Colin Arthur O’Donoghue was born on January 26, 1981 to Mary and Con O’Donoghue. He was born in Drogheda, County Louth and grew up in a Catholic family.
Growing up, he attended schools in the area before joining the Gaiety School of Acting in Dublin, an Irish acting school founded by Joe Dowling in 1986. Joe Dowling is an Irish actor and director. The Gaiety School of Acting runs a two-year program for actors and even offers a master’s degree in association with University College Dublin.
Other notable school graduates include Colin Farrell, Flora Montgomery, Sarah Greene, Lorraine Pilkington, Stuart Townsend, Joanne King, Olivia Wilde, Aidan Turner, Aisling O’Sullivan, Charlie Murphy (the actress), Becky Lynch and Adam Fergus .
At the age of 16, Colin traveled to Paris to learn French.
