Hindi-language cinema
O'Nell played a small role in the English comedy Loins of Punjab Presents (2007). His first cinematic release was the dry Hindi-language comedy Cheeni Kum (2007) in which he plays a bumbling English waiter with a turbulent relationship with his boss Amitabh Bachchan. In the same year, O'Nell appeared as a contestant on season three of the Indian celebrity dance competition Nach Baliye where he was paired with actor Sweta Keswani. [2] He is the first non-Indian participant on the show by that time.
In 2009, O'Nell played Sweta Keswani's husband in Rohit Roy's made-for-television film Chaar Mulakatein. [3] He was next seen in Malik Ek (2010) featuring Jackie Shroff, Smriti Irani, Rajeshwari Sachdeva, Shakti Kapoor, and Divya Dutta.
O'Nell returned to television for Zee TV's historical drama Jhansi Ki Rani , playing Robert Ellis, a British officer sympathetic to the Rani Laxmi Bai-led 1850s revolutionary struggle against the colonial rule. His character is loosely based on the eponymous historical figure whose relationship with Rani Laxmi Bai is the subject of a fictional book Rani by Jaishree Misra. The book attracted significant controversy for historical revisionism, and was subsequently banned in present-day Jhansi. [4] [5] [6] O'Nell also appeared in a guest role on the Star One TV's Dhoondh Legi Manzil Humein as Ralph, the protagonist's abusive boyfriend. [7]
O'Nell had a supporting role in the contemporary drama Jo Dooba So Paar (2011) alongside Vinay Pathak and Rajat Kapoor. He played an American whose Italian girlfriend gets abducted in Bihar, India. [8] The film opened to extremely mixed review; Rajeev Masand from CNN IBN called it "as boring as watching paint dry," while Nikhat Kazmi from The Times of India praised it for "holding up a charming mirror on the small town milieu." [9] [10]
In early 2012, O'Nell appeared in Chittagong , [8] a period drama based on the historical events surrounding the 1930 East Indian Chittagong armoury raid. He played Charles Johnson, a lawful British official pitted against an Indian school teacher who, alongside a group of freedom fighters rally against the colonial rule by seizing weapons from police and auxiliary force armouries. The film also stars Manoj Bajpai, Nawazuddin Siddique, and India-based British actor Barry John. [8] Chittagong received positive reviews from the critics, with Taran Adarsh saying that the ensemble cast, including O'Nell, "leave a tremendous impression in their respective roles". [11] The film won three National Film Awards. O'Nell also appeared in Shirish Kunder's 2012 film Joker alongside Akshay Kumar and Sonakshi Sinha. [12]
O'Nell was seen in Prawaal Raman's Main Aur Charles (2015) based on the Tihar Jailbreak of 1986 during which O'Nell's Richard Thomas was the unwilling accomplice to Randeep Hooda's Charles Sobhraj, and eventually became his undoing as the state's-witness in the ensuing trial. O'Nell was praised by Filmfare and Hollywood Director Michael Hoffman for his "solid supporting performance". [13] [14] [15]
O'Nell has appeared in Bose Dead/Alive (2017, ALTBalaji miniseries), Inside Edge (2017; Amazon Originals series), Tigmanshu Dhulia's Raag Desh (2017), Roohi (2021), Ae Watan Mere Watan (2024), Khufiya (2023), Phule (2025) and Kesari Chapter 2: The Untold Story of Jallianwala Bagh (2025).
Amazon Prime Video's Bak Bak starring O'Nell and Divya Dutta is expected to release in 2026.
South Indian cinema
His breakthrough role came in 2010 with the Tamil 1940s period drama Madrasapattinam in which he starred opposite Amy Jackson and Arya. The film became the 4th highest-grossing film in Kollywood that year, despite not faring well outside of Tamil Nadu. Madrasapattinam was re-released as 1947: A Love Story in Telugu in August 2011.
In 2011, O'Nell was cast in Santosh Sivan's Malayalam film Urumi after being recommended by Madrasapattinam director A. L. Vijay and his costar Italian actor Sita Spada, his co-star in Jo Dooba So Paar. [8] He plays the dual role of 15th century explorer Vasco Da Gama and his son Estêvão da Gama. [16] Urumi received widespread critical acclaim, and is considered to be one of the defining films of the Malayalam New Wave. He teamed up with his A. L. Vijay again for a minor role in Thaandavam (2012).
Gangster (2014) and Manglish (2014), both featuring O'Nell alongside South-Indian actor Mammootty, cemented his position in South-Indian cinema. He has since appeared in Lucifer (2019), SyeRaa (2019), RRR (2022), Sweet Kaaram Coffee (2023; Amazon's first Original Series in Tamil) and Captain Miller (2024), and L2: Empuraan (2025).
