Enda Oates
Encyclopedia
Enda Oates occasionally credited as Enda Oats, is an Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 stage, film, and television actor. He has received attention for his stagework, but is best known to Irish television audiences as the Reverend George Black in the long running series Glenroe
Glenroe
Glenroe was an Irish television drama series broadcast between September 1983 and May 2001 on RTÉ One. The programme was a spin-off from Bracken, a short-lived RTÉ drama itself spun off from The Riordans. Glenroe was broadcast on Sunday nights at 20.30, generally from September to May. The show was...

for RTE
RTE
RTÉ is the abbreviation for Raidió Teilifís Éireann, the public broadcasting service of the Republic of Ireland.RTE may also refer to:* Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, 25th Prime Minister of Turkey...

, and as Barreller Casey in the sitcom Upwardly Mobile
Upwardly Mobile
Upwardly Mobile was an Irish television sitcom that was made and broadcast by RTÉ. Three series, including three Christmas specials, were originally broadcast on RTÉ One between 8 September 1995 and 26 December 1997....

.

Background

Oates was born just outside of Roscommon, Ireland in 1962 and moved to Dublin in 1981 where he currently resides. He studied at Roscommon CBS, and earned a Leaving Certificate in 1980. The following year he attended Athlone Regional Technical College before becoming a civil servant for five years before becoming a thespian
Thespian
Thespian may refer to:* An actor * A citizen of the ancient Greek city of Thespiae* A member of the International Thespian Society, an honor society that promotes excellence in high school theater...

. His wife is named Louise and the couple have one son named Sam. Oates is also a noted horse enthusiast and has appeared on several television programmes about horses.

Film and television

Referred to as one of "Ireland’s foremost acting talents" by the Roscommon Herald, Enda Oates' career has spanned over twenty years in theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...

, radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...

, television and film. He has worked with both Irish and international actors and directors, and has performed in many countries. Although he made a 1984 appearance in Remington Steele
Remington Steele
Remington Steele is an American television series, co-created by Robert Butler and Michael Gleason. The series, starring Stephanie Zimbalist and Pierce Brosnan, was produced by MTM Enterprises and first broadcast on the NBC network from 1982 to 1987. The series blended the genres of romantic...

, he turned professional in 1986 after sharing the Evening Herald
Evening Herald
The Evening Herald is a mid-market tabloid evening newspaper published in Dublin, Ireland by Independent News & Media. It is published Monday-Saturday, and has three editions — City Edition, City Final Edition and National Edition...

'Newcomer of the Year Award' with Aidan Gillan (The Wire
The WIRE
the WIRE is the student-run College radio station at the University of Oklahoma, broadcasting in a freeform format. The WIRE serves the University of Oklahoma and surrounding communities, and is staffed by student DJs. The WIRE broadcasts at 1710 kHz AM in Norman, Oklahoma...

). The official opening of the Strokestown International Poetry Festival
Strokestown
Strokestown, historically called Bellanamullia and Bellanamully , is a town in County Roscommon, Ireland. It is located at the junction of the N5 National primary route and the R368 regional road in the north of the county....

 was performed by Oates.

In 1989, his theatrical connections through John Lynch
John Lynch
John H. Lynch is the 80th and current Governor of New Hampshire. Lynch was first elected in 2004 and has been re-elected every two years since. On September 15, 2011, Lynch announced he would not seek a fifth two-year term in 2012....

 saw him awarded the part of rector, Rev. George Black in the series Glenroe
Glenroe
Glenroe was an Irish television drama series broadcast between September 1983 and May 2001 on RTÉ One. The programme was a spin-off from Bracken, a short-lived RTÉ drama itself spun off from The Riordans. Glenroe was broadcast on Sunday nights at 20.30, generally from September to May. The show was...

on which Lynch was producing. Oates played Rev. George from 1989 to 1997 and was the role which made him widely recognizable to the general public.

In 1990, Oates had a minor role in the Pat O'Connor
Pat O'Connor
Pat O'Connor may refer to:*Pat O'Connor , American racecar driver*Pat O'Connor *Pat O'Connor , Irish film director of Sweet November*Pat O'Connor , Kilmarnock F.C...

 directed film Fools of Fortune
Fools of Fortune
Fools of Fortune is a 1990 British drama film directed by Pat O'Connor and starring Iain Glen, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Julie Christie, Amy Joyce Hastings and Michael Kitchen. It depicts a Protestant family caught up in the conflict between the British army and the IRA during the Irish War of...

