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Dan O'Connor | |
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| Born | Daniel O'Connor 13 November 1978 [1] Sydney, Australia |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, singer |
| Years active | 2004–present |
Daniel O'Connor is an Australian television actor and singer.
He was one of the top 12 finalists in the 2004 series of Network Ten's reality talent contest programme Australian Idol , aired on Network Ten nationwide in Australia, finishing eleventh. He then launched an acting career, appearing as Ned Parker on the soap opera Neighbours . [2]
O'Connor auditioned for Australian Idol in Sydney. He auditioned with the church classic, "I Surrender All" written by Judson W. Van DeVenter. All 3 judges were thrilled by an impressive performance. Despite Dicko's dislike of religious songs, he gave O'Connor a 'yes' along with Mark and Marcia sending him into the top 100. Later, Dicko advised O'Connor to change to songs that would influence the "world" to vote for him.
During O'Connor's Top 30 performance, he performed "Amazing" by Josh Kelley. The judges were impressed by a fine performance and so were the voting public as he was voted into the Final 12. Also put through to the Final 12 from his group of ten, were Casey Donovan and Ricki-Lee Coulter.
During his Australian Idol journey, O'Connor showed an ability to work the crowd and to dress for the occasion. However, he was told on numerous occasions by Dicko that he did not have a superstar voice. O'Connor was eliminated from Australian Idol on 13 September 2004, placing him in 11th position.
O'Connor has appeared in the mobile soap opera, Random Place where he played the character of Bo Edwards. The series was viewed via mobile phones and provided a fly-on-the-wall view of the lives of five twenty-somethings sharing a house near Bondi Beach. This was Australia's first mobile soap opera, a format which originated in the Netherlands.
O'Connor then took on a regular role as Ned Parker in the soap opera Neighbours . In his three years in the show, his character had several relationships, was mistakenly believed to be homosexual, discovered he had a son, and survived a fire. In one particular scene, he was pictured half-naked with a towel around his waist. "I actually thought I had to be completely naked," he explained when he was told he had to drop the towel. "Ever since that scene, I've had a lot of people who want me to take my shirt off!"'.
He did a cameo in Ricki-Lee Coulter's Can't Touch It music video in 2007, as a bartender and her love interest. He has also appeared on Ready Steady Cook, Thank God You're Here and Australia's Brainiest quiz show among other things. Having left Neighbours, he appeared in CelebAir, but was evicted in the 7th week. In Autumn 2011 he appeared in BBC One's Death in Paradise Episode 2.
In December 2011 it was announced that O'Connor had joined the cast of British soap opera Hollyoaks as Ally Gorman. [3] He left the show in late 2012. [4]
O'Connor went on to star in Mr & Mrs Murder as Brody Bennett in 2013 followed by Winners & Losers in the same year in the role of Nate Simpson. His most recent acting role was in the film The Green Door which was released in May 2020 portraying the character Greg.
Australian Idol is an Australian singing competition, which began its first season in July 2003 and ended its initial run in November 2009. As part of the Idol franchise, Australian Idol originated from the reality program Pop Idol, which was created by British entertainment executive Simon Fuller. Australian Idol was televised on Network Ten for its first seven series and was broadcast on the Southern Cross Austereo Radio Network between 2005 and 2007. The series returned in 2023 after Seven Network announced they would be picking up the show.
Ricki-Lee Dawn Coulter, also known mononymously as Ricki-Lee, is an Australian singer, songwriter, and television and radio presenter. She was born in Auckland, New Zealand, grew up on the Gold Coast, Queensland, and began performing at age 15. Coulter rose to fame in 2004 on the second season of Australian Idol and placed seventh in the competition. She subsequently signed with Australian independent label Shock Records, and released her self-titled debut album Ricki-Lee (2005), which produced the top-ten hits "Hell No!" and "Sunshine". Both singles were certified gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). The following year, Coulter became a member of the Australian pop girl group Young Divas, before leaving in early 2007 to resume her solo career.
Ned Parker is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Daniel O'Connor. He made his first appearance on screen on 9 August 2005, arriving to see his brother, Stuart. He departed on 31 July 2008.
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Kirsten Gannon is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Nikola Dubois. She made her first appearance during the episode broadcast on 19 June 2007. Kirsten was introduced into the series as the mother of Mickey Gannon and former partner of Ned Parker. As one of Neighbours' recurring characters, Kirsten appeared constantly for more than one year. She is characterised as manipulative and a "trouble maker". Kirsten's stories have included a custody battle over Mickey and her subsequent feud with Janae Timmins. The latter resulted in a blackmail scheme and her various attempts to ruin Janae's relationship with Ned. Writers also created an affair story with Paul Robinson. Dubois has stated that her relationship with Paul showed her character to be a "lonely woman" rather than a "home wrecker". Kirsten's final storylines saw her suffering from severe burns after being caught in a bush fire. The character departed the show on 31 July 2008.
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Ally Gorman is a fictional character from the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Dan O'Connor. The actor's casting was announced in December 2011. O'Connor originally auditioned for a different role, before being asked to audition for the part of Ally. O'Connor was given the part and began filming his scenes three days later. Hollyoaks' series producer, Emma Smithwick, said that O'Connor "nailed" his audition. O'Connor signed up for an initial twelve episode stint, but his contract was extended and he became a regular cast member. The actor commutes from London to Liverpool for filming. O'Connor made his debut screen appearance as Ally during the episode broadcast on 31 January 2012. O'Connor departed Hollyoaks on 27 November 2012.
Kyle Pryor is an English actor. He is known for his roles as Nate Cooper in the Australian soap Home and Away and Laurie Shelby in the Channel 4 British soap opera, Hollyoaks. Before these appearances, he was a stunt man on several films including Underworld: Rise of the Lycans. He also acted on several New Zealand based television dramas, including This Is Not My Life and Go Girls.
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