Gerard McCarthy
Encyclopedia
Gerard McCarthy is an actor, best known to television viewers for his award-winning performance as Kris Fisher
on the British soap opera Hollyoaks
from 2006 to 2010, to theatres-goers for his performances on the West End
and at Shakespeare's Globe
, and to film geeks for his role in Belonging to Laura, a modern day adaptation of the Oscar Wilde
classic Lady Windermere's Fan
.
McCarthy was born and raised in Belfast
, where he attended St. Mary's Christian Brothers' Grammar School.
's Renaissance Scholarship to train at Laine Theatre Arts
, graduating in 2002. He made his professional debut in Perth Repertory Theatre's production of Carousel
before joining the cast of the West End musical Mamma Mia!
then transferring into the West End production of Saturday Night Fever
, directed by Strictly Come Dancing
judge Arlene Philips.
For his role in Hollyoaks he won the Best TV Actor gong at the 2007 Irish Entertainment Awards and was nominated for Best Newcomer in the 2007 British Soap Awards
.
In June 2009 he returned to Ireland to film Belonging to Laura, a modern day film adaptation of the Oscar Wilde classic Lady Windermere's Fan
produced by Samson Films. The film received a nomination for Best Drama at the Irish Film and Television Awards
and the TV Now Awards
.
In September 2009 he played Tristram in the Lyric Theatre's production of The Miser
by Molière
. The production then embarked on a national tour but McCarthy was unable to reprise his role on the tour due to prior filming commitments.
McCarthy made his Shakespearean debut as Fenton in The Merry Wives of Windsor
at Shakespeare's Globe
in London. The production then transferred to Los Angeles and New York with McCarthy reprising his role in both cities.
In 2011, The Belfast Telegraph
listed him as one of Northern Ireland's sexiest male celebrities and named him as the country's ninth most eligible bachelor.
Gerard will play Ashley Stokes in season one of Titanic: Blood & Steel, a 12-episode, one-hour drama series, produced by DeAngelis Group, to be aired worldwide in 2012. The series also features Sir Derek Jacobi
, Chris Noth
and Neve Campbell
.
In January 2010, McCarthy led the Belfast4Haiti 5K run in his home city with Olympic Gold Medallist Dame Mary Peters
. The event was organised to raise funds for victims of the Haiti earthquake.
Kris Fisher
Francis "Kris" Fisher is a fictional character from the long-running Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Gerard McCarthy. The character first appeared on-screen in September 2006 and left in August 2010 after McCarthy quit the show...
on the British soap opera Hollyoaks
Hollyoaks
Hollyoaks is a long-running British television soap opera, first broadcast on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was originally devised by Phil Redmond, who has also devised shows including Brookside and Grange Hill...
from 2006 to 2010, to theatres-goers for his performances on the West End
West End
West End most commonly refers to:* West End of London* West End theatre- Places :West End may also refer to:Australia*West End, Queensland in Brisbane*West End, Queensland in Townsville*West End, Western Australia in Geraldton...
and at Shakespeare's Globe
Shakespeare's Globe
Shakespeare's Globe is a reconstruction of the Globe Theatre, an Elizabethan playhouse in the London Borough of Southwark, located on the south bank of the River Thames, but destroyed by fire in 1613, rebuilt 1614 then demolished in 1644. The modern reconstruction is an academic best guess, based...
, and to film geeks for his role in Belonging to Laura, a modern day adaptation of the Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
classic Lady Windermere's Fan
Lady Windermere's Fan
Lady Windermere's Fan, A Play About a Good Woman is a four act comedy by Oscar Wilde, first produced 22 February 1892 at the St James's Theatre in London. The play was first published in 1893...
.
McCarthy was born and raised in Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
, where he attended St. Mary's Christian Brothers' Grammar School.
Career
McCarthy's acting career began when he was awarded Kenneth BranaghKenneth Branagh
Kenneth Charles Branagh is an actor and film director from Northern Ireland. He is best known for directing and starring in several film adaptations of William Shakespeare's plays including Henry V , Much Ado About Nothing , Hamlet Kenneth Charles Branagh is an actor and film director from...
's Renaissance Scholarship to train at Laine Theatre Arts
Laine Theatre Arts
Laine Theatre Arts is an independent performing arts college, based in the town of Epsom in Surrey, England. The college was founded in 1974, and developed from an earlier school, the Frecker-Laine School of Dancing...
, graduating in 2002. He made his professional debut in Perth Repertory Theatre's production of Carousel
Carousel (musical)
Carousel is the second stage musical by the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II . The work premiered in 1945 and was adapted from Ferenc Molnár's 1909 play Liliom, transplanting its Budapest setting to the Maine coastline...
before joining the cast of the West End musical Mamma Mia!
Mamma Mia!
Mamma Mia! is a stage musical written by British playwright Catherine Johnson, based on the songs of ABBA, composed by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, former members of the band. Although the title of the musical is taken from the group's 1975 chart-topper "Mamma Mia", the plot is fictional, not...
then transferring into the West End production of Saturday Night Fever
Saturday Night Fever
Saturday Night Fever is a 1977 drama film directed by John Badham and starring: John Travolta as Tony Manero, an immature young man whose weekends are spent visiting a local Brooklyn discothèque; Karen Lynn Gorney as his dance partner and eventual friend; and Donna Pescow as Tony's former dance...
