Peter McDonald (born 28 January 1972 in Dublin) is an Irish stage and screen actor. He grew up in Mount Merrion in South County Dublin. His mother, Brenda Costigan is a cookery writer and his father, Richard McDonald sells bailer twine. He is related to Leigh McDonald of Australia. He was educated at St Michael's College on Ailesbury Road in Dublin and graduated from University College Dublin with a Bachelor of Arts, English and a Master of Fine Arts, English in 1994. He got his start in theatre while at University. He was part of UCD's very active Drama Society and was a member of Fly by night theatre company. Description above from the Wikipedia article Peter McDonald (actor), licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Biography from TMDB.
- January 28, 1972 (54)
- Dublin, Ireland
- Actor, also writer and producer
- 33 on MovieCove · 56 credits in all
What are Peter McDonald's films like?
Across their 20 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 1 · Earnest 14
A split, not a type: Light 5 · Serious 3 · Dark 7
Grounded 9 · Stylized 6 · Heightened 0
Gentle 3 · Charged 8 · Intense 4
Steady 5 · Shifting 8 · Whiplash 2
A split, not a type: Straight-faced 7 · Some laughs 5 · Funny 3
Slow burn 9 · Even-paced 6 · Relentless 0
A split, not a type: Casual 7 · Engaged 6 · Full focus 2
Easy watch 5 · Affecting 5 · Heavy 5
A split, not a type: Resolved 8 · Open-ended 5 · Ambiguous 2
Roles they play
Usually the Hero: 4 of 10 analyzed roles.
Show the 10 rolesHide the roles
- Heroas Git Hynes in I Went Down (1997)
- Shapeshifteras Michael Lawlor in The Opportunists (1999)
- Shadowas Johnny Lysaght in Felicia's Journey (1999)
- Shadowas Dave in Some Voices (2000)
- Heroas Brendan in When Brendan Met Trudy (2000)
- Heroas Frank Beneventi in Saltwater (2000)
- Heroas MI Staff Officer L in Killing Hitler (2003)
- Shapeshifteras The Machine in The Bachelor Weekend (2013)
- Shadowas Peter Morrissey in England Is Mine (2017)
- Threshold guardianas The High Sheriff for the Council of State in The Delivered (2019)
Moods and endings
- Happy3
- Bittersweet12
- Ambiguous5
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Peter McDonald's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 26 of their 33 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (12).
- MI-5 (2002) · actor · free
- Felicia's Journey (1999) · actor · free
- I Went Down (1997) · actor · free
- Some Voices (2000) · actor · free
- Dublin Murders (2019) · actor · free
- Thirteen (2016) · actor · free
- The Delivered (2019) · actor · free
- The Bachelor Weekend (2013) · actor, writer, producer · free
- Wreckers (2011) · actor · free
- England Is Mine (2017) · actor · free
- Mayday (2013) · actor · free
- Woken (2023) · actor · free
- BritBox
Subscription and free streaming for Peter McDonald's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
56 credits, 33 with a MovieCove page.

Power Ballad(2026)
Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all films
Gone(2026)
Midcredits score: 48th percentile of all shows
Saipan(2025)
Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all films
Bagman(2024)
Midcredits score: 9th percentile of all films
The Penguin(2024)
Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all shows
Woken(2023)
Midcredits score: 23rd percentile of all films
This Town (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)

The Batman(2022)
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films
Hollington Drive(2021)
Midcredits score: 10th percentile of all shows
The Dig(2021)
Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all films
Mandy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2020)
Older Normal People (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2020)

Dublin Murders(2019)
Midcredits score: 61st percentile of all shows
The Delivered(2019)
Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all films
Finding Joy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)

A Discovery of Witches(2018)
Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all shows
England Is Mine(2017)
Midcredits score: 31st percentile of all films
Murder (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)
Murder: The Third Voice (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)

