Ross O'Hennessy

Ross O'Hennessy
Born1974 (age 50–51)
Pontllanfraith, Wales
NationalityWelsh
EducationMountview Theatre School
OccupationActor

Ross O'Hennessy (born 1974) is a Welsh actor. He is best known for his role of Lord of Bones in Game of Thrones.

He played roles in Hollyoaks Later,[1] Da Vinci's Demons, The Musketeers, and playing the blood thirsty role of Sir Locke[2][3] in Kurt Sutter's international television series The Bastard Executioner.[2][4]

In 2015, he replaced Edward Dogliani as Lord of Bones in Season 5[5] of the HBO series Game of Thrones.[6] Since appearing in Game of Thrones Ross O'Hennessy has been cast to play the vicious character of Carnage Cliff in the feature film adaption of the comic book Accident Man.

Early life

O'Hennessy was born into a working class Welsh family but by the age 16 knew he wanted to spend his time acting. At the age of 18 he left Wales and moved to London to chase his career.[7] He was accepted into the National Youth Theatre, where he was tutored by actor Hakeem Kae-Kazim and performed in Maggie May, The Tempest and Macbeth in London. From these plays Ross won a scholarship from Sir John Mills and The Stage newspaper which enabled him to attend a three-year acting course at the Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts.[7]

Early career

O'Hennessy picked up a career in the theatre and gained his first appearance at Chichester Festival Theatre in a play called The Visit in which he acted opposite Hollywood actress Lauren Bacall which was directed by Terry Hands.[8] With such a big production came a lot of attention for Ross and so he was asked the join The Royal Shakespeare Company where he performed in As You Like It[9] directed by Steven Pimlott, Three Hours After Marriage[10] directed by Richard Cottrell and Troilus and Cressida directed by Ian Judge.[11][12]

Television and film appearances

O'Hennessy very quickly moved into the world of television and film with his first television appearance being as Cpl Dando on Soldier Soldier in 1995 to 1997. He continued to work as a typical television jobbing actor until he got his big break in 2011 playing the role of Bruce Maverick in Hollyoaks Later. He was asked to play the role of Commander Quattrone in Da Vinci's Demons.[13] having played this powerful role in such a big budget production allowed O'Hennessy to move into performances like Rattle Shirt - The Lord of Bones in Game of Thrones.[5]

O'Hennessy has completed work in 2015 on the BBC Musketeers[14] and has begun working on Kurt Sutter's new show all about the medieval times. O'Hennessy plays Sir Locke in this new FX production called The Bastard Executioner.

Charity Work

O'Hennessy is an active supporter of the arts and took part in a charity campaign to save his local theatre[15] where he first started acting at the age of 15. O'Hennessy hosted a 'Game of Thrones' event where he came to auction Game of Thrones memorabilia and photos. He hosted a charity signing plus a question and answer session. The theatre was successful in its campaign and the Blackwood Little theatre was saved.[16]

Personal Appearances

O'Hennessy at Wales Comic Con 2015

O'Hennessy made his first fan based personal appearance at the Wrexham Comic Con event in November 2015.[17]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2001 Conspiracy Adjutant SS Officer TV movie
2008 Clapham Junction Merv TV movie
2009 I Know You Know The Desk Sgt. Feature Film
2009 Colonial Gods Construction Manager Short Film
2014 The Adventurer: The Curse of the Midas Box Team Member Feature Film
2014 Narcopolis Officer Archer Feature Film
2015 Our Father Sergeant Browning Short Film
2016 Knights of the Damned Sir Richard Feature Film
2016 The Lost Viking Wyman Feature Film
2018 Accident Man Carnage Cliff Feature Film
2017 The Dark Kingdom Sir Richard Feature Film
2018 Boudicca's Fury Vasseddo TV movie
2018 Mission: Impossible – Fallout British Agent Feature Film
2018 Backdraft 2 Jack Feature Film
2019 Avengement Evans Feature Film
2018 Dragonheart: Vengeance The Bear Feature Film
2019 Jungle Cry Tim Harris Feature Film
2019 Tribal Brad Johnson Feature Film
2020 Ballard of Billy McCrea Tom Carpenter Feature Film
2020 The Loss Adjuster Mr Gimpole Feature Film

Television

Year Title Role
1995-1997 Soldier Soldier Cpl Dando
1998 Killer Net Bouncer
2001 Lexx Cedric
2003 Mile High Crazy Rugby Fan
2003 Roger Roger Policeman
2004 Rosemary and Thyme P.C. Donald Stuart
2005 Bad Girls Security Officer
2005 The Giblet Boys Mr Saunders
2006 Caerdydd John Davies - Immigration Officer
2006 Torchwood Sgt. Johnson
2007 Belonging John the Foreman
2012 Hollyoaks Later Bruce Maverick
2013-2014 Da Vinci's Demons Commander Quattrone
2014 Holby City Barry Mackenzie
2015 Game of Thrones RattleShirt - Lord of Bones
2015 The Bastard Executioner Locke
2015 The Musketeers Barbier
2020 Hanna Camp Guard
2020 Absentia Armstrong

References

  1. ^ "Ross Ohennessy".
  2. ^ a b The Bastard Executioner
  3. ^ "The Bastard Executioner TV show on FX: ratings (cancel or renew?)". 18 November 2015.
  4. ^ "'The Bastard Executioner' To Premiere Fall 2015; 4 Things To Know About 'Sons Of Anarchy' Creator Kurt Sutter's New Show". International Business Times. 24 May 2015.
  5. ^ a b "'Game Of Thrones' Recasts Rattleshirt, Lord Of Bones With Handsome Welsh Actor Ross O'Hennessy, Winter Is Coming, Highlight Hollywood News - Highlight Hollywood".
  6. ^ "Rattleshirt recast". Watchers on the Wall. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  7. ^ a b "Ross Ohennessy".
  8. ^ "1995 | Chichester Festival Theatre". www.cft.org.uk. Archived from the original on 14 August 2014. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  9. ^ "As You Like It, Pimlott/Martin-Davies, Royal Shakespeare Company, October 1996".
  10. ^ "Production of Three Hours After Marriage - Theatricalia".
  11. ^ "The RSC Shakespeare".
  12. ^ Administrator. "Troilus and Cressida".
  13. ^ TV.com. "Da Vinci's Demons".
  14. ^ "Ross O'Hennessy on Twitter".
  15. ^ "Game of Thrones star backs bid to save Blackwood theatre".
  16. ^ "Work starts on roof of threatened community theatre after £18,000 target is reached".
  17. ^ "November Events".