, directed by Strictly Come Dancing
Strictly Come Dancing
Strictly Come Dancing is a British television show, featuring celebrities with professional dance partners competing in Ballroom and Latin dances. The title of the show suggests a continuation of the long-running series Come Dancing, with an allusion to the film Strictly Ballroom...
judge Arlene Philips.
For his role in Hollyoaks he won the Best TV Actor gong at the 2007 Irish Entertainment Awards and was nominated for Best Newcomer in the 2007 British Soap Awards
British Soap Awards
The British Soap Awards is an annual awards ceremony to honour the best of British soap operas.The first event took place in 1999 and takes place in May each year. Although it is an ITV production, the events were held at the BBC Television Centre, in London until 2010. The 2011 awards relocated to...
.
In June 2009 he returned to Ireland to film Belonging to Laura, a modern day film adaptation of the Oscar Wilde classic Lady Windermere's Fan
Lady Windermere's Fan
Lady Windermere's Fan, A Play About a Good Woman is a four act comedy by Oscar Wilde, first produced 22 February 1892 at the St James's Theatre in London. The play was first published in 1893...
produced by Samson Films. The film received a nomination for Best Drama at the Irish Film and Television Awards
Irish Film and Television Awards
The Irish Film and Television Awards were first awarded in 2003. Its sole aim is to celebrate Ireland's notably talented film and television community...
and the TV Now Awards
TV Now Awards
The TV Now Awards is an annual awards ceremony which takes place in Ireland...
.
In September 2009 he played Tristram in the Lyric Theatre's production of The Miser
The Miser
L'Avare is a 1668 five-act satirical comedy by French playwright Molière. Its title is usually translated as The Miser when the play is performed in English....
by Molière
Molière
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, known by his stage name Molière, was a French playwright and actor who is considered to be one of the greatest masters of comedy in Western literature...
. The production then embarked on a national tour but McCarthy was unable to reprise his role on the tour due to prior filming commitments.
McCarthy made his Shakespearean debut as Fenton in The Merry Wives of Windsor
The Merry Wives of Windsor
The Merry Wives of Windsor is a comedy by William Shakespeare, first published in 1602, though believed to have been written prior to 1597. It features the fat knight Sir John Falstaff, and is Shakespeare's only play to deal exclusively with contemporary Elizabethan era English middle class life...
at Shakespeare's Globe
Shakespeare's Globe
Shakespeare's Globe is a reconstruction of the Globe Theatre, an Elizabethan playhouse in the London Borough of Southwark, located on the south bank of the River Thames, but destroyed by fire in 1613, rebuilt 1614 then demolished in 1644. The modern reconstruction is an academic best guess, based...
in London. The production then transferred to Los Angeles and New York with McCarthy reprising his role in both cities.
In 2011, The Belfast Telegraph
The Belfast Telegraph
The Belfast Telegraph is a daily evening newspaper published in Belfast, Northern Ireland by Independent News & Media.It was first published as the Belfast Evening Telegraph on 1 September 1870 by brothers William and George Baird...
listed him as one of Northern Ireland's sexiest male celebrities and named him as the country's ninth most eligible bachelor.
Gerard will play Ashley Stokes in season one of Titanic: Blood & Steel, a 12-episode, one-hour drama series, produced by DeAngelis Group, to be aired worldwide in 2012. The series also features Sir Derek Jacobi
Derek Jacobi
Sir Derek George Jacobi, CBE is an English actor and film director.A "forceful, commanding stage presence", Jacobi has enjoyed a highly successful stage career, appearing in such stage productions as Hamlet, Uncle Vanya, and Oedipus the King. He received a Tony Award for his performance in...
, Chris Noth
Chris Noth
Christopher David "Chris" Noth is an American actor. He is known for long-running television roles as Det. Mike Logan on the police procedural and legal drama television series, Law & Order and Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and as Big on Sex and the City. For the latter role, he has been...
and Neve Campbell
Neve Campbell
Neve Adrianne Campbell is a Canadian actress. After beginning her career on stage, and on numerous commercials, she starred on the Canadian television series Catwalk. She then rose to international fame on the Golden Globe-winning 1990s television series Party of Five, playing the role of teenager...
.
Awards and nominations
- 2010 FATE Awards - Best Media Personality (Winner)
- 2007 Irish Entertainment Awards - Best Actor (Winner)
- 2007 British Soap Awards - Best Newcomer (Nominated)
- 2007 Inside Soap Awards - Best Newcomer (Nominated)
Charity work
McCarthy began his association with the Northern Ireland Children's Hospice in October 2007 when he overcame his fear of heights by leading a fundraising abseil event, in which he had to climb down Belfast's Europa Hotel. He then went on to become a celebrity supporter of The White Sapphire Ball in aid of the NI Children's Hospice, at which a romantic dinner with McCarthy was auctioned off for £4,500. In December 2009, he took part in a celebrity version of Panic Attack & managed to win £1000 for the NI Children's Hospice.In January 2010, McCarthy led the Belfast4Haiti 5K run in his home city with Olympic Gold Medallist Dame Mary Peters
Mary Peters
Mary Peters may refer to:* Mary Peters , British athlete* Mary Peters , American politician, 15th United States Secretary of Transportation...
. The event was organised to raise funds for victims of the Haiti earthquake.
External links
- Official website
- Gerard McCarthy MySpaceMySpaceMyspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
- IMDb Profile