| Jonny Owen | |
|---|---|
| Born | Jonathan Tudor Owen 4 July 1971 Merthyr Tydfil, Wales |
| Other names | Jonathan Lewis Owen, Jonathan Owen, Lewis Owen, Jonny Owen |
| Occupation | Actor, Producer, Voice Over Artist, Comedian, Musician, Songwriter |
| Years active | 1991–2001 (as Musician) 2001–Present (as Actor) |
| Spouse | Eleanor Braines |
| Website | |
| http://www.jonnyowen.com/ | |
Jonny Owen (born Jonathan Tudor Owen on 4 July 1971 in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales) is a Welsh actor and producer. As a teenager he was a Welsh Boys Club Boxing champion. In his later teens he was in the 1990s indie band The Pocket Devils as bass player and lead singer/songwriter.[1] Signed to Sanctuary Records in the UK and Pop Music Records in the US they finally split after Owen landed the part of Richey in the Welsh drama series Nuts and Bolts in 1999.
From Nuts and Bolts he landed parts in UK Network series including Murphy's Law with James Nesbitt and Dirty Work with Neil Pearson. It was his meeting with Irvine Welsh when filming the Gene video "Is it over?" that proved pivotal in Owen’s career. He has since worked with Welsh (and his writing partner Dean Cavanagh) on several dramas including Dose for the BBC, Wedding Belles for C4 and Good Arrows for ITV (Owen was also producer).
His 2006 film Little White Lies,[2] won several film festival awards and was featured at the Moscow Film Festival. He played a BNP thug, receiving positive reviews. In 2007 he appeared as Banana Boat in Russell T Davies’s Torchwood.
Owen has also worked extensively as a writer and producer for ITV Wales, including winning the ‘Gwyn Alf Williams Award'[3] at the Welsh Bafta’s for the 40th anniversary documentary of the Aberfan disaster.[4] It was revealed during shooting that Owen’s father was one of the first Welsh miners on the scene in the recovery operation. Owen also did a piece for Cardiff City’s appearance in the FA Cup final for Match of the Day in 2008. It received positive reviews in the broadsheets (The Guardian saying it was the best part of the days coverage) and from football fans across the country.[5]
In 2009 he appeared as regular character Ady in Channel 4's Shameless.[6] Owen has continued in the role of Ady in 2010.
Owen is currently involved in the internet series Svengali[7] where he plays the manager of an up and coming band. It is based on his own experiences in the music industry to the point he has named the character ‘Dixie’ after the manager of his own band. The female lead is played by Smack the Pony's Sally Phillips. Former Creation Records head Alan McGee plays the Svengali 'Dixie' pursues in an effort to get the band he manages signed. The series is written by Dean Cavanagh
2009 also saw the release of the independent film A Bit of Tom Jones?,[8] with Owen in the lead role. The film spread from a limited release in Wales to being shown in selected markets throughout the UK by Vue (cinema).
Owen has written for The Guardian, Telegraph, Metro and Western Mail. He also was the Voice for ITV Wales's Soccer Sunday program from 2002–2008 and did weekly reports from France for ITV during the 2007 Rugby World Cup.
TV – Shameless, Svengali, Torchwood, Wedding Belles, Murphy's Law, Dose, A Mind To Kill, Nuts and Bolts, Soccer Sunday ITV Wales 2004-2008, Soccer Special ITV Wales 2004-2008, Top Sport ITV Wales 2004-2006, Hot Pursuit ITV Wales 2002, Rugby World Cup Special ITV Wales 2003, Rugby World Cup Special ITV Wales 2007, Cancer Awareness BBC Wales 2003
Film – One of the Crowd, A Bit of Tom Jones?, Cow, Good Arrows, Little White Lies, Decidedly Bloody Dodgy
Voice – FA Cup Final Match of the Day BBC Sport 2008, Wales the Week promos ITV Sport 2008, Hospital 24/7 BBC Wales 2008, Aberystwyth Soccer Seven's Sky Sports 2005
Producer – Svengali, Good Arrows, Aberfan ITV Wales/Sky News 2006, The Last Miner, The Tower Colliery Story ITV Wales 2007, Soccer Sunday ITV Wales 2004-2008, The Story of the NHS ITV Wales 2008
also:
Keane Video for the single Atlantic