Peter O'Brien
Encyclopedia
Peter O'Brien is an Australian actor, not to be confused with the New Zealand actor Peter O'Brian
.
, South Australia. Peter started off as a teacher at Mercedes College
, a private Catholic College, in Springfield
, Adelaide.
(1983), and had a guest role in Carson's Law
(1983) followed by a brief appearance in Prisoner
in 1984. He appeared in the The Henderson Kids
. He was later a regular original cast member of soap Neighbours
which began in 1985. As Shane Ramsay
, he became one of the serial's most popular cast members, continuing in the series until 1987. He later played a leading regular role in drama series The Flying Doctors
from 1988 until 1991.
More recently, he starred in television series: Queer as Folk, White Collar Blue
, Hell Has Harbour Views
and Gossip Girl
.
O'Brien has appeared in numerous mini-series, including The Day of the Roses
and Through My Eyes
(the story of Lindy Chamberlain
). He has also guest starred on numerous television series, including Halifax f.p.
. For his work, O'Brien has won Australian Film Institute
and Logie Award
s. He also appeared as Carl Morgan in Spellbinder 2: Land of the Dragon Lord
, and he appeared in the 1998 Australian/Brisbane comedy television series of Minty
. In 2009 he played Sydney underworld figure and racing identity George Freeman
in the series Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities
.
O'Brien was recently part of the cast of BBC Television series Casualty as a new consultant called Stitch. He made his debut on 18 March 2007. He has also appeared in ITV1s cop show The Bill in which he played Detective Inspector Peter Kavanaugh, a corrupt officer who seduces Detective Sergeant Samantha Nixon to gain information for the criminals he works for.
He appeared as Ed in "The Waters of Mars
", the second of the 2009 specials of Doctor Who
.
Peter O'Brian (actor)
Peter O'Brian is a New Zealand actor best known for playing Alex Tarambuan in the movie The Intruder. He is not to be confused with the Australian actor Peter O'Brien.O'Brian has only featured in strictly Indonesian productions...
.
Early life
O'Brien was born at Murray BridgeMurray Bridge, South Australia
Murray Bridge is the fourth most populous city in South Australia after Adelaide, Mount Gambier and Whyalla. It is located east-southeast of Adelaide and north of Meningie....
, South Australia. Peter started off as a teacher at Mercedes College
Mercedes College (Adelaide)
Mercedes College is a Catholic, co-educational day school located in Springfield a suburb of Adelaide, South Australia.It was established by the Sisters of Mercy in 1954. Originally a boarding school for girls, it is now a coeducational school...
, a private Catholic College, in Springfield
Springfield, South Australia
Springfield is an outer suburb of the South Australian capital city of Adelaide. It is located in the foothills of the Mount Lofty Ranges; around south-east of Adelaide's Central Business District. For the most part; the suburb is encompassed on a sloped portion of the Mounty Lofty Ranges,...
, Adelaide.
Career
In the 1980s, Peter ventured into acting scoring a role in Australian television drama series. He played a regular role in short-lived soap opera Starting OutStarting Out
Starting Out is an Australian television soap opera made for the Nine Network by the Reg Grundy Organisation in 1983.The series was the network's replacement for The Young Doctors and was set at a medical college with an emphasis on young people getting their first experience of living away from...
(1983), and had a guest role in Carson's Law
Carson's Law
Carson's Law is an Australian television series made by Crawford Productions for the Ten Network between 1983 and 1984. The series was a period piece set in the 1920s and starred Lorraine Bayly as progressive solicitor Jennifer Carson...
(1983) followed by a brief appearance in Prisoner
Prisoner (TV series)
Prisoner is an Australian television soap opera which was set in the Wentworth Detention Centre, a fictional women's prison. The series was produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation and ran on Network Ten for 692 episodes from 27 February 1979 to 11 December 1986.The series was inspired by the 1970s...
in 1984. He appeared in the The Henderson Kids
The Henderson Kids
The Henderson Kids was an Australian television series made by Crawford Productions for Network Ten between 1985 and 1987. It was created and storylined by Roger Moulton, who also wrote 5 episodes in the first series and 2 episodes in the second series....
. He was later a regular original cast member of soap Neighbours
Neighbours
Neighbours is an Australian television soap opera first broadcast on the Seven Network on 18 March 1985. It was created by TV executive Reg Watson, who proposed the idea of making a show that focused on realistic stories and portrayed adults and teenagers who talk openly and solve their problems...
which began in 1985. As Shane Ramsay
Shane Ramsay
Shane Ramsay is a fictional character from the Australian Network Ten soap opera Neighbours, played by Peter O'Brien. He made his first appearance on-screen in the first Neighbours episode on 18 March 1985. Shane is the son of Max and Maria Ramsay...
