Film and television
O'Nell's film career began with the English comedy Loins of Punjab Presents (2007), in which he played the minor but memorable role of a flabbergasted New Jersey hotel manager (Wesminton) [5] in the midst of a chaotic Indian American-Idol-like competition. Though Loins was his first film shot, his first cinematic release would be the dry Hindi comedy Cheeni Kum (2007), in which he appeared as a bumbling English waiter who takes the brunt of the boss's (Amitabh Bachchan) ire. [11]
In the same year, O'Nell gained recognition as a contestant on the hugely popular Indian celebrity dance competition Nach Baliye (season 3), where he participated with Indian actor Sweta Keswani (whom he would later marry in 2008) and enjoyed widespread praise for his effort, dancing and lipsync, [11] [12] The Times of India commenting "when Shweta Keswani and beau Alexx O'Nell perform on stage all eyes naturally are on Alexx". [13] He is the first non-Indian participant seen in a significant capacity on Indian national primetime television.
Following Nach Baliye, O'Nell appeared in a cameo in the 2010 Hindi-language feature Malik Ek , which, despite a cast of well-known and well-respected actors, including Jackie Shroff (in the title role), Smriti Irani, Rajeshwari Sachdeva, Shakti Kapoor, and Divya Dutta, was almost unanimously regarded as a "miserable" film [14] with "shoddy script, bad direction, [and] poor camerawork". [15] Among the few positive mentions, critics commented about the supporting cast: "Alex O'Neil ... and the rest lend fair support." [16]
O'Nell's first leading role in a big-budget production came in 2010 with the Tamil-language 1940s period drama Madrasapattinam , in which he starred opposite Amy Jackson (Miss Teen World) and well-known south Indian actor Arya. His performance as a spurned lover and sadistic police commissioner in 1940s colonial south India attracted praise from critics and audiences alike. [17] [18] [19] [20] Critics commented "Alex O'Neill as the menacing Robert Ellis provides the ample antagonism and evokes sympathy ...". [21] Madrasapattinam became the 4th highest grossing and the 8th most profitable film in its industry in 2010. [22] [23] Despite its critical acclaim and commercial success in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, Madrasapattinam did not fare well outside its region, (perhaps due to the lack of subtitling) despite releasing in Hindi speaking markets in India, and internationally in English speaking markets in Europe and the United States, and therefore did not in itself further O'Nell's career outside south India. Madrasapattinam was re-released as "1947 - A Love Story" in Telugu in the south east of India in August 2011 to positive reviews from critics.
Following work on Madrasapattinam, O'Nell completed filming for a supporting role in the Hindi language feature Jo Dooba So Paar, a contemporary drama in which O'Nell plays an American whose Italian girlfriend (Sita Spada) gets kidnapped in the Indian state of Bihar. [9] The film also stars notable Indian actors Vinay Pathak and Rajat Kapoor. [9] Jo Dooba So Paar released October 2011 to extremely mixed reviews. On one hand, Daily News and Analysis gave the film 1 of 5 stars commenting "Jo Dooba So Paar is nothing you should waste your money on." [24] And CNN IBN called it "as boring as watching paint dry." [25] On the other hand, The Times of India awarded it 3 of 5 stars and asserted "The film holds up a charming mirror on the small town milieu... the niche audience will enjoy the integrity of tone and character. [26]
Simultaneously while shooting for Jo Dooba So Paar, O'Nell appeared with then real-life wife Sweta Keswani as her husband in a cameo for friend-director Rohit Roy's made-for-television film Chaar Mulakatein. [27]
In early 2010, O'Nell also completed shooting for the critically acclaimed and Indian National Award-winning Chittagong , [4] [9] a period drama based on historical events surrounding the East Indian Chittagong armoury raid of 1930. O'Nell plays Charles Johnson, the British Official in charge of law and order, who is pitted against a school teacher named Surya Sen (played by Indian actor Manoj Bajpai) and a group of students who go on to famously defeat the imperial force for the first time in the history of British India. Due to similar subject matter, Chittagong was compared to the Abhishek Bachchan-starrer Khele Hum Jee Jaan Sey, [28] which received a lukewarm reception in 2011. [29] [30] O'Nell has commented that Chittagong is a "grittier" depiction of the events. [9] Chittagong also stars notable India-based British actor and acting instructor Barry John, [9] and released to unanimously positive reviews on October 12, 2012. Critics commented "... Charles Johnson [Alexx O'Nell], ... along with the others perform brilliantly.". [31] Bollywood trade analyst Komal Nahta added "Alexx O’Nell, as Charles Johnson, plays the cruel officer by getting into the skin of the character." [32] Hindustan times asserted "The performances are earnest and genuine to the core..." and "Alexx O'Nell ... leave[s] a tremendous impression...". [33] [34] Box Office India critiqued O'Nell and John together writing: "Barry John and Alexx O'Nell act ably", [35] with News Track India adding "[O'Nell and John] who have played the characters of Britishers are superb...". [36]
In mid-2010 O'Nell returned to television for the first time since Nach Baliye to star in the Zee TV Indian primetime historical drama Jhansi Ki Rani (JKR), wherein he played Robert Ellis, a British officer sympathetic to the plight of a revolutionary Indian queen in her struggle against the British colonial rule of the 1850s. [37] His character is loosely based on the real-life historical figure of the same name whose relationship with the queen (Rani Lakshmibai) is the controversial subject of a historical fiction novel Rani – a work which has attracted protest and was subsequently banned in present-day Jhansi. [38] [39] [40] O'Nell appears to have incorporated the author's creative interpretation into his performance, commenting: "I'll be portraying the role of a British officer named Ellis who has an affair with an Indian Queen (Jhansi Ki Rani)." [41]
In early 2011 O'Nell also appeared in a guest role on the popular Star One TV contemporary drama Dhoondh Legi Manzil Humein (DLMH) as Ralph, the jealous and borderline abusive boyfriend of the protagonist [6] – a role that showed him in stark contrast to his brooding yet lovable and heroic performance in JKR. DLMH was his first portrayal of a character with "negative shades" [6] on Indian national primetime television.
