Brenock O'Connor | |
|---|---|
 O'Connor -German Throne & Dragon Con 2025 | |
| Born | Brenock Grant O'Connor |
| Education | Chatsmore Catholic High School |
| Occupations | Actor and singer |
| Years active | 2012–present |
Brenock Grant O'Connor is an English actor and singer. He is best known for his portrayal ofOlly in theHBO fantasy TV seriesGame of Thrones (2014–2016). He was part of the main casts of the British seriesDickensian (2015–2016),Living the Dream (2016–2019), and, most recently, theAmazon Prime seriesAlex Rider (2020–2024). He is also a musician under the artist name "McGovern."
Growing up, O'Connor attended theChatsmore Catholic High School (now Saint Oscar Romeo Catholic School) inGoring and studied theatre at The Theatre Workshop Stage School inBrighton.[1] He started performing on stage at the age of six in the Hammond Pantomimes at the Pavilion Theatre inWorthing, and won a theatre scholarship while attending.[1][2]
O'Connor big break was in 2014 as Olly in theHBO fantasy television seriesGame of Thrones. The character was introduced originally as a one episode character, to further the story between theWildlings and theNight's Watch atCastle Black, but was kept on the show to provide more backstory surrounding the deaths ofYgritte andJon Snow in thefourth andfifth seasons, respectively.[3][4] O'Connor appeared in seventeen episodes throughout the series, with his last appearance in the sixth-season episode "Oathbreaker," when he was hanged by a resurrectedJon Snow.
Regarding his character Olly's betrayal of Jon Snow in the fifth-season episode "Mother's Mercy," O'Connor stated that he received many negative messages from fans of the show, as well as some positive messages from people regarding his performance in the role.[5] In a subsequent interview, O'Connor stated he was content with the controversial reaction to his character, noting "It's very rare for my character to get noticed really, so I was quite happy with the reaction that I got. When you do something bad, you want a bad reaction for it."[6]
O'Connor has also appeared in several other roles, including Peter Cratchit in theBBC One seriesDickensian, which premiered in December 2015. He also starred in the 2015 British children'sadventure filmYoung Hunters: The Beast of Bevendean.[2] He's appeared in a music video withNoah and the Whale as well as several television commercials forHaribo, and as a lead character part in one episode ofHolby City.[2]
On stage O'Connor has performed in front of audiences on the tour ofCameron Mackintosh'sOliver!, playing the part of The Artful Dodger alongsideIain Fletcher,Neil Morrissey andSamantha Barks.[2] In addition to acting, O'Connor is a singer and guitarist, and has posted several cover songs on YouTube.[3]
In 2019, O'Connor was cast for the part of Conor Lawlor in the musical adaptation ofSing Street based on the 2016 movie byJohn Carney, who also directedOnce and was adapted for the stage as a musical as well. TheSing Street musical adaptation was originally presented atNew York Theatre Workshop in December 2019. It was scheduled to premiere on Broadway at theLyceum Theatre in Spring 2020 with an Original Cast Recording already released. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the production's premiere was pushed back until the end of 2021.[7]
O’Connor auditioned for the role ofAlex Rider in the2020 television series of the same name, but was instead given the role of Tom Harris, Alex's best friend. In an interview O’Connor stated that he did not mind not playing the lead character, saying "To be involved in this in any way is a dream come true. The books are just a major influence on my childhood."[8][9]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Young Hunters: The Beast of Bevendean | Sam Aldrington | |
| 2017 | Another Mother's Son | Rex Forster | |
| 2018 | The Bromley Boys | David Roberts | |
| 2023 | Double Blind | Paul |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Holby City | Angus Peters | Episode: "Blood Money" |
| 2013 | Chickens | Dribbler | Episode: "Rebel Girl" |
| 2014–2016 | Game of Thrones | Olly | 17 episodes |
| 2015–2016 | Dickensian | Peter Cratchit | 12 episodes |
| 2016 | Casualty | Peter Barnes | Episode: "All I Want for Christmas Is You" |
| 2017–2019 | Living the Dream | Freddie Pemberton | Main role; 12 episodes |
| 2018–2022 | The Split | Sasha | 4 episodes |
| 2019–2022 | Derry Girls | Jon | 2 episodes |
| 2020–2024 | Alex Rider | Tom Harris | Main role; 16 episodes |
Selected credits
| Year | Title | Role | Venue | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012–13 | Oliver! | Artful Dodger | UK Tour | [citation needed] | |
| 2017 | Plastic | Vincent | Theatre Royale | Original production | [10] |
| 2019–20 | Sing Street | Conor Lawlor | New York Theatre Workshop | Original off-Broadway production | [11] |
| Lyceum Theatre | Broadway production; delayed opening after COVID-19 | [12] |
| Year | Association | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Saturn Awards | Best Performance by a Younger Actor in a Television Series | Game of Thrones | Nominated |
| 2015 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | Nominated |