, he became one of the serial's most popular cast members, continuing in the series until 1987. He later played a leading regular role in drama series The Flying Doctors
The Flying Doctors
The Flying Doctors is an Australian drama series produced by Crawford Productions that revolved around the everyday lifesaving efforts of the real Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia....
from 1988 until 1991.
More recently, he starred in television series: Queer as Folk, White Collar Blue
White Collar Blue
White Collar Blue was an Australian television series made by Knapman Wyld Television for Network Ten from 2002 to 2003.Starring Peter O'Brien as Joe Hill and Freya Stafford as Harriet Walker, the series dealt with a division of the police force working in the city of Sydney and the personal and...
, Hell Has Harbour Views
Hell Has Harbour Views
Hell Has Harbour Views is a 2001 novel written by Richard Beasley . The story is set in a corrupt Sydney law firm and follows the protagonist, Hugh Walker, a lawyer who always hoped he would be a defender of the poor and oppressed, until a Sydney law firm dangled an office with a harbour view in...
and Gossip Girl
Gossip Girl (TV series)
Gossip Girl is an American teen drama television series based on the book series of the same name written by Cecily von Ziegesar. The series was created by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, and premiered on The CW on September 19, 2007...
.
O'Brien has appeared in numerous mini-series, including The Day of the Roses
The Day of the Roses
The Day of the Roses is a two part Australian television mini-series, a docu-drama directed by Peter Fisk, based on the events of the 1977 Granville railway disaster...
and Through My Eyes
Through My Eyes
Through My Eyes is singer, model Erica Baxter's debut album. It was released in April 2007 through SonyBMG. The album features Erica's debut single, "I Spy" which was written by singer, songwriter Natasha Bedingfield. Baxter co-wrote 8 of the 12 tracks...
(the story of Lindy Chamberlain
Lindy Chamberlain
Alice Lynne Chamberlain-Creighton was at the centre of one of Australia's most publicised murder trials, in which she was convicted of killing her baby daughter, Azaria. The conviction was later overturned.-Early life:...
). He has also guest starred on numerous television series, including Halifax f.p.
Halifax f.p.
Halifax f.p. is an Australian television drama series produced by Nine Network from 1994 to 2001. The series stars Rebecca Gibney as Doctor Jane Halifax, a forensic psychiatrist investigating cases involving the mental state of suspects or victims...
. For his work, O'Brien has won Australian Film Institute
Australian Film Institute
The Australian Film Institute was founded in 1958 as a non-profit organisation devoted to developing an active film culture in Australia and fostering engagement between the general public and the Australian film industry...
and Logie Award
Logie Award
The TV Week Logie Awards are the Australian television industry awards, which have been presented annually since 1959. Renamed by Graham Kennedy in 1960 after he won the first 'Star Of The Year' award, the name 'Logie' awards honours John Logie Baird, a Scotsman who invented the television as a...
s. He also appeared as Carl Morgan in Spellbinder 2: Land of the Dragon Lord
Spellbinder 2: Land of the Dragon Lord
Spellbinder: Land of the Dragon Lord is a teen, preteen and children's television series, and a sequel to Spellbinder. Both series deal with children travelling between parallel universes, although the only common characters between the two series are Ashka , and her sidekick Gryvon...
, and he appeared in the 1998 Australian/Brisbane comedy television series of Minty
Minty (TV series)
Minty is a 1998 Australian / British comedy television series, in which Australian actress Angela Kelly appeared in the dual roles of Minty and Melanie ....
. In 2009 he played Sydney underworld figure and racing identity George Freeman
George Freeman (bookmaker)
George David Freeman was a Sydney organised crime figure and illegal casino operator. He was linked to the Sydney drug trade during the 1970s and '80s, was named in several Royal Commissions into organised crime and had links with American crime figures...
in the series Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities
Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities
Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities is a 13-part Australian television mini-series loosely based on real events that stemmed from the marijuana trade centred around the New South Wales town of Griffith. The timeline of the series is the years between 1976 and 1987. Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities...
.
