Dublin-born Cal O’Driscoll is having quite the year. In January he was IFTA-nominated for Irish comedy series Video Nasty (Virgin Media Television/BBC). In March, he spent three months in the UK filming alongside Jamie Bell and Charlie Heaton in BBC/Netflix’s untitled Peaky Blinders sequel series.
During an April shooting break, he fitted in a week on Lenny Abrahamson’s semi-autobiographical film Hillside Drive, set in Dublin’s Jewish community in the late 1970s. And he will end 2026 and begin 2027 shooting lead roles in a pair of Irish features: pool-hustling thriller Saint’s Island, starring opposite Moe Dunford, and dark drama Covenant, playing a prodigy hurling player who faces a life-changing injury. The latter film is produced by Jamie Dornan’s production company Blackthorn Films.
O’Driscoll’s casting in the Peaky Blinders sequel – playing the son of a rival gangster to the Shelby clan – feels like kismet for the actor. “It was my Halloween costume for three years in a row,” he explains. “My character is tough, but he’s not trying to be. People respect him because of who he is.”
A natural storyteller from a young age, O’Driscoll spent his childhood making comics and films before discovering acting through the short projects he created himself. He gained experience through Bow Street Academy’s young screen actors programme and juggled screen roles while taking a BA in screenwriting and producing at Ireland’s National Film School, graduating in 2025.
Following roles in several shorts written and directed by his actor/filmmaker friend Seán Treacy, the pair’s latest, Where We Left Off, sees them share a screenplay credit. O’Driscoll plays a young man who returns home from a summer abroad, and is forced to question whether his childhood friendships can survive the new person he has become. Plans are afoot for an international festival run in 2027.
O’Driscoll says he is drawn to stories that explore human behaviour and characters with hidden vulnerabilities: “It’s those roles that scare you, that make you want to learn new things.”
Contact: Rosie Whitcombe, Curtis Brown
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