# Jonjo O'Neill (actor)
**Jonjo O'Neill** (born 1978) is an actor from Belfast, Northern Ireland, best known as a stage performer and an Associate Artist of the [Royal Shakespeare Company](https://www.edgepedia.org/royal-shakespeare-company) (RSC), with screen roles including Lazar in *Defiance* (2008), Tom Stagg in *[The Fall](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-fall-tv-series)*, and Captain Kaido in *Andor* (2025).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1306019/bio/) • [2](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-245907/filmographie/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1978, Belfast, Northern Ireland[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1306019/bio/) |
| Training | Guildford School of Acting, 1996–1999[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1306019/bio/) |
| Company | Resident Artist (Associate Artist) with the Royal Shakespeare Company[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1306019/bio/) |
| Signature stage roles | Mercutio in Rupert Goold's *Romeo and Juliet* (RSC, 2010); the title role in *Richard III* (RSC Swan, 2012)[3](https://jonjooneill.com/theatre/) • [4](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/theatre/richard-iii-rsc-swan-stratforduponavon-review-7657202.html) |
| Other leading stage work | Edmund in *King Lear* (2008); John Proctor in *The Crucible* (Royal Exchange, 2015); Posthumus in *Cymbeline* (Shakespeare's Globe, 2015–16)[5](https://group.belfastmedia.com/40under40/40-under-40-2012/2012-40-under-40-bios/jonjo-oneill/) • [3](https://jonjooneill.com/theatre/) |
| Notable screen roles | Lazar in *Defiance* (2008); Gary Lester in *Constantine* (2014); Donal Flynn in *Bad Sisters* (2022, 2024); Edward Carver in *The Day of the Jackal* (2024)[2](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-245907/filmographie/) |
| Recent work | Captain Kaido in *Andor* season 2 (2025); Robin Williamson in *Industry* season 4 (2026)[6](https://jonjooneill.com/television/) |
## Early life and training
O'Neill was born in Belfast and grew up in West Belfast.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1306019/bio/) • [5](https://group.belfastmedia.com/40under40/40-under-40-2012/2012-40-under-40-bios/jonjo-oneill/) He became involved with the Ulster Youth Theatre in 1994, then moved to England to train at the Guildford School of Acting from 1996 to 1999.[7](https://www.ulsteractors.com/o/) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1306019/bio/) The Ulster Actors profile states that his studies were funded by a grant from the Cameron Mackintosh Foundation and that he graduated in 1999.[7](https://www.ulsteractors.com/o/)
His professional stage debut came in April 1999 at Nottingham Playhouse, in dual roles as the slave Xanthias and the playwright [Euripides](https://www.edgepedia.org/euripides) in [Aristophanes](https://www.edgepedia.org/aristophanes)' comedy *The Frogs*.[7](https://www.ulsteractors.com/o/) His first television appearance followed later that year, a walk-on part in the mini-series *Extremely Dangerous* starring [Sean Bean](https://www.edgepedia.org/sean-bean).[7](https://www.ulsteractors.com/o/)
## Stage career
**Royal Shakespeare Company.** Much of O'Neill's stage career has been with the RSC, where he is a Resident Artist and has appeared in around a dozen productions.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1306019/bio/) • [5](https://group.belfastmedia.com/40under40/40-under-40-2012/2012-40-under-40-bios/jonjo-oneill/) His RSC roles include Nero in *Sejanus: His Fall* and King Prusias in *Believe What You Will* (both 2005), Orlando in Michael Boyd's *As You Like It* and Dromio in *A Comedy of Errors* (both 2009), Launcelot in Gregory Doran's *Morte D'Arthur* and Mercutio in Rupert Goold's *Romeo and Juliet* (both 2010), and Edik in *Ahasverus* and Peter in *Silence* (both 2011).[3](https://jonjooneill.com/theatre/) He has named Edmund in *King Lear*, played opposite the late [Pete Postlethwaite](https://www.edgepedia.org/pete-postlethwaite) in a 2008 Liverpool Everyman and Young Vic production directed by Rupert Goold, as his favorite role.