 'Breakthrough Brit'". independent. 2 November 2018.
- ^ "Almeida Theatre announces full cast of Portia Coughlan". 22 August 2023.
- ^ "The Sugar Wife review: Siobhán Cullen and Chris Walley star in elegant revival of drama loaded with moral quandaries". The Irish Times. 19 June 2024.
- ^ "Full cast announced for Juno and the Paycock with Mark Rylance and J Smith-Cameron". 21 August 2024.
- ^ "2018 Results | Critics' Circle Theatre Awards". 29 January 2019. Retrieved 5 December 2020.