Chris Walley | Actor

Chris Walley | Actor

Chris has always wanted to entertain people, ever since the days of dressing up in a wig at his granny’s house and entertaining his family as a small child. He remembers being at primary school with all his career choices made, and after starting drama lessons at a young age, it was playing both Flute and Thisbe in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Cork School of Music youth theatre that sealed the deal. He knew he had to pursue his dream of acting.

Just before Chris moved to London to take up a place at RADA, he squeezed in an IFTA-nominated performance as Jock in the Irish comedy film, The Young Offenders. While his ego was slightly bruised that he had to turn up at drama school with Jock’s distinctively styled hair and eyebrows, it was a brilliant opportunity and one that he would later reprise in the TV adaptation. Chris notes that unfortunate haircuts seem to be a theme of his career so far – when RADA released him early to star opposite Aidan Turner in a West End production of The Lieutenant of Inishmore, he found himself sporting a long mullet… A small price to play though for a role that taught him such an incredible amount.

Chris is grateful to have had the opportunity to play such varied roles and says versatility is what he values most in his work. He hopes to keep exploring different characters and to work on more TV and film projects.