Occupation Actor Name Jason Donoghue | Years active 1995–present | |
Full Name Jason Morgan Donoghue Born 14 October 1977 (age 46) ( 1977-10-14 ) Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England | ||
Jason Morgan Donoghue (born 14 October 1977) is an English actor, best known for his roles as Shane Swanson in the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, Dominic Pearce in the science-fiction series Outlanders and DI Toby Lawrence in the crime thriller miniseries Murder Incorporated.
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Early life
Donoghue was born in Shrewsbury to parents John and Suzanne (nee Whitelaw) and when he was three-months-old moved to the London Borough of Islington where he was brought up alongside his sisters Louise (born 1974) and Emma (born 1980). Donoghue attended Ashmount Primary School and Central Foundation Boys' School and initially aspired to join the Royal Navy. But after landing a bit part in a pantomime when he was fourteen he chose to become an actor and a sixteen he left school after getting a training placement at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.
Television work
Donoghue's first ever role was when he guest starred in two episodes of the police procedural drama The Bill. However it was his second screen role that turned him into a household name when he was cast as bad boy Shane Swanson in the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, signing a four-year contract to the show and appearing from 1996 until departing in 2000, when Donoghue quit to pursue new roles.
Having now become an accomplished television star Donoghue appeared in various television shows including Queer as Folk, Casualty, Coronation Street, Cutting It and Doctor Who, along with several performances in stage productions.
Following another sixteen–month stint as Shane Swanson on Hollyoaks (2005–07) which ended in January 2007 after Donoghue was axed, Donoghue was cast in the role of Dominic Pearce in the upcoming science-fiction television series Outlanders, making his first appearance as one of the six original protagonists in the series in the pilot episode. Donoghue garnered much critical success and acclaim for his role as Dominic and as one of the cast has been nominated for several BAFTA Awards. The role remains his most successful to date. However following the conclusion of the third series in 2009 Donoghue announced he was quitting and that he would depart after the next series. Donoghue departed the show at the conclusion of the fourth series with Dominic being killed off.
Shortly after departing Outlanders in November 2010 Donoghue announced that he would be returning to Hollyoaks in the new year in his third stint on the show. After appearing in three episodes of Misfits Donoghue filmed his first scenes back in the show in December 2010, making his return to the series on 12 January 2011. In January 2012 Donoghue took a break from Hollyoaks to film several cameo appearances for his character of Dominic in Outlanders and his scenes for the film Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, and returned to the soap opera on 13 July 2012. In September 2013 Donoghue took a second break from Hollyoaks to perform in a Royal National Theatre production of Hamlet. He returned to the show on 25 December 2013.
Awards
As a member of the cast Outlanders Donoghue has won a total of four British Academy Television Awards for Best Drama Series. Donoghue has also been nominated for the British Academy Television Award twice. At the British Soap Awards 2000/2011/2013 Donoghue has been nominated for "Sexiest Male" and in 2012 for "Best Actor". At the Inside Soap Awards 2006/2013 he was nominated for "Best Bad Boy" and won the award at the 2011 Inside Soap Awards.
Filmography
Donoghue made his first film appearance in the 2002 film Once Upon a Time in the Midlands, and he has gone onto make appearances in a further four films, including The Football Factory (2004), Kingdom of Heaven (2005), Attack the Block (2011) and Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013).