Rory Keenan (born 9 June 1980) is an Irish actor. On film and television he has starred in '' Somewhere Boy'', '' The Duchess'', '' Birdsong, Versailles'', '' War & Peace'', '' The Guard'' and ''

Peaky Blinders The Peaky Blinders were a street gang based in Birmingham, England, which operated from the 1880s until the 1920s. The group consisted largely of young criminals from lower- to working-class backgrounds. They engaged in robbery, violence, racke ...

''.

Career

Keenan has performed in many National Theatre productions, as well as at BAM, New York and Wyndhams Theatre in the West End as Jamie in

Long Day's Journey into Night ''Long Day's Journey into Night'' is a play in four acts written by American playwright Eugene O'Neill in 1939–1941 and first published posthumously in 1956. It is widely regarded as his magnum opus and one of the great American plays of the ...

, directed by Sir Richard Eyre. He starred at The

Donmar Warehouse The Donmar Warehouse is a 251-seat, not-for-profit Off-West End theatre in Covent Garden, London, England. It first opened on 18 July 1977. Sam Mendes, Michael Grandage, Josie Rourke and Michael Longhurst have all served as artistic direc ...

in ''Saint Joan'' and ''Welcome Home Captain Fox!'' Previous work at The

Royal National Theatre The National Theatre (NT), officially the Royal National Theatre and sometimes referred to in international contexts as the National Theatre of Great Britain, is a performing arts venue and associated theatre company located in London, England, ...

includes ''The Kitchen'', ''Damned By Despair'' and ''Liola'', and '' Philadelphia, Here I Come!'' and '' Dublin Carol'' at the Donmar Warehouse. He has performed many leading roles in Ireland, having worked from an early age at The Abbey Theatre, as well as the title roles in ''Hamlet'' and ''Macbeth'', the latter of which landed him Best Actor at 11th The Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards. In 2010, Keenan appeared in the short film '' The Crush'', which was nominated at the

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

for

Best Live Action Short Film The Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film is an award presented at the annual Academy Awards ceremony. The award has existed, under numerous names, since 1957. From 1936 until 1956 there were two separate awards, ''Best Short Subject, On ...

. On television he was seen in Channel 4's '' Somewhere Boy'', Netflix's '' The Duchess'', BBC's ''

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...

'', '' War & Peace'' and ''

''. In 2022, Keenan wrote and directed his debut film ''Bump'', which starred his wife

Gemma Arterton Gemma Christina Arterton (born 2 February 1986) is a British actress. After her stage debut in Shakespeare's ''Love's Labour's Lost'' at the Globe Theatre (2007), Arterton made her feature-film debut in the comedy '' St Trinian's'' (2007). She p ...

, and was screened at the

Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival The Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival is an annual independent film festival held each March in San Jose, California and Redwood City, California. The international festival combines the cinematic arts with Silicon Valley’s innovation. It i ...

San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...

, and

Cleveland International Film Festival The Cleveland International Film Festival (CIFF) is an annual film festival based in Cleveland, Ohio. CIFF is the largest film festival in Ohio and among the longest-running in the United States. The festival is held at Playhouse Square, the lar ...

. He was awarded Best Director at th
British Short Film Awards 2022

Personal life

In 2019, he married actress

. The couple's first child, a son, was born in December 2022."Gemma Arterton reveals she welcomed her first child in December"
''Yahoo'', 8 February 2023

Filmography

Television

Film

Theatre

References

External links

*
The Crush - Oscar nominated Short film
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keenan, Rory 1980 births Living people Irish actors Male actors from County Dublin Alumni of Trinity College Dublin 20th-century Irish male actors 21st-century Irish male actors