[5](https://group.belfastmedia.com/40under40/40-under-40-2012/2012-40-under-40-bios/jonjo-oneill/) • [3](https://jonjooneill.com/theatre/)
**Richard III.** In 2012, as part of the World Shakespeare Festival at [Stratford-upon-Avon](https://www.edgepedia.org/stratford-upon-avon), O'Neill played the title role in Roxana Silbert's production of *Richard III* at the Swan Theatre.[4](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/theatre/richard-iii-rsc-swan-stratforduponavon-review-7657202.html) The London Evening Standard's review described his "charismatically sexy, Irish-accented wannabe King" in leather trousers and overcoat, and noted that the part runs to more than 1,000 lines.[4](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/theatre/richard-iii-rsc-swan-stratforduponavon-review-7657202.html) The role, together with his Mercutio, is the one for which he is best known on stage.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1306019/bio/)
**Later stage work.** In 2015 he played John Proctor in *The Crucible* at the [Royal Exchange, Manchester](https://www.edgepedia.org/royal-exchange-manchester), followed by Posthumus in *Cymbeline* at [Shakespeare's Globe](https://www.edgepedia.org/shakespeares-globe)'s Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, directed by Sam Yates.[3](https://jonjooneill.com/theatre/) • [7](https://www.ulsteractors.com/o/) He has also worked repeatedly at the [Royal Court Theatre](https://www.edgepedia.org/royal-court-theatre) in London, in Anthony Neilson's *Unreachable* (2016), Vicky Featherstone's production of *Victory Condition* (2017), and Neilson's *The Prudes* (2018), and appeared in *Pinter at the Pinter* with the Jamie Lloyd Company in 2018.[3](https://jonjooneill.com/theatre/)
## Screen work
O'Neill's screen career spans television and film from the early 2000s onward. Early credits include *Band of Brothers* (2001), *A Touch of Frost* (2002), and the role of Lazar, a look-out guard, in the Second World War film *Defiance* (2008) starring [Daniel Craig](https://www.edgepedia.org/daniel-craig).[5](https://group.belfastmedia.com/40under40/40-under-40-2012/2012-40-under-40-bios/jonjo-oneill/) • [2](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-245907/filmographie/) Later television roles include Tom Stagg in *The Fall* (2014, 2016), Gary Lester in *Constantine* (2014), [Aleister Crowley](https://www.edgepedia.org/aleister-crowley) in *[Pennyworth](https://www.edgepedia.org/pennyworth-tv-series)* (2019), Mr. Ganz in *The Queen's Gambit* (2020), Ryan Savage in *Bloodlands* (2022), and Donal Flynn in *Bad Sisters* (2022 and 2024).[2](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-245907/filmographie/)
His recent credits concentrate on high-profile British and American series: Edward Carver in *The Day of the Jackal* (2024), Mark "Hud" Hudson in the BBC's *Nightsleeper* (2024), Bernard Dior in Apple's *The New Look* (2024), Captain Kaido in Lucasfilm's *Andor* (2025), and Robin Williamson in *Industry* (2026).[6](https://jonjooneill.com/television/) • [2](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-245907/filmographie/)
## References
1. [Jonjo O'Neill – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1306019/bio/)
2. [Jonjo O'Neill : Filmographie, AlloCiné](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-245907/filmographie/)
3. [Theatre – Jonjo O'Neill (official site)](https://jonjooneill.com/theatre/)
4. [Richard III, RSC Swan, Stratford-Upon-Avon – review, London Evening Standard (18 April 2012)](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/theatre/richard-iii-rsc-swan-stratforduponavon-review-7657202.html)
5. [Jonjo O'Neill, Belfast Media 40 Under 40 (2012)](https://group.belfastmedia.com/40under40/40-under-40-2012/2012-40-under-40-bios/jonjo-oneill/)
6. [TV – Jonjo O'Neill (official site)](https://jonjooneill.com/television/)
7. [Jonjo O'Neill, Ulster Actors](https://www.ulsteractors.com/o/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › Irish actors › Surnames N to W*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license