In early 2011, while continuing to shoot for JKR and DLMH, O'Nell completed filming for lead roles in the multilingual Urumi and the English language Vasco Da Gama , both simultaneously directed by acclaimed Indian director Santosh Sivan. [8]
O'Nell was approached for Urumi after being recommended to Santosh Sivan by multiple sources, including Madrasapattinam director A. L. Vijay as well as Italian Actor Sita Spada (with whom O'Nell acted in Jo Dooba So Paar). [8] [9] After casting O'Nell for the character Estêvão da Gama, Sivan expanded the role, and later offered him the role of Vasco Da Gama as well. [3] Therefore, in Urumi, O'Nell plays both Vasco da Gama and Vasco's son Estêvão da Gama. Sivan reportedly decided to shoot additional scenes and make a 90-minute English feature entitled Vasco da Gama, and offered O'Nell an additional character of a modern-day traveler, and therefore he is expected to appear in three roles in the film Vasco da Gama. [42] According to Sivan both films have as their subject matter the travels of the 15th century explorer Vasco Da Gama and the Indian warriors that set out to assassinate him, but the two have very different plot lines and perspective. [8] Speaking about working with Sivan, O'Nell commented in an interview that "Sivan is the Steven Spielberg of Indian cinema". [9] While Urumi released in Malayalam, Tamil, and Telugu in 2011 & 2012 to excellent reviews, Hindi and English language releases are pending.
In February 2011 O'Nell began work on Shirish Kunder's Akshay Kumar and Sonakshi Sinha starrer Joker . [1] [43] O'Nell's first comedy since Cheeni Kum, Joker is the story of an Indian village called Paglapur, "isolated, with no electricity, television or sanity" [44] [38]. "Akshay Kumar creates a hoax by involving aliens in order to attract attention to the village's problems." [45] O'Nell and Kumar play "Rivals... pitted against each other" [1] where "Alexx O'Neil ... [is] a cynical American who calls Paglapur's bluff." [46] Joker released August 31, 2012 to mixed but predominantly negative reviews, critics calling it everything from a "Total Fail", [47] to "disappointing", [48] to "amusing but predictable", [49] and finally a "one-time watch as it is a mass entertainer and delivers a lovely message.". [50] Despite the film's reviews and average rating of 2.5 out of 5 stars, O'Nell's performance attracted unanimous praise with MovieZadda reporting "Alexx O'Nell gave a decent performance", [51] and the Times Of India explaining "Some performances - Talpade especially, O'Nell too - are stand-out while Kumar is adequate." [52]
In early December 2011 O'Nell teamed up once again with Director A L Vijay (Madrassapatinam (2010)) to shoot for a cameo in the Tamil language; Thaandavam. Thaandavam is the second film after Madrassapatinam in which O'Nell and Amy Jackson both perform although they do not appear together in Thaandavam. The film also stars South Indian superstar Vikram, Anushka Shetty, and Jagapathi Babu. [7] Thaandavam released in September 2012 to positive reviews. [7]
2012 marked a significant turning point for O'Nell's acting career in terms of the volume of work, the significance of roles, and the array of languages in which they released. Of his four releases in 2012, one film featured him in a cameo in Tamil (Thaandavam), two featured him in lead roles in Hindi (Chittagong, Joker), and one in multiple languages including Portuguese, Tamil, and Malayalam in a double-leading role (Urumi).
2014 saw the release of the Malayalam films Gangster and Manglish, both featuring O'Nell alongside South-Indian actor Mammootty, released in April and July, respectively. In 2014 O'Nell is rumoured to have shot for a cameo in the Suraj Sharma starrer Umrika.
Apart from the 2016 release of Ek Yodha Shoorveer (2016), a Hindi dubbed and re-edited version of Urumi (2011), O'Nell was seen in what had previously been known as Pooja Bhatt's Hindi-language film Bad, re-titled as director Prawaal Raman's Main Aur Charles (2015). [2] [53] [54] The film centers around 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 state's-witness in the trial that ensued. ONell's reviews were excellent with the Times of India quoting Hollywood Director Michael Hoffman saying "I loved the performances of all actors, especially ... Alex O'Neil" [55] Filmfare.com called his contribution a "solid supporting performance" [56] l and Odisha News adding "Alex O’Neil as Richard Thomas... is impressive and worth a mention" [57]
2018's releases were Raag Desh (2018), Inside Edge (2018), Bose: Dead/Alive (2018), and 2019 saw the release of O'Nell's films Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy andTrial of Satyam Kaushik . Doctor Rakhmabai Banarasi Jasoos are yet to release.
