Chris O'Dowd

Chris O’Dowd is an Emmy-winning Irish actor and comedian best known for his roles in Bridesmaids, The IT Crowd and The Big Door Prize. Born in Roscommon, Ireland, as the youngest of five children, he studied politics and sociology at University College Dublin before transferring to the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art to pursue acting.

O’Dowd began his career with appearances on British television, gaining attention with his role as Roy Trenneman on the Channel 4 comedy The IT Crowd, which aired from 2006 to 2013. His performance in the cult-favorite sitcom brought him wider recognition and opened the door to film roles.

He later broke into Hollywood with his supporting role as Officer Rhodes in Bridesmaids in 2011. O’Dowd has since appeared in This Is 40 (2012), The Sapphires (2012), St. Vincent (2014), Juliet, Naked (2018) and Slumberland (2022). In 2019, he was awarded the Emmy for Outstanding Actor in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series for his performance as Tom on State of the Union. He created and starred in the Emmy-winning series Moone Boy and, in 2023, joined the cast of the Apple TV+ series The Big Door Prize as Dusty.

O’Dowd married British TV presenter and writer Dawn O’Porter in 2012. The couple welcomed their first child, son Art, in 2015, and their second child, son Valentine, in 2017.