Christy O'Donnell (born 16 September 1997) is a Scottish musician and actor. He is known for his roles in the films ''Moon Dogs'' (2016), '' Knuckledust'' (2020), and the series '' Find Me in Paris'' (2018–2020). In 2020, he began releasing music under the moniker Christy.

Early life and career

O'Donnell is from

Castlemilk Castlemilk () is a district of Glasgow, Scotland. It lies to the far south of the city centre, adjacent to the Croftfoot and Simshill residential areas within the city to the north-west, the town of Rutherglen - neighbourhoods of Rutherglen#Sp ...

on the South Side of Glasgow. He left school at sixteen after struggling with dyslexia and began busking on

Sauchiehall Street Sauchiehall Street () is one of the main shopping streets in the Glasgow city centre, city centre of Glasgow, Scotland, along with Buchanan Street and Argyle Street, Glasgow, Argyle Street. Although commonly associated with the city centre, Sau ...

. He then formed a boy band titled Supanova with his friends Harris Hiscoe and Gregor Coleman. They toured Scotland and played at Savifest 2012. O'Donnell made his acting debut in the 2016 independent film ''Moon Dogs''. He was then cast in the 2018 tween time travel-dance series '' Find Me in Paris'' as Henri Duquet, a role he played for all three seasons. A French-German production, the series aired on different channels, including

Hulu Hulu (, ) is an American Subscription business model, subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as ...

in the United States and

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...

in the United Kingdom. While filming in Paris, O'Donnell was invited to open for

Rufus Wainwright Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright (born July 22, 1973) is a Canadian and American singer, songwriter, and composer. He has recorded eleven studio albums and numerous tracks on compilations and film soundtracks. He has also written two classical opera ...

on the French leg of his tour in late 2017. After the end of ''Find Me in Paris'', O'Donnell appeared in '' Knuckledust''. He contributed to the soundtracks of both projects. In 2020, O'Donnell began releasing singles under the name Christy as well as his debut EP ''Homegrown'' with MADE Records. This was followed by further singles and his second EP ''Somebody Else Instead'' in 2021. O'Donnell was named One to Watch by

Amazon Music Amazon Music (previously Amazon MP3) is a music streaming platform and digital music store operated by Amazon. As of January 2020, the service had 55 million subscribers. It was the first music store to sell music without digital rights manag ...

that year. O'Donnell then began working with

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

to release more singles in 2022 and 2023, as well as an acoustic EP titled ''Coast to Coast''. He was one of 16 Scottish acts to feature at the 2023 Great Escape Festival.

Artistry

O'Donnell grew up listening to

Robbie Williams Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, launching a solo career in 1996. His debut studio album, ''Life thru a Lens'', was re ...

as his teacher would put it on in class. He has cited

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential musicians in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Gen ...

, John Martyn, and

Chet Baker Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker Jr. (December 23, 1929 – May 13, 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist. He is known for major innovations in cool jazz that led him to be nicknamed the "Prince of Cool". Baker earned much attention and ...

as his musical influences. His music has also been compared to

Jeff Buckley Jeffrey Scott Buckley (raised as Scott Moorhead; November 17, 1966 – May 29, 1997) was an American musician. After a decade as a session guitarist in Los Angeles, he attracted a cult following in the early 1990s performing at venues in ...

Chris Martin Christopher Anthony John Martin (born 2 March 1977) is an English singer, songwriter, musician and producer. He is best known as the vocalist, pianist and co-founder of the rock band Coldplay. Born in Exeter, Martin went to University Colleg ...

, and

Bon Iver Bon Iver ( ) is an American indie folk band founded in 2006 by singer-songwriter Justin Vernon in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Vernon had originally formed Bon Iver as a solo project, but it eventually became a band consisting of Vernon (vocals, guit ...

, as well as

Paolo Nutini Paolo Giovanni Nutini (born 9 January 1987) is a Scottish singer-songwriter from Paisley, Renfrewshire, Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland. Nutini's debut album, ''These Streets'' (2006), peaked at number three on the UK Albums Chart. Its follow-u ...

and Alabama Shakes.

Discography

Albums and EPs

Singles

Filmography

References

External links

*
Christy O'Donnell
at United Agents
Christy
at Made Records {{DEFAULTSORT:Christy Living people 1997 births 21st-century Scottish male actors 21st-century Scottish male singers Actors with dyslexia Decca Records artists Male actors from Glasgow Musicians from Glasgow Musicians with dyslexia Scottish male guitarists Scottish male singer-songwriters