Peter McDonald (actor)

Peter McDonald
Peter McDonald
Born	28 January 1972 (age 52); Dublin, Ireland
Nationality	Irish
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1997–present

Peter McDonald (born 28 January 1972) is an Irish Oscar nominated stage and screen actor and director. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film for his short film Pentecost.

Early life and education

He grew up in Mount Merrion, County Dublin. He was educated at St. Michael's College, 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 as part of UCD's Drama Society and was a member of the Fly by Night Theatre Company.

Career

McDonald has appeared in films including Felicia's Journey (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 and Days of Wine and Roses.

He co-starred with Jonathan Pryce and Aidan Gillen in Glengarry Glen Ross at the Apollo Theatre in 2007. He features prominently in RTÉ'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 with Brendan Gleeson.

He wrote and directed Pentecost, a live action short film which was nominated for the 2012 Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film. He co-wrote and acted in the full-length movie, The Stag, which was nominated for six Irish Film and Television Academy (IFTA) awards in 2014.

He is currently filming for the new BBC Drama "This Town" a BBC drama by Steven Knight.

Theatre

The Weir (Donmar Theatre, London, 2013)^[1]
The Caretaker (Trafalgar Studios 2010)
Glengarry Glen Ross (Apollo Theatre 2007)
Exiles (National Theatre: Cottesloe Theatre 2006)
Resurrection Blues (Old Vic 2006)
Aristocrats (National Theatre: Lyttelton Theatre 2005)
Days of Wine and Roses (Donmar 2005)
The Lieutenant of Inishmore (Garrick Theatre 2002)
White Horses (Gate Theatre, Dublin 2001)
A Lie of the Mind (Donmar 2001)
The Wexford Trilogy (Oxford Stage Company tour 2001)
Inventing Fortune's Wheel (Firkin Crane Theatre, Cork)
Van Gogh's Ear, The Stars Lose Their Glory, The Brother (International Bar, Dublin)
The Stranger (Players Theatre, Dublin)^[2]

Filmography

I Went Down (1997) as Git Hynes
Felicia's Journey (1999) as Johnny Lysaght
Captain Jack (1999) as Andy Watts
The Opportunists (2000) as Michael 'Mikey' Lawler, aka Michael Kelly
Nora (2000) as Stanislaus Joyce
Saltwater (2000) as Frank Beneventi
Some Voices (2000) as Dave
When Brendan Met Trudy (2000) as Brendan
Blow Dry (2001) as Vincent
Don't Tempt Me (2001) as Henry
Spin the Bottle (2004) as Tomo
Festival (2005) as Architect
The Headsman (2005) as Georg
The Family Man (2006) as Steve
The Damned United (2009) as Johnny Giles
Wreckers (2011) as Gary
Anthropopopometry (2013) as Steve (Short-film)
The Stag (2013) as The Machine, also co-writer with John Butler
England is Mine (2017) as Peter Morrissey
Fanny Lye Deliver'd (2019) as The High Sheriff for the Council of State
The Batman (2022) as William Kenzie
Woken (2024) as Doctor Henry

Television

Paths to Freedom (2000) as Tomo
Fergus's Wedding (2002) as Tony
Spooks (2003) as Tim Prachett
Killing Hitler (2003) as MI Staff Officer L / BX
Sea of Souls (2004) as Dr. Andrew Gemmill
Green Wing (2006) as Director
City of Vice (2008) as Tom Jones
Titanic (2012) as Jim Maloney
Moone Boy (2012–2015) as Liam Moone
Mayday (2013) as Alan Hill
Ripper Street (2014) as Dr. Anthony Rolle
No Offence (2015) as Patrick Llewellyn
Thirteen (2016) as Mark White
The Last Kingdom (2017) as Brother Trew
Finding Joy (2019) as Canine Aidan (voice)
Dublin Murders (2019) as Jonathan Devlin
A Discovery of Witches (2022) as Baldwin De Clermont
Mandy (2022) as Dr Gould
This Town (2024) as Eamonn

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Result	Work
2000	Irish Film and Television Awards	Best Actor	Won	Saltwater
2011	Tribeca Film Festival	Best Narrative Short	Nominated	Pentecost
2012	Academy Awards	Best Short Film, Live Action shared with: Eimear O'Kane	Nominated	Pentecost
2014	Irish Film and Television Awards	Best Supporting Actor – Film	Nominated	The Stag

References

^ Spencer, Charles (26 April 2013). "The Weir, Donmar Warehouse, review". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 9 May 2013.
^ Source: McDonald's CV in the theatre programme for Glengarry Glen Ross, 2007