Biography

Dan O'Brien is an American actor of Irish and Italian descent. He debuted off-off Broadway in 1997 to critical acclaim from Village Voice critic Alexis Soloski, in New Dramatist playwright, Sander Hick's play, 'Sealove, Manager' at the Ohio Theater, Wooster St. New York. After completing his education at the University of Notre Dame, Dan returned to New York and became what theatre critic Martin Denton called an "Indie-theater all-star." Briefly working as the Administrative Director of the New York International Fringe Festival - he auditioned for a play at the Present Company Theatorium on his lunch break and was cast in Village Voice Theater Editor, Brian Park's, American Absurdum, winning a Fringe First Award with the Production at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2000.

New York Theater-

O'Brien performed in over twenty productions at some of New York's finest Off Broadway and independent theaters, including Anne Bogart's SITI Company Studio at Columbia, MCC, The Atlantic, The Flea, Here Arts, The Vineyard, The Ohio, Collective Unconscious, The Present Company Theatorium, The Kraine, Hudson Shakespeare Company, East Village Latino Arts Center Charas El Bohio, and La Plaza Cultural.

While working at the The Red Room theater on East Fourth Street he met playwright and actress Julie Shavers. They founded Black Rocking Chair productions in 2004 and produced Julie's work to critical praise by Terry Teachout at the New York International Fringe Festival, as well as The Edinburgh Fringe Festival, The Ohio Theater, PS 1, and barns and stages across Tennessee.

Commercials and Sitcoms -

Dan became a favorite of NY commercial casting directors and production companies working in a series of funny television commercials in the early 2000's, with directors like Academy Award Winner Erol Morris(Fog of War), Documentarian Chris Smith(Senior), comedians Martin Granger, David Shane, Jim Jenkins, and others winning several Cannes awards for commercials. The visibility got Dan's deadpan comedic style noticed by Hollywood sitcom producers who requested him to screen test, notably Family Guy writer, Ricky Blitt for 'Romantically Challenged' opposite Allyssa Milano, Ben Stiller for 'The Station' with John Goodman, and 'Will and Grace' producers Max Mutchick and David Kohan.

Leaving New York for Los Angeles in 2011 Dan quickly joined the cast of a NBC's Thursday night prime-time sitcom, 'Whitney,' from 2011-2013. Dan also guest starred on popular television series like 'Grey's Anatomy,' 'How I Met Your Mother,' 'Law and Order,' 'Ray Donovan,' 'The Affair,' 'American Housewife' and others. CBS cast O'Brien in their 2018 pilot "Pandas in New York" by Ajay Sahgal. Dan developed several major motion pictures in early readings by Aaron Sorkin, "The Trial of the Chicago Seven" and Beau Willimon's 'Farragut North' later "Ides of March."

Voice overs -

O'Brien is a leading commercial voice over talent notably voicing the television and radio campaigns for Sprint from 2014 until they were acquired by T-Mobile in 2019. Other notable campaigns voiced by O'Brien include Zillow from 2014-2019, PNG 2015, Tangerine Bank, 2014-15 and Nutro Dog Food from 2017 to the present.

Dan has directed plays and musicals in New York and Edinburgh: Julie Shaver's "Go Robot Go" at the NY Fringe, Nick Colt's puppet musical 'Birdy and Golden Putter' at the Gene Frankel Theater, and Shavers' 'Silver Bullet Trailer' at The Ohio Theater. He directed Shavers' play 'Mary Go Nowhere' developed at The Sewanne Writers Conference with Paula Vogel at the Assembly Rooms in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2017. He has directed a series of award winning short films with puppeteer Matty Austin, 'Healing Old Wounds' and 'Healing Old Wounds, Trick or Treatment.' From 2019 to the present O'Brien has hosted a satirical web series as Fr. Daniel Malarky treating clergy who suffer from Notre Dame Football related anxiety.

Producing -

O'Brien is producing a film with Academy Award winner Johnathan King and Concordia Media ('Spotlight' 'Greenbook') written by Pulitzer nominated playwright Theresa Rebeck, based on the life of defrocked priest Rev. Marek Bozek of Poland who fought the Vatican to keep an inner city Polish parish from closing in St. Louis and paid with his priesthood.

- IMDb Mini Biography By: anonymous