Biography
Born to parents Owen and Maria, Eugene Charlie Bret Horan grew up in the village of Claregalway, Co. Galway, along with his sister Cora and brother Shane.
Although, always involved in school productions, it wasn't really until after Eugene finished his studies that he fell in love with the art of acting. However, throughout his life he always displayed a creative and artistic streak. Art was a particular favourite subject and during school holidays Eugene earned a living by hand painting and designing wall murals and tattoo's, along with being an official sportswear designer for a Cycling Club. All this, by the age of 18. Always the sports fanatic, Eugene attended the Sir. Bobby Charlton football school & was a finalist in a skills competition, coming second and narrowly missing the opportunity to showcase his talents at the 'Theatre of Dreams', home of his beloved Manchester United. Eugene then turned his attention to sports fitness and nutrition, earned his qualifications and began working in the gym helping others achieve their health and fitness goals. Before long, the Galway man took a chance at his secret ambition- acting. A low budget Irish movie entitled 'Ghosts of Erin', held auditions in Galway and Eugene jumped at the opportunity to take part in his first ever audition. Low and behold, he nailed it and was offered the part. After filming his 1st ever scene and experiencing life on-set, Eugene was officially hooked and caught the acting bug! Meanwhile, auditioning and landing several other minor roles, Eugene was handpicked to represent Ireland at a major acting convention in Los Angeles 2005. Over three thousand acts auditioned throughout the country and Eugene was one of the final eleven selected. While in L.A, Eugene collected two prestigious awards, 3rd place as 'Actor of the Year' and another 3rd place for 'Best Commercial'. Over 10,500 acts from around the world competed so to come 3rd with not one but two awards, made Eugene really believe that he could achieve something big in the industry. Upon reading many write-up's in the Irish newspapers about his success in L.A, Eugene was re-approached by the director of 'Ghosts of Erin', Justin O' Brien. Eugene recalls the phone call vividly; "I have some good news and some bad news, Eugene. The bad news is I am cutting your scene from the movie. The good news is I read about you in L.A and I wanna offer you the chance to audition for a bigger part, sounds like you may be ready for it!" -(Justin O' Brien). Eugene went from a 'one liner' barman to the part of backpacker 'Adam' and had about twenty minutes screen time opposite Hollywood legend Patrick Bergin (Sleeping with the Enemy). Not content with just that, Eugene also performed all of his own stunts in the movie. As it turned out, the movie upped its budget and was renamed 'Ghostwood'. Eugene went on to appear in several Irish T.V programmes, short films and low budget feature films after Ghostwood but 2014 saw the Irishman take his talents across the water with no less than three feature films which are due for worldwide releases in late 2015/early 2016.
Apocalyptic thriller 'Plan Z' was filmed throughout Italy, France, Canada & Scotland. Eugene plays the character of Ronan McBride. In the midst of a zombie apocalypse, the rough and tough Irishman will stop at nothing to ensure his family's safety. Plan Z was represented at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival by Carnaby International and is expected to announce a release date in very near future.
Eugene then turned his attention to David Izatt's 'The Fairy Flag'. The action/fantasy/romance feature has been billed as the biggest movie out of Scotland since Mel Gibson's 'Braveheart'. In fact, all the battle scenes in the movie have been choreographed by the legendary Seoras Wallace, whose work also includes blockbusters such as Braveheart and Gladiator. The movie is set in the 1500's and Eugene plays the role of a monk called Brother Toger. The main advisor within the castle and best friend to the Clan Chief (Chris Capaldi), Toger isn't your typical monk. His heart is certainly in the right place but he too has his demons. The Fairy Flag is expected to Premiere at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival.
In October 2014, Eugene was flown to the south of Spain to film his scenes as British soldier serving in Afghanistan, in the Martin Scorsese produced 'Tomorrow'. Cast along side soul singer & actress Joss Stone, Stephen Fry (The Hobbit)and James Cosmo (Game of Thrones), the uplifting drama is directed by Scorsese's long term script supervisor Martha Pinson. The pair have worked together on such blockbusters as 'Shutter Island', 'Aviator' & 'Hugo'. 'Tomorrow' is written by BAFTA winner Stuart Brennan & Sebastian Street, of which both men also star and is expected to headline the 2015 Toronto Film Festival this September.
Away from life on a film set, Eugene is also quiet the skilled impressionist and voice over artist. He recently lent his voice to the upcoming feature release 'A Christmas Carol' and also in the pipeline, is another voice over role as several characters in a high profile but yet to be announced video game.
In May 2015, the Irishman's impressive range of vocals earned him the ultimate recognition when he stood up in front of a one thousand capacity audience and joined the legendary Al Pacino on stage and performed an impression of the Hollywood icon.