, a film about a Protestant Irish family caught up in a conflict between Irish Republicans and the British army. In 1994, Oates played the role of The Garda opposite esteemed English actors Albert Finney
Albert Finney
Albert Finney is an English actor. He achieved prominence in films in the early 1960s, and has maintained a successful career in theatre, film and television....

 and Michael Gambon
Michael Gambon
Sir Michael John Gambon, CBE is an Irish actor who has worked in theatre, television and film. A highly respected theatre actor, Gambon is recognised for his roles as Philip Marlowe in the BBC television serial The Singing Detective, as Jules Maigret in the 1990s ITV serial Maigret, and as...

 in A Man of No Importance
A Man of No Importance (film)
A Man of No Importance is a 1994 comedy drama film directed by Suri Krishnamma and starring Albert Finney.-Synopsis:Alfred Byrne is a closeted homosexual bus conductor in 1963 Dublin. His sister tries to find him a suitable woman, but his real passion is putting on amateur theater productions of...

, a film which dealt with themes of homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...

. Between 1995 and 1998 he played Barreller Casey in the Irish sitcom series Upwardly Mobile
Upwardly Mobile
Upwardly Mobile was an Irish television sitcom that was made and broadcast by RTÉ. Three series, including three Christmas specials, were originally broadcast on RTÉ One between 8 September 1995 and 26 December 1997....

and played a policeman in The Guvnor in 1996. In 1998 he had a small role the film St. Ives
St. Ives (1998 film)
St. Ives is a 1998 television film based on the unfinished Robert Louis Stevenson novel, St Ives. The film features Miranda Richardson, Anna Friel, Richard E Grant and Jean-Marc Barr....

(televised in the UK as All for Love), based on the unfinished Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist and travel writer. His best-known books include Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde....

 novel. He featured opposite Miranda Richardson
Miranda Richardson
Miranda Jane Richardson is an English stage, film and television actor. She has been nominated for two Academy Awards, and has won two Golden Globes and a BAFTA during her career....

, Anna Friel
Anna Friel
Anna Louise Friel is an English actress. She rose to fame in the UK as Beth Jordache on the Channel 4 soap Brookside.-Early life:...

, Richard E Grant and Jean-Marc Barr
Jean-Marc Barr
Jean-Marc Barr is a French-American film actor and director. His mother is French. His American father was in the US Air Force and served in the Second World War. Jean-Marc Barr is primarily known as an actor, but is also a film director, screenwriter and producer...

. He also appeared in an episode of The Ambassador the same year.

In 2000, Oates starred in three episodes of Trí Scéal and played the role of Brian in the crime comedy film Ordinary Decent Criminal
Ordinary Decent Criminal
Ordinary Decent Criminal is a 2000 crime/comedy film, directed by Thaddeus O'Sullivan, written by Gerard Stembridge. The film is loosely based on the story of Martin Cahill, a famous Irish crime boss.- Plot :...

. Directed by Thaddeus O'Sullivan
Thaddeus O'Sullivan
Thaddeus O'Sullivan is an Irish director, cinematographer, writer.-Filmography:-Awards:*1990 won the Silver Rosa Camuna at the Bergamo Film Meeting for December Bride...

, the film is loosely based on the story of Martin Cahill
Martin Cahill
Martin "The General" Cahill was a prominent Irish criminal from Dublin.Cahill generated a certain notoriety in the media, which referred to him by the sobriquet "The General". The name was also used by the media in order to discuss Cahill's activities while avoiding legal problems with libel...

, a famous Irish crime boss and featured Oates in a cast that included Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey, CBE is an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and crooner. He grew up in California, and began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, before being cast in supporting roles in film and television...

, Helen Baxendale
Helen Baxendale
Helen Victoria Baxendale is an English actress of stage and television, possibly best-known for her roles in Cold Feet, Friends and Cardiac Arrest.-Early life:...

 and Colin Farrell
Colin Farrell
Colin James Farrell is an Irish actor, who has appeared in such film as Tigerland, Miami Vice, Minority Report, Phone Booth, The Recruit, Alexander and S.W.A.T....

. In 2000 he also starred in the American comedy film An Everlasting Piece
An Everlasting Piece
An Everlasting Piece is a 2000 American comedy film. The movie was directed by Barry Levinson and written by and starring Barry McEvoy. The plot involves two wig salesmen, one Catholic and one Protestant, who live in war torn Belfast, Northern Ireland, in the mid-'80s...

as a detective in a film which involves two wig salesmen, one Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...

 and one Protestant, who live in war torn Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...

, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

 in the mid 1980s. In 2001 he appeared in the series Ballykissangel
Ballykissangel
Ballykissangel is a BBC television drama set in Ireland, produced in-house by BBC Northern Ireland. The original story revolved around a young English Roman Catholic priest as he became part of a rural community. It ran for six series, which were first broadcast on BBC One in the UK from 1996 to 2001...

.

In 2003, Oates had a minor role in the Joel Schumacher
Joel Schumacher
Joel T. Schumacher is an American film director, screenwriter and producer.-Early life:Schumacher was born in New York City, the son of Marian and Francis Schumacher. His mother was a Swedish Jew, and his father was a Baptist from Knoxville, Tennessee, who died when Joel was four years old...

 film, Veronica Guerin
Veronica Guerin (film)
Veronica Guerin is a 2003 Irish biographical film directed by Joel Schumacher. The screenplay by Carol Doyle and Mary Agnes Donoghue focuses on Irish journalist Veronica Guerin, whose investigation into the drug trade in Dublin led to her murder in 1996....

, about Irish journalist Veronica Guerin, whose investigation into the drug trade in Dublin led to her murder in 1996.

Theatrical work and recognition

Although Oates has appeared in numerous films and television series, he sees himself as primarily a theatre actor. He has said, "I find that theatre is like a real job in that one goes to work for four or five weeks or longer and plays a part nightly and everyone talks about the play and their roles. Television is not like that. In television one turns on a camera and one plays ones lines in scenes and when the camera is switched off then you are finished. I get greater satisfaction out of drama and theatre roles".

In 1988, Oates appeared at the Gate Theatre
Gate Theatre
The Gate Theatre, in Dublin, was founded in 1928 by Hilton Edwards and Micheál Mac Liammóir, initially using the Abbey Theatre's Peacock studio theatre space to stage important works by European and American dramatists...

 in the Sean O'Casey
Seán O'Casey
Seán O'Casey was an Irish dramatist and memoirist. A committed socialist, he was the first Irish playwright of note to write about the Dublin working classes.- Early life:...

 play Juno and the Paycock
Juno and the Paycock
Juno and the Paycock is a play by Sean O'Casey, and one of the most highly regarded and oft-performed plays in Ireland. It was first staged at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin in 1924...

, playing a furniture removal man. It was also performed at the John Golden Theatre
John Golden Theatre
The John Golden Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 252 West 45th Street in midtown-Manhattan. Designed in a Moorish style along with the adjacent Royale Theatre by architect Herbert J. Krapp for Irwin Chanin, it opened as the Theatre Masque on February 24 1927 with the play Puppets of Passion...

 on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...

 between June 21 and July 2, 1988. Then in 1989, Oates appeared in the play Big Maggie at the Abbey Theatre
Abbey Theatre
The Abbey Theatre , also known as the National Theatre of Ireland , is a theatre located in Dublin, Ireland. The Abbey first opened its doors to the public on 27 December 1904. Despite losing its original building to a fire in 1951, it has remained active to the present day...

, performed between July 25 and September 26, 1989. In 1991 he appeared in a production of Plough and the Stars in London.

Emer O'Kelly of Irish Independent
Irish Independent
The Irish Independent is Ireland's largest-selling daily newspaper that is published in both compact and broadsheet formats. It is the flagship publication of Independent News & Media.-History:...

panned playwright Jim O'Hanlon's 2004 production of Pilgrims in the Park. While noting that the cast did "best with this rubbish", he expanded that "only Enda Oates as the husband and Barry Barnes as the priest have even moments of credibility."

Reporting of Oates' in Alan Stanford
Alan Stanford
Alan Stanford is a well known Irish-based actor and director.-Personal life:Stanford has lived in Ireland since 1969. He trained as an actor at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London....

's 2006 production of MacBeth
Macbeth
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...

, the Irish Times wrote that his work as McDuff was "thoroughly impressive". And also in 2006, the production of Little Green Men reports that "Well known Irish actor Enda Oates who takes one of the lead roles as Michael Greene in the new play said that he was ‘hooked’ on the idea after the success of the first production.

In their review of Alan Stanford's 2007 production of the Brian Friel
Brian Friel
Brian Friel is an Irish dramatist, author and director of the Field Day Theatre Company. He is considered to be the greatest living English-language dramatist, hailed by the English-speaking world as an "Irish Chekhov" and "the universally accented voice of Ireland"...

 play
Philadelphia, Here I Come!, The Irish Independent
Irish Independent
The Irish Independent is Ireland's largest-selling daily newspaper that is published in both compact and broadsheet formats. It is the flagship publication of Independent News & Media.-History:...

wrote "Among the theatrical high points is the poignant visit and awkward embrace of Gar from old schoolteacher, Master Boyle (Enda Oates)..."

