Alexx O'Nell

Alexander Leonard O'Neill (born 26 July 1980) is an American actor and musician who has appeared in more than 60 Indian film and television roles. He is best known for L2: Empuraan, Ae Watan Mere Watan, Khufiya, Golondaaj, Roohi, Main Aur Charles, Cheeni Kum, Madrasapattinam, Yeti Obhijaan, Chittagong and Urumi.

Career Before pursuing acting, O'Nell worked at a Connecticut-based marketing firm Lester Inc. His job took him to India, Philippines, the UK, and South Africa. After doing community and regional theater in the U.S. for a while, he appeared in advertisements for Hyundai, Lenovo, Captain Morgan, Roma Switches, Panasonic, Finolex, 7 Up and eSys. He was the brand ambassador for Mouin Glaciere perfumes from 2006 to 2009.

Film and television Hindi-language cinema O'Nell played a small role in the English comedy Loins of Punjab Presents (2007). His first cinematic release was the dry Hindi-language comedy Cheeni Kum (2007) in which he plays a bumbling English waiter with a turbulent relationship with his boss Amitabh Bachchan. In the same year, O'Nell appeared as a contestant on season three of the Indian celebrity dance competition Nach Baliye where he was paired with actor Sweta Keswani. He is the first non-Indian participant on the show by that time.

In 2009, O'Nell played Sweta Keswani's husband in Rohit Roy's made-for-television film Chaar Mulakatein. He was next seen inMalik Ek (2010) featuring Jackie Shroff, Smriti Irani, Rajeshwari Sachdeva, Shakti Kapoor, and Divya Dutta.

O'Nell returned to television for Zee TV's historical drama Jhansi Ki Rani, playing Robert Ellis, a British officer sympathetic to the Rani Laxmi Bai-led 1850s revolutionary struggle against the colonial rule. His character is loosely based on the eponymous historical figure whose relationship with Rani Laxmi Bai is the subject of a fictional book Rani by Jaishree Misra. The book attracted significant controversy for historical revisionism, and was subsequently banned in present-day Jhansi. O'Nell also appeared in a guest role on the Star One TV's Dhoondh Legi Manzil Humein as Ralph, the protagonist's abusive boyfriend.

O'Nell had a supporting role in the contemporary drama Jo Dooba So Paar (2011) alongside Vinay Pathak and Rajat Kapoor. He played an American whose Italian girlfriend gets abducted in Bihar, India. The film opened to extremely mixed review; Rajeev Masand from CNN IBN called it "as boring as watching paint dry," while Nikhat Kazmi from The Times of India praised it for "holding up a charming mirror on the small town milieu."

In early 2012, O'Nell appeared in Chittagong, The film won three National Film Awards. O'Nell also appeared in Shirish Kunder's 2012 film Joker alongside Akshay Kumar and Sonakshi Sinha.

O'Nell was seen in Prawaal Raman's Main Aur Charles (2015) based on the Tihar Jailbreak of 1986 during which O'Nell's Richard Thomas was the unwilling accomplice to Randeep Hooda's Charles Sobhraj, and eventually became his undoing as the state's-witness in the ensuing trial. O'Nell was praised by Filmfare and Hollywood Director Michael Hoffman for his "solid supporting performance".

O'Nell has appeared in Bose Dead/Alive (2017, ALTBalaji miniseries), Inside Edge (2017; Amazon Originals series), Tigmanshu Dhulia's Raag Desh (2017), Roohi (2021), Ae Watan Mere Watan(2024), Khufiya (2023), Phule(2025) and Kesari Chapter 2: The Untold Story of Jallianwala Bagh (2025).

Amazon Prime Video's Bak Bak starring O'Nell and Divya Dutta is expected to release in 2026.

South Indian cinema His breakthrough role came in 2010 with the Tamil 1940s period drama Madrasapattinam in which he starred opposite Amy Jackson and Arya. The film became the 4th highest-grossing film in Kollywood that year, despite not faring well outside of Tamil Nadu. Madrasapattinam was re-released as 1947: A Love Story in Telugu in August 2011.

