Deirdre O'Connell (actress)

Deirdre O'Connell
O'Connell at the 75th Tony Awards in 2022
OccupationActress
Years active1985–present

Deirdre O'Connell is an American character actress who has worked extensively on stage, screen, and television. She has won a Tony Award and been nominated for Drama Desk Awards, among other awards and nominations.

Early life[edit]

O'Connell grew up in Massachusetts. She is the oldest of three children of Anne Ludlum, playwright and actress, and Thomas E. O'Connell, founding president of Berkshire Community College. She attended Taconic High School.[1] O'Connell enrolled at Antioch College in Ohio, but withdrew before graduating.[2]

Career[edit]

O'Connell began her career at Stage One, an experimental theatre at the Boston Center for the Arts.[3] She made her Broadway debut in the 1986 revival of The Front Page, and was nominated for the 1991 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play for her performance in the off-Broadway production Love and Anger. She is the recipient of two Drama-Logue Awards and a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for her stage work in Los Angeles.[3][4]

O'Connell made her screen debut in Tin Men. Additional film credits include State of Grace, Straight Talk, Leaving Normal, Fearless, City of Angels, Hearts in Atlantis, Imaginary Heroes, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Wendy and Lucy, What Happens in Vegas, Secondhand Lions, and Synecdoche, New York.

She was a regular on L.A. Doctors and has made numerous guest appearances on series such as Kate & Allie, Chicago Hope, The Practice, Six Feet Under, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and Nurse Jackie. From 1994 to 2010, O'Connell appeared on six episodes of Law & Order, four of them as Dr. Valerie Knight, Anita Van Buren's oncologist in Season 20.

Awards and nominations[edit]

In 2020, O'Connell received a Special Citation from the New York Drama Critics' Circle for career excellence, including her performance in Lucas Hnath's Dana H. at the Vineyard Theatre.[5] She also won the 2010 Ovation Award for Featured Actress in a Play for the role of Judy in the Center Theatre Group production of In the Wake.[6] She received 2020 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Solo Show performance in Lucas Hnath's Dana H. and Lifetime Achievement Award in 2022.[7]

O'Connell was given a special Obie Award in 2005 for sustained excellence of performance and was given a Best Actress award in 2020 for her performance in Dana H.[citation needed]

In 2022, she won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for Dana H.[8]

Filmography[edit]

Film[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
1987 Tin Men Nellie
1988 Stars and Bars Shanda Gage
1989 Misplaced Ella
1990 Brain Dead Mrs. Halsey
1990 State of Grace Irene
1990 Pastime Inez Brice
1992 Falling from Grace Sally Cutler
1992 Straight Talk Lily
1992 Leaving Normal Ellen
1992 CrissCross Shelly
1992 Cool World Isabelle Malley
1993 Fearless Nan Gordon
1995 Smoke Sue
1996 Lifeform Dr. Gracia Scott
1998 City of Angels Mrs. Balford
1999 Just Looking Mrs. Braverman
2001 Hearts in Atlantis Mrs. Gerber
2001 Ball in the House Phyllis
2002 Dragonfly Gwyn
2003 Secondhand Lions Helen
2004 Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Hollis Mierzwiak
2004 Imaginary Heroes Marge Dwyer
2005 Winter Passing Deirdre
2005 A Couple of Days and Nights Cosmo
2006 Stephanie Daley Jane
2007 Trainwreck: My Life as an Idiot Cynthia
2008 What Happens in Vegas Mrs. Fuller
2008 Synecdoche, New York Ellen’s Mother
2008 Wendy and Lucy Deb (voice)
2009 The Greatest Joyce
2009 A Dog Year Donna Brady
2014 Gabriel Meredith
2014 Apartment Troubles Ina
2014 St. Vincent Linda
2014 The Quitter Kathleen Lembo
2016 Detours Beth
2017 The Boy Downstairs Amy
2018 Diane Donna
2018 Lez Bomb Rose
2020 Before/During/After Nancy
2022 The Requin Anne
TBA Eddington Filming

Television[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
1985–1986 Loving Sherri Rescott Watley TV series
1987 Kate & Allie Catherine "Louis in Love"
1990 H.E.L.P. Terrance "Fire Down Below"
1992 Lifestories: Families in Crisis Nancy Carlson "Gunplay: The Last Day in the Life of Brian Darling"
1993 Sirens Off. Heidi Schiller Main role (season 1)
1994 Chicago Hope Ellen Wheeler "You Gotta Have Heart", "Genevieve and Fat Boy"
1994 Law & Order Jane Schuman "Breeder"
1995 Fighting for My Daughter Peggy TV film
1995 Kansas Holly TV film
1995 Trial by Fire Roberta TV film
1996 Our Son, the Matchmaker Winona TV film
1996 Chasing the Dragon Doris TV film
1996–1997 Second Noah Shirley Crockmeyer Regular role
1997 A Deadly Vision Marilyn Middleton TV film
1997 Breast Men Lacey TV film
1998 From the Earth to the Moon Barbara Young "The Original Wives Club"
1998–1999 L.A. Doctors Suzanne Blum Main role
1999 Murder in a Small Town Kate Faxton TV film
2001 Just Ask My Children Ms. Landry TV film
2001 The Practice Jenny Baldwin "Vanished: Parts 1 & 2"
2001 Law & Order Joanna Wilder "All My Children"
2005 Law & Order: Criminal Intent Nina Lipton "The Good Child"
2009–2010 Law & Order Dr. Valerie Knight Guest role (season 20)
2010 You Don't Know Jack Linda TV film
2011 Unforgettable Sue Kelly "With Honor"
2011 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Judge Owens "True Believers"
2012 Person of Interest Joan "Risk"
2012 The Closer Liz Provenza "Fool's Gold"
2014 Nurse Jackie Helen "Rag and Bone", "Candyman", "Sisterhood"
2014–2018 The Affair Athena Bailey Recurring role
2016–2018 The Path Gab Armstrong Recurring role
2017 Madam Secretary Audrey Stewart "Article 5"
2017 The Holdouts Annie TV film
2018 $1 Carol "1.3"
2018 Daredevil Anna Nelson 3 episodes
2021 Tell Me Your Secrets Gayle Scott Episode: "Someone Worse Than Me"
2022 Outer Range Patricia Tillerson 4 episodes
2024 The Penguin Upcoming miniseries

References[edit]

  1. ^ Cassidy, Benjamin (August 2, 2019). "O'Connell returns to Berkshires in WTF's 'Before the Meeting'". The Berkshire Eagle. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
  2. ^ Piepenburg, Erik (March 22, 2016). "Deirdre O'Connell, Theater's Master of the Melancholy Mom". The New York Times. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
  3. ^ a b American Repertory Theatre listing
  4. ^ Filmbug.com
  5. ^ "Heroes of the Fourth Turning and A Strange Loop Named Winners of 2020 New York Drama Critics' Circle Awards". April 16, 2020.
  6. ^ "2009/2010 Ovation Award Winners". January 17, 2011. Archived from the original on February 21, 2014. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
  7. ^ Lucille Lortel Awards Will Honor Deirdre O'Connell and David Henry Hwang
  8. ^ Tony Awards 2022: See the full list of nominees

External links[edit]