O'Brien was recently part of the cast of BBC Television series Casualty as a new consultant called Stitch. He made his debut on 18 March 2007. He has also appeared in ITV1s cop show The Bill in which he played Detective Inspector Peter Kavanaugh, a corrupt officer who seduces Detective Sergeant Samantha Nixon to gain information for the criminals he works for.
He appeared as Ed in "The Waters of Mars
The Waters of Mars
"The Waters of Mars" is the second 2009 special of British science fiction television series Doctor Who, broadcast on BBC One on 15 November 2009. It aired on BBC America on 19 December 2009 and was released on DVD and Blu-ray in the UK on 11 January 2010 and in the US on 2 February 2010...
", the second of the 2009 specials of Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
.
Awards
O'Brien has won several acting awards in his career. He won two Logie Awards - one in 1987 for the 'Most Popular Actor (for his role in Neighbours) and one in 2003 for the 'Most Outstanding Actor' (for his role in White Collar Blue).Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Taggart Taggart Taggart is a Scottish detective television programme, created by Glenn Chandler, who has written many of the episodes, and made by STV Productions for the ITV network... |
Bill Hamilton | 1 Episode |
| 1995–1996 | Cardiac Arrest Cardiac Arrest (TV series) Cardiac Arrest is a British medical drama series made by World Productions for BBC One and first broadcast between 1994 and 1996. The series was controversial due to its depiction of doctors, nurses, and the National Health Service.-Creation:... |
Mr. Cyril "Scissors" Smedley | Regular cast member, series 2 & 3 |
| 1996 | Hotel de Love Hotel de Love Hotel de Love is a 1996 Australian film written and directed by Craig Rosenberg.-Plot:Fraternal twin brothers meet a childhood crush at a rundown hotel and rediscover their love as they renew their competition for her affection.-Principal cast:... |
Norman Carey | |
| 1999 | Queer as Folk Queer as Folk (UK TV series) Queer as Folk is a 1999 British television series that chronicles the lives of three gay men living in Manchester's gay village around Canal Street. Both Queer as Folk and Queer as Folk 2 were written by Russell T Davies... (UK version) |
Cameron Roberts | Regular Cast Member |
| 1999 | Sally Marshall Is Not an Alien Sally Marshall Is Not an Alien Sally Marshall Is Not an Alien is a 1999 family drama film starring Helen Neville, Natalie Vansier, and Thea Gumbert. It was released on July 1, 1999 in Australia.- Plot :... |
David lawson | Supporting Cast Member |
| 2000–2001 | Water Rats Water Rats (TV series) Water Rats is an Australian TV police procedural broadcast on the Nine Network from 1996 to 2001. The series was based around the men and women of the Sydney Water Police who fight crime across Sydney Harbour and surrounding locales. The show was set on and around Goat Island in Sydney... |
Matthew Grierson | 3 Episodes |
| 2001 | Relic Hunter Relic Hunter Relic Hunter is an anglophone Canadian television series, starring Tia Carrere and Christien Anholt. Actress Lindy Booth also starred for the first two seasons; Tanja Reichert replaced her for the third... |
Allan Devaut | 1 Episode |
| 2002 | Young Lions Young Lions (TV series) Young Lions was an Australian TV police drama broadcast on the Nine Network in 2002 and in Ireland on RTÉ Two.The series was based around the professional and private lives of four rookie detectives, the Young Lions, of South West 101, an inner city Sydney police station.The program rated poorly... |
Daryll Flynn | 1 Episode |
| The Pact The Pact The Pact is a novel by bestselling author Jodi Picoult about a possible suicide pact between two teenage lovers.-Plot summary:"Chris and Emily, teenagers from the same neighborhood and very close families, have been as close as siblings since birth, but as teenagers their relationship develops... |
Roy Folksdale | ||
| 2002–2003 | White Collar Blue White Collar Blue White Collar Blue was an Australian television series made by Knapman Wyld Television for Network Ten from 2002 to 2003.Starring Peter O'Brien as Joe Hill and Freya Stafford as Harriet Walker, the series dealt with a division of the police force working in the city of Sydney and the personal and... |
Det. Joe Hill | Main Cast Member |
| 2003 | Code 11-14 | Det. McElroy | |
| 2004 | Through My Eyes: The Lindy Chamberlain Story | Ian Barker Q.C. | |
| The Bill The Bill The Bill is a police procedural television series that ran from October 1984 to August 2010. It focused on the lives and work of one shift of police officers, rather than on any particular aspect of police work... |
DI Peter Cavanaugh | 6 Episodes | |
| 2005 | Blue Heelers Blue Heelers Blue Heelers is an Australian police drama series which depicted the lives of police officers stationed at the fictional Mount Thomas police station in a small town in Victoria.- Overview :... |
