Aidan O'Callaghan

Aidan O'Callaghan
Born	Aidan O'Callaghan (1988-11-25) 25 November 1988 (age 36) County Cork, Ireland
Occupation(s)	Actor, Producer
Years active	2014–present
Notable work	The Witcher: Blood Origin, Wolfe, The Rook, Eastenders

Aidan O'Callaghan is an Irish actor best known for roles in The Witcher: Blood Origin (2022), Wolfe (2021), The Rook (2019) EastEnders and Emmerdale. ^[1]

Career

Aidan O'Callaghan gained widespread recognition for his role in the Netflix series The Witcher: Blood Origin , a prequel to The Witcher series. The show garnered over 663 million hours of viewership ^[2] across its first season, making it one of Netflix's most-watched releases of the year.

Aidan plays Kareg, a member of the Dog Clan, an ancient warrior group sworn to protect the royal family of Xin'Trea in a cast which includes Lenny Henry, Mirren Mack, Michelle Yeoh and Laurence O'Fuarain. The Witcher: Blood Origin was released on Netflix on 25 December 2022.

He made history as the first and only Irish actor to appear in both Emmerdale and EastEnders , two of the UK's most popular continuing dramas ^[3] and has since appeared in notable projects like Wolfe , The Rook , The Witcher: Blood Origin and the award-winning film A Simple Killing(2024).

His role in the award-winning film A Simple Killing(2024) has received critical acclaim, with the film winning both the Best Film (Judges' Choice) and Audience Award at Waterford International Film Festival, following its US premiere at Newport Beach film Festival ^[4] and its UK premiere at the Raindance Film Festival. ^[5] It was also selected for the BAFTA and Oscar-qualifying Foyle Film Festival. ^[6]

Filmography

Television

• Kill Day (2014) - Role: Max
• The Paradox Series(2015) - Role: Stephen Locke
• Britain's Deadliest Lovers(2016) - Role: Trevor Buchanan
• Home Alone(2017) - Role: Jason Neff
• Emmerdale Farm (2018) - Role: Mike
• The Rook (2019) - Role: Alan
• Wolfe (2021) - Role: Jake
• EastEnders (2022) - Role: Lewis Butler ^[7]
• The Witcher: Blood Origin (2022) - Role: Kareg ^{[8] [9]}

Movies

• Clash of the Dead(2015) - Role: Hero Zombie
• Somatic(2016) - Role: George Watson
• Here Be Dragons(2018) - Role: Blue Alan
• A Simple Killing(2024) - Role: Terry ^[10]
• The Reckoning of Erin Morrigan(Post-production) - Role: Col

References

1. "Aidan O'Callaghan | Actor, Producer". IMDb. Retrieved 2025-01-02.
2. Gravemaster (September 3, 2023). "How The Witcher's Viewership Numbers Changed Between Each Season". Redanian Intelligence.
3. O Doherty, Cara (2024-12-25). "Cork actor: 'Living in a pub helped me land a role in EastEnders'". echo live. Retrieved 2025-01-02.
4. Lysaght, Rachel (2024-10-15). "Cork actor heading to US for film's premier". echo live. Retrieved 2025-01-02.
5. Shanahan, Luke (25 Jun 2024). "Kathleen is Here and A Simple Killing to have world premieres at Raindance Film Festival 2024 | The Irish Film & Television Network". www.iftn.ie. Retrieved 2025-01-02.
6. Cusack, Adrian (2024-11-25). "Offaly-made short film wins top award at festival in Waterford". Offaly Independent. Retrieved 2025-01-02.
7. Ed, Power (May 19, 2022). "Cork's most famous barman: Aidan O'Callaghan on his starring role in EastEnders". Irish Examiner.
8. Hermanns, Grant (November 8, 2021). "Witcher: Blood Origin Has Definitive End But Could Continue, Says Showrunner". Screen Rant. Retrieved December 10, 2024.
9. Chase, Stephanie (December 30, 2022). "EastEnders' Aidan O'Callaghan looks unrecognisable in The Witcher: Blood Origin". Digital Spy. Retrieved December 10, 2024.
10. Lysaght, Rachel (2024-10-15). "Cork actor heading to US for film's premier". echo live.

External links

Aidan O'Callaghan at IMDb

• The Witcher Blood Origin Cast at Variety