Desmond Eastwood

Last updated
Desmond Eastwood
Born
Education
OccupationActor
Years active2017-present
Television Normal People

Desmond Eastwood is a stage, television and film actor from Northern Ireland.

Contents

Early life

Born in Lisburn, the son of Mary and Desmond Eastwood, he attended Friends' School, Lisburn. He graduated with a law degree from Queen's College, Belfast in 2014, before moving to Dublin to study acting at the Gaiety School of Acting. He has five siblings. His brother Colum is a film maker. [1] [2]

Career

He has appeared in television productions including Krypton , Vikings and Blood , working alongside Adrian Dunbar, and worked on Game Of Thrones . He also appeared in his brother's first feature film Black Medicine, which starred Antonia Campbell-Hughes. [1]

He could be seen in 2020 television series Normal People playing Niall who befriends the character Connell, played by Paul Mescal. [3] For his role in the series he was nominated for best supporting actor at the 17th Irish Film & Television Awards. [4] [5] Eastwood and Mescal were performing in The Lieutenant of Inishmore together on stage in Dublin when the production was halted by the COVID-19 pandemic. [6] Derry Girls writer Lisa McGee labelled his Normal People character "the soundest one", [7] and Eastwood later appeared in her series as Benny. [8]

He has roles in 2023 Liam Neeson film In the Land of Saints and Sinners , [9] and Pierce Brosnan film The Last Rifleman . [10] [11]

He plays Detective Murray Canning in the first two series of the BBC One Northern Ireland police drama Blue Lights . [12] [13]

He can be seen in 2024 Finnish drama Stormskerry Maja . [14] He has an upcoming role in the Christoph Waltz comedy action film Old Guy . [15]

Partial filmography

Key
Denotes works that have not yet been released
YearTitleRoleNotes
2018 Krypton Taz-Ran
2020 Normal People Niall
2020 Vikings Messenger
2021Black MedicineConor
2022 Derry Girls Benny
2023 In the Land of Saints and Sinners Curtis June
2023- Blue Lights DS Murray Canning
2023 The Last Rifleman Tony McCann
2024 Stormskerry Maja Lieutenant John Wilson
TBA Old Guy Colton

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liam Neeson</span> Actor from Northern Ireland (born 1952)

William John Neeson is an actor from Northern Ireland. He has received several accolades, including nominations for an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, three Golden Globe Awards, and two Tony Awards. In 2020, he was placed seventh on The Irish Times list of Ireland's 50 Greatest Film Actors. Neeson was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pierce Brosnan</span> Irish actor (born 1953)

Pierce Brendan Brosnan is an Irish actor and film producer. He was the fifth actor to play the fictional secret agent James Bond in the James Bond film series, starring in four films from 1995 to 2002 and in multiple video games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NI Railways</span> Parastatal rail transport organisation of Northern Ireland (NIR)

NI Railways, also known as Northern Ireland Railways, is the railway operator in Northern Ireland. NIR is a subsidiary of Translink, whose parent company is the Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company (NITHCo), and is one of eight publicly owned train operators in the United Kingdom, the others being Direct Rail Services, Northern Trains, Transport for Wales Rail, Southeastern, LNER, ScotRail, and TransPennine Express. It has a common Board of Management with the other two companies in the group, Ulsterbus and Metro.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gabriel Byrne</span> Irish actor

Gabriel James Byrne is an Irish actor. He has received a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for a Grammy Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards and two Tony Awards. Byrne was awarded the Irish Film and Television Academy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018 and was listed at number 17 on The Irish Times list of Ireland's greatest film actors in 2020. The Guardian named him one of the best actors never to have received an Academy Award nomination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ciarán Hinds</span> Irish actor (born 1953)

Ciarán Hinds is an Irish actor from Belfast. Hinds is known for a range of screen and stage roles. He has starred in feature films including The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989), Persuasion (1995), Oscar and Lucinda (1997), Road to Perdition (2002), The Sum of All Fears (2002), Munich (2005), Amazing Grace (2007), There Will Be Blood (2007), Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (2008), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011), Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011), Silence (2016), First Man (2018) and Belfast (2021). He was nominated for an Oscar and BAFTA for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Belfast.

The Belfast Film Festival (BFF) is an annual film festival in Northern Ireland with an attendance over 25,000. In 2022, it launched its International Competition program. BFF includes the Docs Ireland international documentary festival, as well as an Audience Development and Inclusion program. The festival also sponsors year-round film screenings around Belfast.

<i>Evelyn</i> (2002 film) 2002 Irish film by Bruce Beresford

Evelyn is a 2002 Irish drama film directed by Bruce Beresford and written by Paul Pender, loosely based on the true story of Desmond Doyle and his fight in the Irish courts to be reunited with his children. The film stars Sophie Vavasseur in the title role, Pierce Brosnan as her father and Aidan Quinn, Julianna Margulies, Stephen Rea, and Alan Bates as supporters to Doyle's case. The film had a limited release in the United States, starting on December 13, 2002 and was later followed by the United Kingdom release on March 21, 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lisburn railway station</span> Station in County Antrim, Northern Ireland

Lisburn railway station serves the city of Lisburn in County Antrim, Northern Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colum Eastwood</span> Northern Irish politician (born 1983)