Dr. Peter Nelson | 2 Episodes |
| Hell Has Harbour Views Hell Has Harbour Views Hell Has Harbour Views is a 2001 novel written by Richard Beasley . The story is set in a corrupt Sydney law firm and follows the protagonist, Hugh Walker, a lawyer who always hoped he would be a defender of the poor and oppressed, until a Sydney law firm dangled an office with a harbour view in... |
Tim Sullivan | ||
| 2006 | The Return The Return -Books:*The Return , the forty-eighth book in the Animorphs series by K.A. Applegate*The Return , a 2007 novel by Håkan Nesser, first published in Sweden in 1995*The Return , a 1997 novel by William Shatner... |
Terry Stahl | |
| Nightmares and Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King | Keenan | ||
| Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America is an ABC two-hour TV movie which first aired May 9, 2006 in which an American "businessman visiting China is infected and carries the deadly mutated bird flu virus back via jetliner to the USA, soon it spreads throughout the country then the rest of the world... |
Alan | ||
| 2007 | Gossip Girl Gossip Girl Gossip Girl is an American young adult novel series written by Cecily von Ziegesar and published by Little, Brown and Company, a subsidiary of the Hachette Group. The series revolves around the lives and romances of the privileged teenagers at the Constance Billard School for Girls, an elite... |
Photographer | 1 Episode |
| Casualty Casualty (TV series) Casualty, stylised as Casual+y, is a British weekly television show broadcast on BBC One, and the longest-running emergency medical drama television series in the world. Created by Jeremy Brock and Paul Unwin, it was first broadcast on 6 September 1986, and transmitted in the UK on BBC One. The... |
Theo 'Stitch' Lambert | 18 Episodes | |
| 2008 | City Homicide City Homicide City Homicide was an Australian television drama series that aired on the Seven Network between 27 August 2007 – 30 March 2011. The series was set on the Homicide floor of a metropolitan police headquarters in Melbourne... |
Warren Endicot | 1 Episode |
| 2009 | Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities is a 13-part Australian television mini-series loosely based on real events that stemmed from the marijuana trade centred around the New South Wales town of Griffith. The timeline of the series is the years between 1976 and 1987. Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities... |
George Freeman George Freeman (bookmaker) George David Freeman was a Sydney organised crime figure and illegal casino operator. He was linked to the Sydney drug trade during the 1970s and '80s, was named in several Royal Commissions into organised crime and had links with American crime figures... |
10 Episodes |
| A World Away | John | ||
| Doctor Who Doctor Who Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior... |
Ed Gold | 1 Episode | |
| X-Men Origins: Wolverine X-Men Origins: Wolverine X-Men Origins: Wolverine is a 2009 American action film based on the Marvel Comics' fictional character Wolverine. The fourth installment in the X-Men film series, it was released worldwide on May 1, 2009... |
John Howlett | ||
| Rogue Nation | John Stephen Jr | ||
| All Saints All Saints (TV series) All Saints is an Australian medical drama which first screened on the Seven Network. The series debuted on 24 February 1998 and concluded its run on 27 October 2009... |
Sam Whittaker | 1 Episode | |
| 30 Seconds 30 Seconds (TV series) :30 Seconds is an Australian comedy series produced for The Comedy Channel which satirises Australian advertising companies and advertising industry. The name of the show comes from the advertising slots on television that are normally 30 seconds long... |
Bill Brooker | Regular Cast Member | |
| 2010 | Underbelly: The Golden Mile Underbelly: The Golden Mile Underbelly: The Golden Mile is a 13-part Australian television mini-series loosely based on real events that stemmed from the nightclub scene of the Sydney suburb of Kings Cross. The timeline of the series is the years between 1988 and 1999. it primarily depicts the running of Kings Cross and the... |
George Freeman George Freeman (bookmaker) George David Freeman was a Sydney organised crime figure and illegal casino operator. He was linked to the Sydney drug trade during the 1970s and '80s, was named in several Royal Commissions into organised crime and had links with American crime figures... |
3 Episodes |
| Dance Academy Dance Academy Dance Academy is an Australian teen-oriented television drama produced by Werner Film Productions in association with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and ZDF. Series one premiered on 31 May 2010, and series two is scheduled for 2012.-Plot:... |
Sebastian | 2 episodes |
External links
- "The Day of the Roses" – includes cast biographies