Michael O'Connor (born 27 October 1965) is an English

costume designer A costume designer is a person who designs costumes for a film, stage production or television show. The role of the costume designer is to create the characters' outfits or costumes and balance the scenes with texture and colour, etc. The costume ...

Life and career

O'Connor was born in

London, England London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...

. He began his training in theatre, as a dresser at the

Old Vic Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England * Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Ma ...

in London. After this, he worked in a costume house for six years before deciding to go freelance. In 1993, he began work as a

wardrobe supervisor The wardrobe supervisor is responsible for overseeing all wardrobe related activities during the course of a theatrical run or film shoot. The modern title "wardrobe supervisor" has evolved from the more traditional titles of "wardrobe mistress/m ...

on such films as ''

The House of the Spirits ''The House of the Spirits'' ( es, La casa de los espíritus, 1982) is the debut novel of Isabel Allende. The novel was rejected by several Spanish-language publishers before being published in Buenos Aires in 1982. It became an instant best-se ...

'' and '' Emma'', before becoming an assistant

. In this role, he worked on various films, including '' Oscar and Lucinda'', '' Quills'', ''

Proof of Life ''Proof of Life'' is a 2000 American action thriller film directed and produced by Taylor Hackford. The title refers to a phrase commonly used to indicate proof that a kidnap victim is still alive. The film's screenplay was written by Tony Gilr ...

'' and was also associate costume designer on the film version of ''

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets ''Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets'' is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling and the second novel in the ''Harry Potter'' series. The plot follows Harry's second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, d ...

''. After working as costume designer on several minor British films, he came to prominence with his work on ''

Tom Brown's Schooldays ''Tom Brown's School Days'' (sometimes written ''Tom Brown's Schooldays'', also published under the titles ''Tom Brown at Rugby'', ''School Days at Rugby'', and ''Tom Brown's School Days at Rugby'') is an 1857 novel by Thomas Hughes. The stor ...

'', a

TV movie A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

for ITV. He then worked on his most high-profile film up until then, the film version of Giles Foden's bestselling novel, ''

The Last King of Scotland ''The Last King of Scotland'' is a novel by journalist Giles Foden, published by Faber and Faber in 1998. Focusing on the rise of Ugandan President Idi Amin and his reign as dictator from 1971 to 1979, the novel, which interweaves fiction an ...

''. He then worked on '' Brick Lane'' as well as ''

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day ''Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day'' is a 2008 romantic comedy film directed by Bharat Nalluri, starring Frances McDormand and Amy Adams. The screenplay by David Magee and Simon Beaufoy is based on the 1938 novel of the same name by Winifred W ...

''. He came to the attention of the film industry in 2009, when he received the Academy Award for Best Costume Design, the

BAFTA Award for Best Costume Design This is a list of winners and nominees for the BAFTA Award for Best Costume Design, which is presented to costume designers, given out by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * Bri ...

as well as the Satellite Award for Best Costume Design for '' The Duchess''. In 2014, he started working on costumes for ''

Tulip Fever ''Tulip Fever'' is a 2017 historical romantic drama film directed by Justin Chadwick and written by Deborah Moggach and Tom Stoppard, adapted from Moggach's 1999 novel of the same name. It stars an ensemble cast featuring Alicia Vikander, Dane ...

''. In 2021, he was nominated for another

for his work on '' Ammonite''.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oconnor, Michael 1965 births Living people Artists from London English costume designers Best Costume Design Academy Award winners Best Costume Design BAFTA Award winners