Robert "Con" O'Neill is an English actor. He started his acting career at the Everyman Theatre and became primarily known for his performances in musicals. He received critical acclaim and won a Laurence Olivier Award for playing Michael "Mickey" Johnstone in the musical Blood Brothers. Subsequently, he was nominated for a Tony Award and a Drama Desk Award for the same role. He also appeared in many films and television series.
Career
He began his acting career at Liverpool's Everyman Youth Theatre. He was awarded the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical in 1988 for his performance in Willy Russell's Blood Brothers, and was nominated for Broadway's 1993 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for Blood Brothers. In the 1980s, he had a walk-on role in One Summer as Jackson. He starred in Dancin' Thru the Dark, the 1990 film adaptation of Willy Russell's Stags and Hens. In 1992, he played Cougar Glass in the world premiere of Philip Ridley's The Fastest Clock in the Universe, then had a supporting role in Cider with Rosie. In 2003, he portrayed Mickey in The Illustrated Mum. In 2006, he starred as Aston in a tour of Sheffield theatres' production of Harold Pinter's The Caretaker. In 1999, he starred in The Last Seduction II. In 2008, he appeared in Criminal Justice a five-part TV drama on the BBC, playing the part of Ralph Stone, a solicitor. He played the part of Joe Meek in both the 2008 film and 2005 play of . In 2011, he took the role of dock worker Eddie Carbone in Arthur Miller'sA View From the Bridge at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester. This portrayal won the 2011 Manchester Theatre Award for Best Actor. He played St. Paul in the 2013 mini-series The Bible. He portrays Val Pearson in the sitcom Uncle. He played Cliff in Cucumber, an eight-part TV drama series. in 2015. He starred in the 35th-anniversary staging of Willy Russell's Educating Rita at The Liverpool Playhouse. He appears as Neil Ackroyd in the second series of Happy Valley. In 2016, O'Neill played the part of Joe Brierley in the second series of Ordinary Lies and appeared in two episodes of the Doctor Who spin-off Class. In the 2019 HBO miniseries Chernobyl he portrayed the plant director Viktor Bryukhanov.