In 2008, Oates played Shylock
Shylock
Shylock is a fictional character in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice.-In the play:In The Merchant of Venice, Shylock is a Jewish moneylender who lends money to his Christian rival, Antonio, setting the security at a pound of Antonio's flesh...

 in the
Merchant of Venice in the Helix Theatre. The Irish Times review of the 2008 production of The Merchant of Venice offered, "...That leaves Shylock with Enda Oates putting his individual stamp on him. He shrugs aside servility to present a strong character in revolt against a lifetime... ". As reported in Roscommon Herald, "An Irish Times theatre critic described his performance as riveting and one which was maintained to the end."

Of his work in Zinnie Harris's Further Than the Furthest Thing (2008), Sophie Gorman of The Irish Independent
Irish Independent
The Irish Independent is Ireland's largest-selling daily newspaper that is published in both compact and broadsheet formats. It is the flagship publication of Independent News & Media.-History:...

wrote, "Enda Oates as the laconic island patriarch radiates suppressed force of character".

Donegal News reported Alan Stanford producing Macbeth again in 2008, with "a large cast of sixteen, some of whom are returning to their original parts, most notably Enda Oates, as MacDuff..." The Irish Independent
Irish Independent
The Irish Independent is Ireland's largest-selling daily newspaper that is published in both compact and broadsheet formats. It is the flagship publication of Independent News & Media.-History:...

, while noting the violence of gore inherent in the Shakesphere play, found "the production is nonetheless strangely bloodless and passionless" due to a "very odd interpretation of the central role by [thespian] David Shannon". Even with its flaws, it was noted that Oates was "a powerful Macduff".

Theatre highlights

  • Studs (Paul Mercier) 1986
  • 1987- Jacques Brel is … (Noel Pearson) 1987
  • Juno and the Paycock
    Juno and the Paycock
    Juno and the Paycock is a play by Sean O'Casey, and one of the most highly regarded and oft-performed plays in Ireland. It was first staged at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin in 1924...

    1988
  • Big Maggie (Abbey Theatre) 1989
  • Plough and the Stars (Young Vic) 1991
  • The Field (Gaiety Theatre) 1994
  • Uncle Vanya (as Astrov) Field Day, Tricycle London) 1995
  • True Believers (Tricycle Irish Tour) Fishamble 1999
  • Gulliver’s Travels – Gulliver (Ireland and Wales) 2001
  • En Suite, 2002
  • The Chastitute, 2003
  • Pilgrims in the Park, 2004
  • The Tempest (as Prospero) Corcadorca Theatre Co 2005
  • The Ha’penny Bridge, The Point Theatre Dublin, 2005
  • Little Green Men, 2006
  • Macbeth – Macduff – Second Age Theatre Company
    Second Age Theatre Company
    Second Age Theatre Company exists to promote an awareness and love of classical theatre for all, but especially the young.-History of the company:...

     2006/2007/2008
  • Philadelphia, Here I Come! Second Age Theatre Company
    Second Age Theatre Company
    Second Age Theatre Company exists to promote an awareness and love of classical theatre for all, but especially the young.-History of the company:...

     2007
  • The Merchant of Venice
    The Merchant of Venice
    The Merchant of Venice is a tragic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. Though classified as a comedy in the First Folio and sharing certain aspects with Shakespeare's other romantic comedies, the play is perhaps most remembered for its dramatic...

    2008
  • Further Than the Furthest Thing 2008
  • The Dead School 2008


Television

  • Remington Steele
    Remington Steele
    Remington Steele is an American television series, co-created by Robert Butler and Michael Gleason. The series, starring Stephanie Zimbalist and Pierce Brosnan, was produced by MTM Enterprises and first broadcast on the NBC network from 1982 to 1987. The series blended the genres of romantic...

    (1 episode, 1984)
  • City Limits (1986)
  • Errors and Omissions (1987)
  • Small World (1 episode, 1987)
  • Glenroe
    Glenroe
    Glenroe was an Irish television drama series broadcast between September 1983 and May 2001 on RTÉ One. The programme was a spin-off from Bracken, a short-lived RTÉ drama itself spun off from The Riordans. Glenroe was broadcast on Sunday nights at 20.30, generally from September to May. The show was...

    (1989–1997)
  • Upwardly Mobile
    Upwardly Mobile
    Upwardly Mobile was an Irish television sitcom that was made and broadcast by RTÉ. Three series, including three Christmas specials, were originally broadcast on RTÉ One between 8 September 1995 and 26 December 1997....

