Mark O'Brien (born May 7, 1984) is a Canadian actor and director best known for his roles as Des Courtney in ''

Republic of Doyle ''Republic of Doyle'' is a Canadian comedy-drama television series set in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, which aired on CBC Television from January 6, 2010, to December 10, 2014. The show stars Allan Hawco as private investigator and f ...

'' (2010–2014) and Tom Rendon in '' Halt and Catch Fire'' (2015–2016). He won the

Canadian Screen Award The Canadian Screen Awards () are awards given for artistic and technical merit in the film industry recognizing excellence in Canadian film, English-language television, and digital media ( web series) productions. Given annually by the Academy ...

for Best Actor at the

8th Canadian Screen Awards The 8th Canadian Screen Awards were presented by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television from 25–28 May 2020 to honour achievements in Canadian film, television, and digital media production in 2019. The presentations were held as a seri ...

for his performance as

Terry Sawchuk Terrance Gordon Sawchuk (December 28, 1929 – May 31, 1970) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played 21 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Detroit Red Wings, Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Los Angeles Kin ...

in the biographical drama film '' Goalie'' (2019). At the

10th Canadian Screen Awards The 10th Canadian Screen Awards were presented by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television from 4–10 April 2022 to honour achievements in Canadian film, television, and digital media production in 2021. The presentations were held as a ...

in 2022, he received two nominations for his film '' The Righteous'', for both Best Supporting Actor and

Best Original Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award (also known as an Oscar) for the best screenplay not based upon previously published material. It was created in 1940 as a separate writing award from the Academy Award for Best ...

. The film, which he wrote and directed himself, also won Best Screenplay at the Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal and Manchester's Grimmfest, as well as Best Cinematography at Grimmfest and the Blood in the Snow Canadian Film Festival.

Personal life

He is an English major with a Bachelor of Arts from

Memorial University of Newfoundland Memorial University of Newfoundland, or MUN (), is a Public university, public research university in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, based in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, St. John's, with satellite campuses in Corner Brook ...

. His mother was a nurse and his father a truck driver. O'Brien also has three older sisters. O'Brien married actress

Georgina Reilly Georgina Reilly (born ) is a British-Canadian film and television actress best known to date for her roles in the films ''Pontypool'' and '' This Movie Is Broken'', the television series ''The L.A. Complex'', ''Quantum Leap'' and ''Murdoch Myster ...

on January 6, 2013, after having met on the set of ''Republic of Doyle'' in 2011. He is friends with fellow Newfoundlander

Jonny Harris Jonathan Harris (born 22 September 1975) is a Canadian actor and comedian from Newfoundland and Labrador.1984 births Living people 21st-century Canadian male actors Best Actor Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners Canadian film editors Film producers from Newfoundland and Labrador Canadian male film actors Canadian male screenwriters Canadian male television actors Film directors from Newfoundland and Labrador Male actors from Newfoundland and Labrador Writers from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador 21st-century Canadian screenwriters Screenwriters from Newfoundland and Labrador