# Daryl McCormack

Daryl McCormack (born 22 January 1993) is an Irish-American actor. Trained at the DIT Conservatory of Music and Drama and the Gaiety School of Acting, he made his acting debut in the soap opera Fair City (2015–2016). He appeared in the BBC series Peaky Blinders (2019–2022), the film Pixie (2020), and the Apple TV+ series Bad Sisters (2022). His portrayal of the title role in the sex comedy-drama Good Luck to You, Leo Grande (2022) earned him a nomination for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. In 2023, he won the Trophée Chopard from the Cannes Film Festival.

## Early life and education

McCormack was born on 22 January 1993 in Nenagh, County Tipperary. He is the son of an Irish mother, Theresa McCormack, and an African-American father, Alfred Thomas, from Baltimore. He holds dual citizenship in Ireland and the United States. His parents met in California in 1992. His mother returned to Ireland upon getting pregnant, and raised McCormack in Nenagh, County Tipperary. He maintains a good relationship with the paternal side of his family, especially his grandfather Percy Thomas, who would visit McCormack and take him to the theatre.
McCormack attended Gaelscoil Aonach Urmhumhan and St. Joseph's CBS. He played basketball and participated in the Choral Society. He went on to study at the Gaiety School of Acting, and at Dublin Institute of Technology's Conservatory of Music and Drama (now TU Dublin Conservatoire) graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in drama 2014.

## Career

Upon graduating in 2014, McCormack was cast in his first professional role in the play The Grapes of Wrath at the Project Arts Centre. The following year, he made his television debut in the RTÉ One soap opera Fair City as Pierce Devlin, a character he would play until 2016. Also in 2015, he led Romeo and Juliet as Romeo at the Gate Theatre and starred as the titular Othello at the Theatre Royal Waterford.
He made his West End debut in 2018 as Brendan in The Lieutenant of Inishmore. In his early career, he was almost cast in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. In 2019, he starred alongside Olivia Cooke and Ben Hardy in Barnaby Thompson's comedy-thriller film Pixie and joined the cast of Peaky Blinders for its fifth series as Isaiah Jesus.
In 2021 he was named as a Screen International star of tomorrow. He had a recurring role as Aram in the first season of the Amazon Prime fantasy series The Wheel of Time in 2021. In 2022, he starred as Matthew Claffin in Sharon Horgan's Apple TV+ series Bad Sisters and opposite Emma Thompson as the titular character of Sophie Hyde's film Good Luck to You, Leo Grande, the latter of which earned him nominations for two British Academy Film Awards and a British Independent Film Award.
In 2023, he starred in Alice Troughton's thriller film The Lesson and the BBC thriller series The Woman in the Wall.
McCormack appeared in Lee Isaac Chung's Twisters sequel and has forthcoming roles in the family thriller Anniversary and Rian Johnson's Wake Up Dead Man.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2016 | The Randomer | Ray | |
| 2019 | How to Fake a War | Matt | |
| 2019 | A Good Woman Is Hard to Find | PC Reeves | |
| 2020 | Pixie | Harland McKenna | |
| 2022 | Good Luck to You, Leo Grande | Leo Grande | |
| 2023 | The Lesson | Liam Sommers | |
| 2024 | Twisters | Jeb | |
| 2025 | Rogue Trooper | Helm (voice) | Post-production |
| 2025 | Wake Up Dead Man | TBA | Post-production |
| TBA | Anniversary | Rob | Post-production |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2015–2016 | Fair City | Pierce Devlin | 36 episodes |
| 2016 | Dawn | Ukkanaak | Television film |
| 2017 | Vikings | Young Man | Episode: "The Prisoner" |
| 2018 | Immortality | Pio | Miniseries |
| 2018 | A Very English Scandal | Luke Mackenzie | Episode #1.1 |
| 2019 | Cleaning Up | Ryan | Episode #1.5 |
| 2019–2022 | Peaky Blinders | Isaiah Jesus | 11 episodes |
| 2021 | I Am... | David | Episode: "I Am Maria" |
| 2021 | The Wheel of Time | Aram | 3 episodes |
| 2022–2024 | Bad Sisters | Matthew Claffin | 12 episodes |
| 2023 | The Woman in the Wall | Colman Akande | 6 episodes |

### Music videos

| Year | Song | Artist | Notes |
| 2018 | "Half a Life" | Roisin El Cherif | |

## Stage

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2014 | The Grapes of Wrath | Casey | Project Arts Centre, Dublin |
| 2015 | Romeo and Juliet | Romeo | Gate Theatre, Dublin |
| 2015 | Othello | Othello | Theatre Royal Waterford |
| 2015 | Enjoy | | Project Arts Centre, Dublin |
| 2017 | A Whisper Anywhere Else | Garda | Peacock Stage, Abbey Theatre, Dublin |
| 2017 | The Mouth of a Shark | | The Complex, Dublin |
| 2018 | The Lieutenant of Inishmore | Brendan | Noël Coward Theatre, London |
| 2019 | Citysong | | Abbey Theatre, Dublin |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
| 2022 | Peabody Awards | Entertainment | Bad Sisters | Won |
| 2022 | British Independent Film Awards | Best Joint Lead Performance (shared with Emma Thompson) | Good Luck to You, Leo Grande | Nominated |
| 2022 | Online Association of Female Film Critics | Best Breakthrough Performance | Good Luck to You, Leo Grande | Nominated |
| 2022 | Women Film Critics Circle | Best Screen Couple (shared with Emma Thompson) | Good Luck to You, Leo Grande | Nominated |
| 2023 | Cannes Film Festival | Trophée Chopard | Trophée Chopard | Won |
| 2023 | British Academy Film Awards | Best Actor in a Leading Role | Good Luck to You, Leo Grande | Nominated |
| 2023 | British Academy Film Awards | Rising Star Award | Rising Star Award | Nominated |
| 2023 | Black Reel Awards | Outstanding Breakthrough Performance, Male | Good Luck to You, Leo Grande | Nominated |