Colum Eastwood is an Irish nationalist politician who has served as Leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) since 2015. He has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Foyle since 2019, served in Northern Ireland Assembly from 2011 to 2019 and served on Derry City Council from 2005 to 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lisburn van bombing</span> 1988 IRA attack in Northern Ireland

On 15 June 1988 an unmarked military van carrying six British Army soldiers was blown up by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) at Market Place in Lisburn, Northern Ireland. The explosion took place at the end of a charity marathon run in which the soldiers had participated. All six soldiers were killed in the attack – four outright, one on his way to hospital and another later on in hospital.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Dormer</span> Irish actor, playwright and screenwriter (born 1969)

Richard Dormer is a Northern Irish actor and playwright. He is best known for his roles as Beric Dondarrion in the HBO television series Game of Thrones and Dan Anderssen in Sky Atlantic's Fortitude.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicola Coughlan</span> Irish actress (born 1987)

Nicola Mary Coughlan is an Irish actress. She is known for her roles as Clare Devlin in Channel 4 sitcom Derry Girls (2018–2022) and Penelope Featherington in Netflix's Bridgerton (2020–present).

Normal People is a romantic psychological drama television miniseries produced by Element Pictures for BBC Three and Hulu in association with Screen Ireland. It is based on the 2018 novel by Sally Rooney. The series follows the relationship between Marianne Sheridan and Connell Waldron, as they navigate adulthood from their final days in secondary school to their undergraduate years in Trinity College. The series was primarily written by Rooney and Alice Birch and directed by Lenny Abrahamson and Hettie Macdonald.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Mescal</span> Irish actor (born 1996)

Paul Colm Michael Mescal is an Irish actor. Born in Maynooth, he studied acting at The Lir Academy and subsequently performed in plays in Dublin theatres. Mescal rose to fame with his role in the miniseries Normal People (2020), earning a BAFTA TV Award and a nomination for a Primetime Emmy Award.

The 17th Irish Film & Television Academy Awards took place in July 2021. The ceremony honoured Irish films and television drama released between 1 February 2020 and 31 May 2021.

The Last Rifleman is a 2023 British drama film written by Kevin Fitzpatrick, loosely based on real events and directed by Terry Loane, which features Pierce Brosnan. It follows Artie Crawford (Brosnan), a Northern Irish World War II veteran who, on the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy, decides to secretly escape his care home and embarks on an arduous but inspirational journey from Northern Ireland to France, to pay his final respects to his best friend and find the courage to face the ghosts of his past.

<i>Stormskerry Maja</i> 2024 Finnish drama film

Stormskerry Maja is a 2024 Swedish-language Finnish historical drama film directed by Tiina Lymi. Based on the five-volume book series by Anni Blomqvist, the film, set in the Åland archipelago, tells the story of Maja, who with her husband Janne faces life's challenges and adversities on a remote island in the 19th century. Amanda Jansson and Linus Troedsson star in the main roles.

The 20th Irish Film & Television Academy Awards, also called the IFTA Film & Drama Awards 2024 or the 21st Anniversary IFTA Awards, took place on 20 April 2024. The ceremony was hosted by Baz Ashmawy at the Dublin Royal Convention Centre. It honoured Irish films and television drama released between 1 January 2023 and 31 December 2023. The nominations were announced on 14 March 2024. The Rising Star nominees were announced on 9 April 2024.

Frank Blake is an Irish stage, television and film actor.

References

  1. 1 2 Coleman, Maureen (11 May 2020). "Normal People: Lisburn actor Desmond Eastwood's star on the rise thanks to latest TV role". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  2. "MEET DESMOND EASTWOOD – NOT JUST ANOTHER 'NORMAL' QUEEN'S LAW GRADUATE". alumni.qub. 14 May 2020. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  3. Ross, Alex (4 May 2020). "Fans are totally divided over the ending of Normal People". Planet Radio. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  4. "Olivia Colman, Mark Hamill and Colin Farrell to present IFTA awards". RTE. 1 July 2021. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  5. McCartney, Esther (15 June 2021). "'Dating Amber', 'Normal People' head Irish Film and Television Awards nominations". Screen Daily. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  6. Corr, Shauna (6 May 2020). "Normal People Lisburn actor Desmond Eastwood says his parents were 'delighted' to see him in BBC hit" . Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  7. Corr, Shauna (2 May 2020). "Derry Girls writer feeling "smug cos the soundest person in Normal People is a Nordie"". Belfast Live. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  8. "Derry Girls". Comedy.co.uk. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  9. Coleman, Maureen (14 April 2024). "Co Antrim Blue Lights star: 'I've no interest in televisual tropes about Catholics and Protestants'". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  10. Hegarty, Tasha (22 July 2022). "James Bond star Pierce Brosnan is unrecognisable in first look at new movie". Digital Spy. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  11. "On the road with Pierce Brosnan". Irish News. 8 November 2023. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  12. "Interview with Desmond Eastwood who plays Detective Murray Canning in Blue Lights". Press Party. April 15, 2023. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  13. Mensah, Katelyn (16 February 2024). "Blue Lights confirms new and returning cast in first look at season 2". Radio Times. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  14. Balaga, Marta (September 24, 2022). "Amanda Jansson, 'Normal People's' Desmond Eastwood to Star in 'Stormskerry Maja' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  15. Ainsworth, Paul (April 18, 2023). "Lucy Liu says cheese as star spotted filming in Belfast city centre". The Irish News . Retrieved April 14, 2024.