In 2011, O'Nell was cast in Santosh Sivan's Malayalam film Urumi after being recommended by Madrasapattinam director A. L. Vijay and his costar Italian actor Sita Spada, his co-star in Jo Dooba So Paar. Urumi received widespread critical acclaim, and is considered to be one of the defining films of the Malayalam New Wave. He teamed up with his A. L. Vijay again for a minor role in Thaandavam (2012).

Gangster (2014) and Manglish (2014), both featuring O'Nell alongside South-Indian actor Mammootty, cemented his position in South-Indian cinema. He has since appeared in Lucifer (2019), SyeRaa(2019), RRR (2022), Sweet Kaaram Coffee (2023; Amazon's first Original Series in Tamil) and Captain Miller (2024), and L2: Empuraan (2025).

Bengali cinema O'Nell has also worked in the Tollywood since his debut in 2017 as the main antagonist in Yeti Obhijaan. His role in Golondaaj (2021), alongside Dev Adhikari, earned him a Best Actor nomination from the West Bengal Film Journalists Association in 2022. His most recent Bengali film Pokkhirajer Dim (2025) has received commercial and critical acclaim. He will be seen in Devi Chowdhurani and Raghu Dakat in late-2025.

Personal life The son of a Dutch mother and an Irish-American father, O'Nell was born in Connecticut

He married actor Sweta Keswani in 2007 in four different ceremonies including Buddhist, Hindu, and Christian. The couple separated and divorced in 2011. O’Nell was in a relationship with Shama Sikander from 2011 to 2015.

Filmography

Films Year Film Role Language 2007 Loins of Punjab Presents WesmintonEnglish Cheeni Kum English Waiter Hindi 2009 Chaar Mulakatein Unknown 2010 Madrasapattinam Robert EllisTamil Malik Ek MacMillian Hindi 2011 Jo Dooba So Paar Mike 2012 Urumi Vasco da Gama, Estêvão da Gama and John Thomas (Triple role) Malayalam Chittagong Charles Johnson Hindi Joker Simon Thaandavam Foreign Spy Tamil 2014 Gangster Tom Malayalam Manglish Kevin 2015 Umrika John Hindi Main Aur Charles Richard 2016 Doctor Rakhmabai Dr. David Marathi2017 Raagdesh Lt. Col. P. Walsh Hindi Yeti Obhijaan Caine Shipton Bengali2018 Ek Je Chhilo Raja Rankin Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster 3 Stephen Hindi2019 Lucifer Robert McCarthy Malayalam Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy General Watson Telugu Trial of Satyam Kaushik Captain Richard Johnson Hindi Banarasi Jasoos Frank2021 Roohi Tim Chehre Richard Alexander Bhoot Police Golondaaj Major Frederick Jackson Bengali 2022 RRR British officer Telugu 2023 Khufiya Dr. David White Hindi2024 Captain Miller Riley Tamil Ae Watan Mere Watan John Lyre Hindi 2025 L2: Empuraan Robert McCarthy Malayalam Kesari Chapter 2 Lord Chelmsford Hindi Phule Ribbs Jones Pokkhirajer Dim Villain Saheb Bengali Raghu Dakat Duncan Devi Chowdhurani Captain Munroe Thamma Alexander / Sikander Hindi 2026 Bhooth Bangla Richard Gardener

Television

Discography Year Title Vocals MusicVideo 2020 Arijit Singh (Backing vocals), Himself www.AlexxONell.com/StillOnMyMindMusicVideo 2021 Himself www.AlexxONell.com/TwentyDaysMusicVideo 2023 Himself www.AlexxONell.com/TheseFourWallsMusicVideo Himself www.AlexxONell.com/TheseFourWallsAcousticMusicVideo 2024 Himself www.AlexxONell.com/PrideMusicVideo Himself www.AlexxONell.com/GhostsMusicVideo