Thirteen(2016)
Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all shows
The Last Kingdom(2015)
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all shows
No Offence(2015)
Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all shows
The Bachelor Weekend(2013)
Midcredits score: 48th percentile of all films
Mayday(2013)
Midcredits score: 28th percentile of all shows
Ripper Street(2012)
Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all shows
Moone Boy(2012)
Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all shows
Titanic (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)
The Oscar Nominated Short Films 2012: Live Action (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)

Wreckers(2011)
Midcredits score: 41st percentile of all films
Pentecost (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)

The Damned United(2009)
Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films
Spacemen Three (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)

City of Vice(2008)
Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all showsThe Family Man (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)

Festival (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)

Shadow of the Sword (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)
God's Early Work (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)

Green Wing (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)

Sea of Souls (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)
Ape (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)

Spin the Bottle (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)

Killing Hitler(2003)
Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films
MI-5(2002)
Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all shows
No News from God(2001)
Midcredits score: 50th percentile of all films
Blow Dry(2001)
Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all films
When Brendan Met Trudy(2000)
Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all films
Paths to Freedom (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)

Saltwater(2000)
Midcredits score: 42nd percentile of all films
Some Voices(2000)
Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films
The Opportunists(1999)
Midcredits score: 37th percentile of all films
Nora (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)

Felicia's Journey(1999)
Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films
Guy's Dog (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)

Captain Jack (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)

Kings in Grass Castles (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1998)

I Went Down(1997)
Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films
Career shape
Star power in the 97th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 55 titles from 1997 to 2026; peak year 2023.
Film career
Peak 2023 · at the high point of their film career. Top draw in 6 MovieCove titles. Film roles by billing, audience size and rating; 25+ votes. A show carries a single first-air date, so shows are not on the curve.
- 1997Screen debut· I Went Down
- 2019Career best· Dublin Murders
- 2022Career best· The Batman
Billing
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored. Billing is TMDB cast order for roles with 25+ votes, billed in the top 30; the columns are the share of top-billed roles in each era, 5-year spans from the year on the label, merged until each holds at least 5 roles.
How do Peter McDonald's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 54th percentile, the median of all 20; across their 15 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 45th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up11
- 50th to 74th10
- 25th to 49th9
- Below 25th3
Shape of the crowd
None of their 33 titles divides audiences: 15 are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved8
- Crowd Pleaser15
- Broadly Agreed2
- Mixed8
Reviewers score the acting 77/100 in their films, across 15 reviewed titles; fans 84, detractors 55. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Peter McDonald's work okay for kids?
Across up to 5 MovieCove titles with content scores, sex & nudity runs lighter than most films.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.
Who does Peter McDonald work with?
People who share at least 2 of Peter McDonald's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Robert Walpole shares the most, 4.
Writers
- Conor McPhersonShared titles: Saltwater (2000), I Went Down (1997)See all 2 shared titles with Conor McPherson

Actors
- David MorrisseyShared titles: Gone (2026), Some Voices (2000)See all 2 shared titles with David Morrissey

- Jodie McNeeShared titles: Gone (2026), Hollington Drive (2021)See all 2 shared titles with Jodie McNee

- Marcella PlunkettShared titles: Power Ballad (2026), The Bachelor Weekend (2013)See all 2 shared titles with Marcella Plunkett

- Maxine PeakeShared titles: Woken (2023), The Delivered (2019)See all 2 shared titles with Maxine Peake

Editors
- Emer ReynoldsShared titles: Saltwater (2000), I Went Down (1997)See all 2 shared titles with Emer Reynolds

Producers
- Robert WalpoleShared titles: Power Ballad (2026), The Bachelor Weekend (2013), Saltwater (2000), I Went Down (1997)See all 4 shared titles with Robert Walpole
- Compton RossShared titles: Woken (2023), The Delivered (2019), England Is Mine (2017)See all 3 shared titles with Compton Ross

- Phil HuntShared titles: Woken (2023), The Delivered (2019), England Is Mine (2017)See all 3 shared titles with Phil Hunt

- Rod StonemanShared titles: Saltwater (2000), When Brendan Met Trudy (2000), I Went Down (1997)See all 3 shared titles with Rod Stoneman

