Gavin Drea (born February 1990) is an Irish actor and comedian. He is known for his roles in the RTÉ series Love/Hate (2011), Resistance (2019), the BBC drama My Mother and Other Strangers (2017), and the Star series Wedding Season (2022). His voice work includes Cyberpunk 2077 (2020).
Gavin Drea | |
|---|---|
 Drea at the British Library in 2023 | |
| Born | February 1990 (age 34) Dublin, Ireland |
| Alma mater | University College Dublin |
| Years active | 2010–present |
Early life
editGavin Drea was born in Dublin.[1] He attended Gonzaga College. He graduated from University College Dublin in 2011 with a Bachelor of Arts in English and Film Studies.[2]
Career
editDrea made his television debut a 2010 episode of the TV3 series Jack Taylor. In 2011, he joined the cast of the RTÉ One drama Love/Hate for its second season as Luke. The following year, he made his feature film debut in Lenny Abrahamson's What Richard Did. Drea was cast in the Druid Theatre Company production of A Whisper in the Dark, which was staged in Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. For his performance as Des, Drea was nominated for the Irish Theatre Award for Best Supporting Actor.[3]
This was followed in 2014 by roles in Philadelphia, Here I Come! at the Lyric Theatre, Belfast and Breaking Dad at the Gaiety Theatre, Dublin. That same year, Drea founded the comedy collective Dreamgun with Stephen Colfer, Heber Hanly and James McDonnell, through which they had a comedy show and podcast titled Dreamgun Film Reads.[4]
Drea returned to television when he appeared in the 2016 History Channel docudrama Barbarians Rising. In 2017, he played Barney Quinn in the BBC Northern Ireland drama My Mother and Other Strangers[5] and appeared in the space opera film Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. The following year, he played Laertes in Hamlet at the Gate Theatre.[6] He would go on to reprise the role at St. Ann's Warehouse in Brooklyn. He also starred in the Irish film We Ourselves.
Drea portrayed Michael Collins in the 2019 RTÉ miniseries Resistance, taking over the role from Sebastian Thommen, who had portrayed Collins in Rebellion back in 2016.[7] Also in 2019, Drea appeared in Blood Wedding at the Young Vic in London.[8] He had small film roles in Sweetness in the Belly and My Salinger Year.
In 2022, Drea starred as Stefan opposite Rosa Salazar in the series Wedding Season, made for the Star platform on Disney+. Drea performed his own wire stunt for the series.[9] He also had recurring roles in the Netflix series Vikings: Valhalla as Eadric Streona and the Hulu miniseries adaptation of Daisy Jones & the Six as Nicky Fitzgerald, Daisy's (Riley Keogh) antagonistic husband.[10]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | What Richard Did | Stephen O'Brien | |
| 2014 | Cruelty | Jude | Short film |
| 2017 | Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets | Sergent Cooper | |
| 2018 | Vanilla | Smell | Short film |
| 2018 | We Ourselves | Mikey | |
| 2019 | Break Us | Mark | Short film |
| 2019 | Sweetness in the Belly | Phillip | |
| 2020 | My Salinger Year | Mark |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Jack Taylor | Christian Tracey | Episode: "The Priest" |
| 2011 | Love/Hate | Luke | Season 2 (6 episodes) |
| 2016 | Éirí Amach Amú | Mick | 1 episode |
| 2016 | Barbarians Rising | Alaric | Docudrama (2 episodes) |
| 2017 | My Mother and Other Strangers | Barney Quinn | Miniseries |
| 2018 | The Alienist | Roundsmen Barclay | Episode: "Silver Smile" |
| 2018 | Origin | Andrew | Episode: "A Total Stranger" |
| 2019 | Resistance | Michael Collins | Main role |
| 2022 | Vikings: Valhalla | Eadric Streona | Season 1 (3 episodes) |
| 2022 | Wedding Season | Stefan | Main role |
| 2023 | Daisy Jones & the Six | Nicky Fitzgerald | Miniseries (3 episodes) |
| 2024 | Baby Reindeer | Shea | Miniseries (1 episode) |
Video games
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | World War Z | Cutter II | |
| 2020 | Assassin's Creed Valhalla | Flann Sinna | [11] |
| Cyberpunk 2077 | V | ||
| 2023 | Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty |
Stage
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | DruidMurphy: A Whistle in the Dark | Des | International tour |
| 2014 | Philadelphia, Here I Come! | Private Gar | Lyric Theatre, Belfast |
| 2014 | Breaking Dad | Traolach | Gaiety Theatre, Dublin |
| 2015 | DruidShakespeare | Various | Ireland tour |
| 2017 | Tribes | Daniel | Gate Theatre, Dublin |
| 2018 | Hamlet | Laertes | Gate Theatre, Dublin / St. Ann's Warehouse, Brooklyn |
| 2019 | Blood Wedding | Leonardo | Young Vic, London |
Awards and nominations
edit| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Irish Theatre Awards | Best Supporting Actor | DruidMurphy: A Whistle in the Dark | Nominated |
References
edit- ^ "Love/Hate's Luke: Life goes on – but with more hair!". Independent.ie. 27 April 2013. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
- ^ "Two recent UCD graduates shortlisted Irish Times Theatre Awards". University College Dublin. 17 January 2013. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
- ^ Goyal, Darshita (15 September 2022). "Gavin Drea Is Just As Funny Off Screen As His Wedding Season Character Is On Screen". Bustle. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
- ^ Fetherston, Sinann (27 July 2018). "Going Back To The Future with Dreamgun Film Reads". RTÉ. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
- ^ Flynn, Fiona (6 January 2019). "Here's where you recognise the stars of RTÉ's 'Resistance' from". Entertainment.ie. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
- ^ Clement, Olivia (15 May 2018). "Ruth Negga to Play Title Role in Dublin Hamlet". Playbill. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
- ^ Turbridy, Ryan (7 January 2019). "Gavin Drea - being Michael Collins". RTÉ Radio. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
- ^ "Inside... Blood Wedding". Young Vic. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
- ^ Browning, Matt (9 September 2022). "'I didn't tell my mum' Wedding Season star Gavin Drea kept daring stunt a secret". Daily Express. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
- ^ Donohoe, Amy (31 March 2023). "Dublin actor Gavin Drea on becoming the 'Irish prince' in new series Daisy Jones and the Six". Independent.ie. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
- ^ Cashin, Rory (14 December 2020). "Love/Hate actor is the star of one of 2020's biggest games". Lovin Dublin. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
External links
edit- Gavin Drea at IMDb
- Gavin Drea at Spotlight
- Dreamgun website