Inside Irish comedian Chris O'Dowd's life – from love for wife & kids, Hollywood roles, leaving America & TV triumphs
From his breakout role as the hilariously awkward Roy in
5
Chris O'Dowd has been acting on our screens for over two decades
5
Chris is married to best-selling author Dawn O'Porter
5
Chris first found fame on the comedy series The IT Crowd
But behind the cheeky charmer is a normal
Here's everything you need to know about the
funny
man's life.
LOVE AT FIRST REQUEST
The couple tied the knot back in 2012 and have since welcomed two
children
together, Art, 10 and Valentine, seven.
READ MORE IN CHRIS O'DOWD
The happy couple first came into contact after Chris requested Dawn as a friend on
Speaking on a recent episode of Table Manners with Jessie and Lennie Ware, Chris joked: "
I sent a couple of friend requests on Facebook
.
Dawn said no a couple of times, and then she was short on numbers for her birthday, so invited me along.
"
The lovebirds first met when their mutual pal,
history
.
Dawn recently told how the key to a successful
marriage
was "not to expect perfection".
Most read in News TV
The author added: "That took me a long time to learn. Sometimes, it will be stressful and hard, but as long as the majority of the time it's not, I think you're doing pretty well."
5
Chris' wife Dawn with their young son
FINANCIAL STRUGGLE
Despite being one of
Hollywood
's biggest actors, Chris's wife recently revealed she is
Imelda May opens up on friendship with late Irish icon
She expressed to
work
pay cheque to pay cheque. I'm always broke. My card got declined last week. I'm like, what the f*** is happening? When will this end?'
Meanwhile, Chris, has starred in some of Hollywood's biggest productions, including This Is 40, Thor: The Dark World, Gulliver's Travels and St. Vincent.
SMALL TOWN TO BIG TIME
Chris's acting career took off with a bang when he landed the role of Roy Trenneman in the critically acclaimed British sitcom The IT Crowd.
He remained on the show from 2006 to 2013.
Chris successfully crossed over into Hollywood, making a memorable impact with his supporting role in the smash hit Bridesmaids in 2011.
O'Dowd then co-created and starred in the Irish sitcom
MANY TALENTS
The series, set in the late 1980s and early 1990s, followed 12-year-old Martin Moone and his imaginary friend Sean Caution Murphy, portrayed by O'Dowd.
Chris continued to demonstrate his range with performances in comedies like This Is 40 and heartfelt dramas such as The Sapphires.
Beyond live-action roles, Chris has also shown versatility through voice work in animated films like The Lorax and Trolls World Tour.
His talents extend behind the camera too, having co-created and starred in the
Family
Tree.
More recently, Chris has been praised for his work in the Emmy-winning short series
AWARD-WINNING STAR
One of his most notable achievements came in 2019 when he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Actor in a Short Form
Comedy
or Drama Series for his nuanced performance in State of the Union.
Earlier in his career, Chris earned critical acclaim in his home country with multiple Irish
Film
&
Television
Academy Awards.
His role in Bridesmaids earned him an IFTA for Best Supporting Actor in Film, and he also received IFTA nominations for his work on the autobiographical sitcom Moone Boy.
LEAVING HOLLYWOOD
5
Chris and Dawn pose on their wedding day
O'Dowd and his family moved from
Los Angeles
to
pandemic
.
Speaking to
star
admitted: "I loved it there. I think we just felt very disconnected, very far away, and parents were getting older and all that kind of jazz, so we just kind of made a run for it."
The star has drawn inspiration from his experience living in the states with his brand new
Sky
series, Small Town, Big Story, which was filmed close to his home town in Roscommon.
He told
"I'd walk the dog near it for two hours a day and it was the closest I had felt to home – the scenery reminded me of the forests where I grew up. It gave me a feeling of being far away. And this show is how that feeling manifested itself."
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