Emmett J. Scanlan
Emmett J. Scanlan | |
|---|---|
Scanlan Soccer Aid for UNICEF 2024 | |
| Born | Emmett John Scanlan 31 January 1979 Finglas, Dublin, Ireland |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2004–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
Emmett John "Emo" Scanlan (born 31 January 1979) is an Irish actor, known for playing villainous, bad boy characters. His credits include Hollyoaks (2011-2013), The Fall (2013-2014), Peaky Blinders (2013-2016), Breakdown (2014), In The Flesh (2014), Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), The Tower (2021), Ten Percent (2022), Kin (2022), Fool Me Once (2024), and MobLand (2025).
Early life
Scanlan was born on January 31, 1979, in Dublin.[1]
Career
He played the lovable rogue and bad boy Brendan Brady in Hollyoaks from 2011 to 2013, for which he was nominated and won many soap awards.[2] He appeared alongside Gillian Anderson and Jamie Dornan in the BBC Two drama The Fall (2013-2014).[3]
From 2013-2016, he starred alongside Cillian Murphy in Peaky Blinders,[3] Series 5 and Series 6,[3] and worked alongside Craig Fairbrass, James Cosmo, Bruce Payne, Olivia Grant and Tamer Hassan in Breakdown (2014),[3] .
Scanlan has acted in BBC Three's In The Flesh series 2, and Guardians of the Galaxy (2014).[4] In 2021, he starred as Inspector Kieran Shaw in ITV's The Tower.[5]
In 2022, Scanlan appeared as Marcus MacLeod in the British remake of Call My Agent!: Ten Percent.[3] He played a main role as Jimmy Kinsella in the RTÉ family gangster drama Kin.[3]
In 2024, he starred alongside Michelle Keegan and Adeel Akhtar in the Netflix series Fool Me Once (2024),[3] and worked alongside Pierce Brosnan, Helen Mirren, Tom Hardy, Paddy Considine and Joanne Froggatt, playing a heavy for the Harrigan family in the British Gangster series MobLand (2025).[3]
Personal life
Scanlan married girlfriend Claire Cooper on 31 December 2015 in New York City.[6] On 18 July 2020, she gave birth to a boy named Ocean.[7] In October 2020, Cooper disclosed that she had suffered a miscarriage of their baby the previous year. On 12 November 2022, Cooper gave birth to their daughter.[8][9] Scanlan has a daughter, Kayla, born September 2002 from a previous relationship.
Scanlan is a vegan and supports PETA.[10] He is a supporter of Manchester United.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Triple Bill | Jack | Short |
| 2006 | Studs | Jake | |
| 2006 | Mebollix | Copier man | Short |
| 2007 | Shattered | Matt Connolly | |
| 2008 | Christian Blake | Floyd | |
| 2008 | Anton | Prison Officer McMahon | |
| 2008 | Freakdog | Stranger | |
| 2008 | Colour From The Dark | Luigi | |
| 2008 | The Bet | Anthony | |
| 2008 | Pass Them On | James Collins | Short |
| 2009 | Savage | Gym changing room guy 1 | |
| 2009 | The Rise of the Bricks | Ste | |
| 2009 | 3 Crosses | Jonnie Linski | |
| 2010 | Lapse | Guy | Post-Production |
| 2010 | BLOOD | Guy | |
| 2010 | Imperfect Couple | Him | Short |
| 2010 | Glassjaw | Christian Connolly | Short |
| 2011 | Charlie Casanova | Charlie Barnum | |
| 2011 | Legends of Valhalla: Thor | Sindri | Voice |
| 2011 | Analogue Love | Guy | Short |
| 2012 | Black Coffee | Him | Short |
| 2012 | The Inside | Hughie | |
| 2012 | Big Top | Lead role | Short |
| 2013 | Personal Appearance | Lead role | Short Film |
| 2014 | Patrick's Day | Concierge | Post-Production |
| 2014 | Guardians of the Galaxy[4] | Head Riot Guard | |
| 2016 | Breakdown | Connor Moran | |
| 2018 | In the Cloud | Alfie | |
| 2020 | Here Are the Young Men | Homeless man | |
| 2021 | Lapwing | David | |
| 2024 | Argylle | Handsome man | |
| 2025 | A Working Man | Viper |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | The Big Bow Wow | Robert | 3 episodes |
| 2007 | Paddywhackery | Stephen | 2 episodes |
| 2008 | The Roaring Twenties | Pierre Leguin | 3 episodes |
| 2008–2009 | The Clinic | Jimmy Rice | 2 episodes |
| 2009 | Marú | John Cousins | Episode: "The Murder of John Cousins" |
| 2009 | The Phone | The Operator | 6 episodes |
| 2009 | Mattie | Paul | Episode: "The Pilot" |
| 2010 | The Guards | Diarmuid O'Briain | 2 episodes |
| 2010 | Mariana | Leonard Dalton | 2 episodes |
| 2010 | Hollyoaks: King of Hearts | Brendan Brady | 1 episode |
| 2010–2013 | Hollyoaks | series regular, 340 episodes | |
| 2012 | Hollyoaks Later | 5 episodes | |
| 2013–2016 | The Fall | D.C. Glenn Martin | Series 1 (4 episodes; recurring) Series 2 (5 episodes; main) Series 3 (main) |
| 2014 | In the Flesh | Simon | 6 episodes |
| 2014 | Atlantis | Delmos | 3 episodes |
| 2014–2015 | Constantine | Jim Corrigan | 2 episodes |
| 2015 | A.D. The Bible Continues | Saul of Tarsus | 6 episodes |
| 2015 | No Offence | Andrew Curtis | 8 Part series |
| 2016 | Beowulf: Return to the Shieldlands | Skellen | 13 Part series |
| 2017 | My daughter is missing | Alek | TV movie |
| 2018 | Safe | Josh | 7 episodes |
