Rory Cowan (born 15 July 1959) is an Irish actor and entertainer best
known for portraying Rory Brown in Mrs Brown's Boys from 2011 to 2017,
and for starring in Mrs. Brown's Boys D'Movie in 2014. More recently,
Cowan is playing John Bosco Walsh on the RTE soap opera Fair City.Rory
Cowan was born in the Coombe Hospital in Dublin, Ireland, on
(1959-07-15)15 July 1959 to Rory Cowan Sr., and Esther Cowan. His
parents were trade-union activists, and the Cowans lived in Dublin,
Athlone and Limerick.Cowan's mother wanted him to go into banking, but
Cowan deliberately failed his maths exam in order to avoid this. He
then worked in a record shop owned by EMI, eventually becoming
marketing manager of the holding company in Ireland. While there, he
managed Christy Dignam and the drag act Mr Pussy, and first saw
Brendan O'Carroll in performance. After being made redundant in 1992,
he was asked to book an act for a venue that would bring in similar
crowds to those that had accompanied Mr Pussy and Dignam; and
suggested O'Carroll. As a result of this, he became O'Carroll's
publicist, and has worked alongside him well into the 2010s. Soon
afterwards, O'Carroll developed the Mrs Brown routine, creating the
character of Rory Brown specifically for Cowan, although at first,
Cowan did not take on the role as he was simply "the logistics man"
who organised shows and bookings. The character of Rory Brown
originally appeared in the radio slots, and was originally played on
stage by another actor who resigned at short notice. As a result,
Cowan, despite never having acted in front of an audience before, was
asked to take on the role by O'Carroll, and his deliberately camp
performance quickly became the definitive portrayal. In 2016,
alongside actress Deirdre O'Kane, Cowan was signed up to the Irish
version of Gogglebox, screened by TV3.
known for portraying Rory Brown in Mrs Brown's Boys from 2011 to 2017,
and for starring in Mrs. Brown's Boys D'Movie in 2014. More recently,
Cowan is playing John Bosco Walsh on the RTE soap opera Fair City.Rory
Cowan was born in the Coombe Hospital in Dublin, Ireland, on
(1959-07-15)15 July 1959 to Rory Cowan Sr., and Esther Cowan. His
parents were trade-union activists, and the Cowans lived in Dublin,
Athlone and Limerick.Cowan's mother wanted him to go into banking, but
Cowan deliberately failed his maths exam in order to avoid this. He
then worked in a record shop owned by EMI, eventually becoming
marketing manager of the holding company in Ireland. While there, he
managed Christy Dignam and the drag act Mr Pussy, and first saw
Brendan O'Carroll in performance. After being made redundant in 1992,
he was asked to book an act for a venue that would bring in similar
crowds to those that had accompanied Mr Pussy and Dignam; and
suggested O'Carroll. As a result of this, he became O'Carroll's
publicist, and has worked alongside him well into the 2010s. Soon
afterwards, O'Carroll developed the Mrs Brown routine, creating the
character of Rory Brown specifically for Cowan, although at first,
Cowan did not take on the role as he was simply "the logistics man"
who organised shows and bookings. The character of Rory Brown
originally appeared in the radio slots, and was originally played on
stage by another actor who resigned at short notice. As a result,
Cowan, despite never having acted in front of an audience before, was
asked to take on the role by O'Carroll, and his deliberately camp
performance quickly became the definitive portrayal. In 2016,
alongside actress Deirdre O'Kane, Cowan was signed up to the Irish
version of Gogglebox, screened by TV3.
Share this
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
Join us for free and get valuable content delivered right through your inbox.