Creator / Ardal O'Hanlon

He still doesn't know the difference between small and far away.

"Ireland is a land of poets and writers. Or 'drunks', as you call them..."

Ardal O'Hanlon, (8 October 1965), is an Irish actor best known for playing Father Dougal in Father Ted.

He was one of the three founders of the International Comedy Cellar in Dublin. That was where he made his start at stand-up comedy. In 1994, he won the Hackney Empire New Act of the Year competition in 1994. His work in the stand-up business led to Graham Linehan discovering him and casting him as the clueless Father Dougal McGuire in Father Ted.

Ted proved brilliant for getting O'Hanlon recognition, but this was both a blessing and a curse. O'Hanlon wanted to be known as more than just a bumbling Irish priest, and so took the role of the lead on My Hero (2000) as Thermoman, alias "George Sunday", a dim superhero living a double life as a suburban husband. In the sixth and final series, O'Hanlon chose to leave My Hero, and so Thermoman was recast with James Dreyfus.

Around the same time as My Hero, O'Hanlon provided the voice for Robbie the Reindeer, and wrote a novel, The Talk of the Town. After starring in Blessed as Gary Chandler and making appearances in Doctor Who and Skins, he joined Death in Paradise after Kris Marshall left the cast, playing the role of DI Jack Mooney for three series. Once he left, his role in the series was filled by Ralf Little. He also made two appearances in Derry Girls as Mary and Sarah's cousin, Eamonn.

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Works on TV Tropes he appeared in:

Films

• Hooves of Fire (1999) — Robbie the Reindeer
• Legend of the Lost Tribe (2002) — Robbie the Reindeer
• Close Encounters of the Herd Kind (2007) — Robbie the Reindeer
• Handsome Devil (2016) — Donal Roche

Series

• Father Ted, 25 episodes (1995-98) — Father Dougal McGuire
• My Hero, 45 episodes (2000-06) — Thermoman
• Doctor Who, episode "Gridlock" (2007) — Thomas Kincade Brannigan
• Skins, 2 episodes^{show list}"Everyone", "Naomi" (2009) — Kieran Macfoeinaiugh
• Lily's Driftwood Bay, episode "Stop! Watch" (2014) — Bull Dozer
• Cucumber, 1 episode (2015) — Brian McCoy
• Death in Paradise, 24 episodes (2017-20) — Detective Inspector Jack Mooney
• Derry Girls, 2 episodes^{show list}"The Curse", "The Agreement" (2019-22) — Eamonn Hegarty
• Taskmaster, season 13 (2021) — contestant
• Extraordinary, 4 episodes^{show list}"Have Nots", "Pet Project", "The Real Powers Are the Friends We Made Along the way", "Surprise!" (2023) — Martin

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