# Rory Keenan

Rory Keenan (born 9 June 1980) is an Irish actor. On film and television he has starred in Somewhere Boy, The Duchess, Birdsong, Versailles, War & Peace, The Guard and Peaky Blinders.

## Career

Keenan has performed in many National Theatre productions, as well as at BAM, New York and Wyndhams Theatre in the West End as Jamie in Long Day's Journey into Night, directed by Sir Richard Eyre. He starred at The Donmar Warehouse in Saint Joan and Welcome Home Captain Fox!
Previous work at The Royal National Theatre includes The Kitchen, Damned By Despair and Liola, and Philadelphia, Here I Come! and Dublin Carol at the Donmar Warehouse.
He has performed many leading roles in Ireland, having worked from an early age at The Abbey Theatre, as well as the title roles in Hamlet and Macbeth, the latter of which landed him Best Actor at 11th The Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards.
In 2010, Keenan appeared in the short film The Crush, which was nominated at the Academy Awards for Best Live Action Short Film.
On television he was seen in Channel 4's Somewhere Boy, Netflix's The Duchess, BBC's Versailles, War & Peace and Peaky Blinders.
In 2022, Keenan wrote and directed his debut film Bump, which starred his wife Gemma Arterton, and was screened at the Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival in San Jose, California, and Cleveland International Film Festival. He was awarded Best Director at the British Short Film Awards 2022.

## Personal life

In 2019, he married actress Gemma Arterton.
The couple’s first child, a son, was born in December 2022.

## Filmography
### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1999 | Aristocrats | George | TV mini series |
| 2001–02 | On Home Ground | Kevin King | 16 episodes |
| 2003 | The Clinic | Michael | 6 episodes |
| 2005 | Showbands | Keith | TV mini series |
| 2011 | Primeval | Michael | 1 episode |
| 2012 | Birdsong | Brennan | TV mini series |
| 2014 | Peaky Blinders | Donal Henry | 3 episodes |
| 2016 | Stan Lee's Lucky Man | Simon | 2 episodes |
| 2016 | War & Peace | Bilibin | 4 episodes |
| 2017 | Versailles | Leopold | 8 episodes |
| 2017 | Come Home | Tomlinson | 2 episodes |
| 2017–18 | Striking Out | Eric | 10 episodes |
| 2020 | The Duchess | Shep | 6 episodes |
| 2021 | Rules Of The Game | Hugh | 3 episodes |
| 2022 | Somewhere Boy | Steve | 8 episodes |
| 2024 | Blackshore | Garda Cian Furlong | 6 episodes |

### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2002 | Reign of Fire | Devon | |
| 2003 | Intermission | Anthony Lowry | |
| 2003 | Benedict Arnold: A Question of Honor | Malitiaman | TV movie |
| 2004 | Ella Enchanted | Otto | |
| 2005 | Showbands | Keith | TV movie |
| 2005 | Still Life | Man | Short film |
| 2006 | Pride and Joy | Rory Lawlor | |
| 2009 | One Hundred Mornings | Mark | |
| 2009 | Zonad | Guy Hendrickson | |
| 2010 | Windows | Terry | Short film |
| 2010 | The Crush | Boyfriend | nominated Academy Award Best Live Action Short Film |
| 2011 | National Theatre Live: The Kitchen | Kevin | |
| 2011 | The Guard | McBride | |
| 2012 | Earthbound | Gordon | |
| 2012 | Keys to the City | Paul | |
| 2016 | The Young Messiah | Lucifer | |
| 2016 | Grimsby | James Thurbeck | |

### Theatre

| Year | Title | Role | Theatre | Notes |
| 2007 | Don Carlos | Don Carlos | Rough Magic | |
| 2007 | Saved | Fred | Abbey Theatre | |
| 2009 | Macbeth | Macbeth | Siren Productions/The Empty Space | Best Actor In Supporting Role, Irish Times Theatre Awards |
| 2009 | The Last Days of the Celtic Tiger | Ronan | Olympia Theatre | |
| 2010 | The Big Fellah | Ruairi | Lyric Hammersmith | |
| 2010 | The Importance of Being Earnest | Jack | Rough Magic/ Gaiety Theatre | |
| 2011 | The Kitchen | Kevin | Royal National Theatre | |
| 2011 | Lakeboat/Prairie du Chien | Fred | Arcola Theatre | |
| 2012 | Damned by Despair | Pedrisco | Royal National Theatre | |
| 2012 | Philadelphia Here I Come | Gar Private | Donmar Warehouse | |
| 2012 | Dublin Carol | Mark | Donmar Warehouse | |
| 2013 | Liola | Liola | Royal National Theatre | |
| 2015 | Someone Who'll Watch Over Me | Edward | Chichester Festival Theatre | |
| 2016 | Saint Joan | The Inquisitor | Donmar Warehouse | |
| 2016 | The Seagull | Trigorin | Dublin Theatre Festival | |
| 2016 | Welcome Home Captain Fox | Gene | Donmar Warehouse | |
| 2018 | Long Day's Journey Into Night | James Tyrone Jr. | Wyndham's Theatre / BAM, New York | |
| 2019 | Plenty | Raymond Brock | Chichester Festival Theatre | |