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Now Viewing: Icon Dan O’Connor

From a young age, Dan was passionate about music and entertaining, his formative years as a singer came through gospel music, singing for over ten years in his local church band. Gospel music presented Dan with many opportunities to perform in front of huge crowds, including half a million in Washington DC. So it was of little surprise that Dan entered himself in the 2004 ‘Australian Idol Competition’ and being a devout Christian, he chose to audition with the church classic ‘I Surrender All’, while in the knowledge that one of the judges had a dislike for religious songs. Despite this he was put through and went on to wow the Australian audiences with his jaw dropping singing talent, including his performance of ‘Amazing’ which won over the voting public resulting in him getting into the final twelve. Dan was eliminated from the competition but took with him his new-found ability to work the crowd and to dress for the occasion, not to mention his new found fame and admiration from the Australian public.

Following his success on Australian Idol, Dan starred in a mobile soap opera transmitted via mobile phones called ‘Random Place’. The show was about five people sharing a house in Bondi Beach and was the first television show produced in a mobile format in Australia.

Dan’s acting talent was noticed by casting directors from ‘Neighbours’, where in 2005 he was offered a role in the hugely successful TV series as the character Ned Parker and quickly became one of the shows most popular characters resulting in a 2006 Logie nomination for ‘Most Popular New Male Talent’. Dan was also a finalist in ‘Cleo’s 2006 Bachelor of the Year Competition’ and was crowned the ‘King of Teen’ at the 2007 ‘Dolly Teen Choice Awards’. Upon receiving the award Dan said, “To have that support and recognition is very overwhelming, you just couldn’t ask for better feedback”.

2006 was a very busy year for Dan, whilst all the Neighbours hype was surrounding him, he was asked to perform in the panto ‘Cinderella’ in Aberdeen, where he proved extremely popular particularly with the ladies in the audience!

After the intense fame that Neighbours brought, Dan appeared in Ricki-Lee Coulter’s ‘Can’t Touch It’ music video in 2007 as a bartender and her love interest. As well as this he has also been on ‘Ready Steady Cook’, ‘Australia’s Brainiest’ and popular Australian show ‘Thank God You’re Here’ which has viewing figures of 1.7 million.

Dan was again seen on stage in 2007 in the pantomime ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ where he played the role of Jack. The show received rave reviews and smashed the theatre’s record on ticket sales.

In September 2008, Dan appeared in the celebrity reality TV series ‘Celebair’, which sees eleven celebrities competing to be the best flight attendant on real flights, with one celeb being voted off each week. Dan proved a hit with the public on the show, finishing in 4th place.

Dan is looking towards a bright and successful future in acting, while also pursuing his music career where he is currently recording his debut album in the rock/pop genre.
 

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