    (1995–1998)
  • The Guvnor (1996) Cop
  • The Ambassador (1 episode, 1998)

  • Trí Scéal (3 episodes, 2000)
  • Ballykissangel
    Ballykissangel
    Ballykissangel is a BBC television drama set in Ireland, produced in-house by BBC Northern Ireland. The original story revolved around a young English Roman Catholic priest as he became part of a rural community. It ran for six series, which were first broadcast on BBC One in the UK from 1996 to 2001...

    (1 episode, 2001)
  • Showbands (2005)
  • Aifric
    Aifric
    Aifric is an Irish-language TV series aimed at young teenagers, directed by Paul Mercier.The first of the weekly thirteen-part series began broadcasting on 31 October 2006, the date of TG4's tenth anniversary....

    (1 episode, 2006)
  • The Stardust (2006) (Mini-series)
  • Killinaskully
    Killinaskully
    Killinaskully was an Irish television comedy which details the bizarre goings-on in a fictitious Irish village called Killinaskully located in the hills of Ireland. It was actually filmed on location in the villages of Killoscully and Ballinahinch in County Tipperary, the title being a fusion of...

    (1 episode, 2007)
  • The Clinic
    The Clinic (TV series)
    The Clinic is an award-winning Irish primetime television medical drama series produced by Parallel Film Productions for RTÉ. It debuted on RTÉ One in 2003 to positive reviews and proved to be one of the network's most popular shows. The show ran for seven seasons between September 2003 to November...

    (2 episodes, 2005–2008)
  • Val Falvey TD (2008)


Film

  • Fools of Fortune
    Fools of Fortune
    Fools of Fortune is a 1990 British drama film directed by Pat O'Connor and starring Iain Glen, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Julie Christie, Amy Joyce Hastings and Michael Kitchen. It depicts a Protestant family caught up in the conflict between the British army and the IRA during the Irish War of...

    (1990)
  • A Man of No Importance
    A Man of No Importance (film)
    A Man of No Importance is a 1994 comedy drama film directed by Suri Krishnamma and starring Albert Finney.-Synopsis:Alfred Byrne is a closeted homosexual bus conductor in 1963 Dublin. His sister tries to find him a suitable woman, but his real passion is putting on amateur theater productions of...

    (1994)
  • Crossmaheart
    Crossmaheart
    Crossmaheart is a 1998 British drama film directed by Henry Herbert and starring Gerard Rooney, Maria Lennon and Enda Oates. It was based on the novel A Cycle of Violence by Colin Bateman.-Cast:* Gerard Rooney as Kevin Miller* Maria Lennon as Marie...

    (1998)
  • St. Ives
    St. Ives (1998 film)
    St. Ives is a 1998 television film based on the unfinished Robert Louis Stevenson novel, St Ives. The film features Miranda Richardson, Anna Friel, Richard E Grant and Jean-Marc Barr....

    (1998)
  • Ordinary Decent Criminal
    Ordinary Decent Criminal
    Ordinary Decent Criminal is a 2000 crime/comedy film, directed by Thaddeus O'Sullivan, written by Gerard Stembridge. The film is loosely based on the story of Martin Cahill, a famous Irish crime boss.- Plot :...

    (2000)
  • An Everlasting Piece
    An Everlasting Piece
    An Everlasting Piece is a 2000 American comedy film. The movie was directed by Barry Levinson and written by and starring Barry McEvoy. The plot involves two wig salesmen, one Catholic and one Protestant, who live in war torn Belfast, Northern Ireland, in the mid-'80s...

    (2000)
  • Chaos (2002) (I)

  • Bachelors Walk
    Bachelors Walk
    Bachelors Walk was a comedy-drama based around three single men living in a house in Dublin’s Bachelors Walk. The drama was shot in and around Dublin. The programme was first broadcast on RTÉ on 1 October 2001...

    (2002)
  • Veronica Guerin
    Veronica Guerin (film)
    Veronica Guerin is a 2003 Irish biographical film directed by Joel Schumacher. The screenplay by Carol Doyle and Mary Agnes Donoghue focuses on Irish journalist Veronica Guerin, whose investigation into the drug trade in Dublin led to her murder in 1996....

    (2003)
  • The Return of Gelert (2003)
  • The Longest Ditch (An Diog is Faide) (2004)
  • Rógairí (2005)
  • Eden (2008)


External links

  • Enda Oates at the Internet Movie Database
    Internet Movie Database
    Internet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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