| 2018 | Butterfly | Stephen Duffy | 3 episodes |
| 2019 | Krypton | Lobo | 4 episodes |
| 2019–2022 | Peaky Blinders | Billy Grade | 5 episodes |
| 2019 | Treadstone | Spencer | 3 episodes |
| 2020 | Gangs of London | Jack O'Doherty | 3 episodes |
| 2020 | The Deceived | Michael Callaghan | 4 episodes |
| 2021 | Kin | Jimmy Kinsella | Main Cast |
| The Tower | Inspector Kieran Shaw | Main Cast[5] | |
| 2022 | Ten Percent | Marcus MacLeod | 3 episodes |
| 2022 | Derry Girls | Mad Stab | 1 episode |
| 2024 | Fool Me Once | Shane Tessier | Main Cast |
| 2025 | MobLand | Paul | 2 episodes |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Result | Award | Category | Film or series | Character |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Won | Finglas Soap Awards | Villain of the Year | Hollyoaks | Brendan Brady |
| Won | British Soap Awards | Best Newcomer | Hollyoaks | Brendan Brady | |
| Shortlisted* | British Soap Awards | Best Actor | Hollyoaks | Brendan Brady | |
| Nominated | British Soap Awards | Best Onscreen Partnership (with Kieron Richardson) | Hollyoaks | Brendan Brady (with Ste Hay) | |
| Shortlisted* | TV Choice Awards | Best Soap Actor | Hollyoaks | Brendan Brady | |
| Shortlisted* | TV Choice Awards | Best Soap Newcomer | Hollyoaks | Brendan Brady | |
| Won | Melbourne Underground Film Festival | Best Actor[11] | Charlie Casanova | Charlie Barnum | |
| 2012 | Shortlisted* | TV Choice Awards | Best Soap Actor | Hollyoaks | Brendan Brady |
| Shortlisted* | British Soap Awards | Best Actor[12] | Hollyoaks | Brendan Brady | |
| Won | Inside Soap Awards | Best Actor[13] | Hollyoaks | Brendan Brady | |
| Won | Inside Soap Awards | Best Bad Boy[13] | Hollyoaks | Brendan Brady | |
| Nominated* | National Television Awards | Outstanding Serial Drama Performance | Hollyoaks | Brendan Brady | |
| Nominated | Irish Film & Television Awards | Rising Star Award | |||
| 2013 | Won | British Soap Awards | Best Onscreen Partnership (with Kieron Richardson)[2] | Hollyoaks | Brendan Brady (with Ste Hay) |
| Shortlisted* | British Soap Awards | Best Actor[2] | Hollyoaks | Brendan Brady | |
| Shortlisted* | British Soap Awards | Villain of the Year[2] | Hollyoaks | Brendan Brady | |
| Nominated | British Soap Awards | Best Exit[2] | Hollyoaks | Brendan Brady | |
| Nominated | National Television Awards | Most Popular Serial Drama Performance | Hollyoaks | Brendan Brady | |
| Won | All About Soap Awards | Forbidden Romance (with Kieron Richardson)[14] | Hollyoaks | Brendan Brady (with Ste Hay) |
- (*) means there were two main rounds of nominations for that category. Shortlisted means he made it to the second and final round of voting.
References
- ^ "RTÉ Television – Hollywood Trials: Emmett Scanlan". Raidió Teilifís Éireann. 2012. Archived from the original on 20 September 2012.
- ^ a b c d e "British Soap Awards 2013 – winners in full". Digital Spy. 18 May 2013. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Emmett J. Scanlan Credits". tvguide.com. Retrieved 5 July 2025.
- ^ a b entertainment (20 April 2014). "We talk to Emmet J. Scanlan about Hollyoaks, Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy and The Fall". Entertainment.ie. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
- ^ a b "Emmett J. Scanlan, Tahirah Sharif and Jimmy Akingbola join the cast of ITV crime thriller, The Tower". itv.com/presscentre. 4 May 2021. Archived from the original on 4 May 2021.
- ^ Gardner, Alison (1 March 2016). "It's a dream come true!' Newlywed Hollyoaks ex Claire Cooper is In The Club!". What's on TV. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
- ^ Saunders, Emmeline (19 July 2020). "Hollyoaks' Claire Cooper gives birth to her and Emmett Scanlan's first baby". Daily Mirror. Reach PLC. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
- ^ Cooper, Claire (10 October 2020). "Claire Cooper on Instagram: "It's baby loss awareness week and although I wasn't quiet about our loss privately, I didn't share it with the public, mainly I didn't have..."". Instagram.
- ^ "'We lost our baby and she almost lost her life' – Emmett J Scanlan on loss, family, and his role in RTÉ drama Kin". independent. 5 September 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
- ^ "'I'm convinced that if we eat meat, we're ingesting bad karma' - Emmett J Scanlan fronts PETA's new pro-vegan campaign". independent.ie. 21 January 2019.
- ^ "Irish Film 'Charlie Casanova' Wins Three Top Awards at Melbourne Film Festival". iftn.ie. 14 September 2012. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
- ^ "British Soap Awards 2012 – winners in full". Digital Spy. 19 April 2012. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
- ^ a b "Ireland's Scanlan wins Best Soap Actor". RTÉ Ten. 25 September 2012. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
- ^ "'Hollyoaks' leads 2013 All About Soap Award winners". Digital Spy. 24 March 2013. Retrieved 19 May 2013.