Chris O'Dowd & ABC Developing U.S. Adaptation of MOONE BOY

According to Deadline, a U.S. adaptation of Chris O'Dowd's UK series MOONEY BOY, has been picked up by ABC with a put pilot commitment.

The series revolves around a young boy who relies on the help of his imaginary friend to deal with the quandaries of life in a wacky, small-town Irish family in the 1980s.

The series was recognized by the Irish Film and Television Awards as "Best Entertainment Programme" and O'Dowd was nominated for "Best Supporting Actor - TV" and "Best Script Drama." Additionally the show was nominated for "Best New Comedy Programme" by the British Comedy Awards. "Moone Boy" premiered on Sky One in the UK. The show has been picked up for a third season and in addition to writing and producing, O'Dowd direct.

O'Dowd will write the pilot's script, though will not star.

Chris O'Dowd will next be seen in the Untitled Lance ArmstrongProject for Working Title directed by Stephen Frears opposite Ben Foster. Theatre credits include the critically acclaimed and sold out Druid production of The Playboy of the Western World directed by Garry Hynes and the Royal Court production of Under the Blue Sky. Chris was most recently seen starring in Wayne Blair's The Sapphires. Chris plays Dave, the manager of four young and talented Australian Aboriginal girls as they learn about love, friendship, and war when their singing group "The Sapphires" entertains the US troops in Vietnam. The film, already released in Australia breaking box office records, garnered Chris the AACTA Award (Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts) for "Best Lead Actor" and The Sapphires won the award for "Best Film." The film screened at various film festivals throughout the world and received several awards and nominations for Best Feature. The Sapphireswill be released in the US by The Weinstein Company on March 22nd.

Chris is well known for his starring role in Bridesmaids opposite Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph. For his role in the film, Chris was nominated for a BAFTA "Rising Star Award," a Screen Actor's Guild Award for "Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture" and won the Irish Film and Television Award for "Best Supporting Actor - Film." Bridesmaids, directed by Paul Feig and produced by Judd Apatow, received two Oscar nominations, a Golden Globe Award nomination for "Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical," and was recognized by AFI as "Movie of the Year." The film also won a Critics' Choice Movie Award for "Best Comedy Movie," a People's Choice Award for "Favorite Comedy Movie" and was recognized by individual critics' groups throughout the country for "Best Acting Ensemble." Bridesmaids was also a box office success making almost $300 million worldwide.

Chris' other upcoming features include John Michael McDonagh's Calvary opposite Kelly Reilly and Brendan Gleeson and James Griffiths' Cuban Fur opposite Rashida Jones and Ian McShane. Chris also stars in the HBO/BBC series "Family Tree" which was created by Christopher Guest and Jim Piddock. Chris wrote and produced a TV series based on his childhood titled "Moone Boy."

Chris was recently seen starring in Lena Dunham's HBO series, "Girls" and Judd Apatow's This is 40. His other film credits include Thor 2 oppositeNatalie Portman; Chris Wedge's animated film Epicopposite Jason Sudeikis, Amanda Seyfried, and Aziz Ansari;Jennifer Westfeldt's Friends with Kids opposite Jon Hamm, Adam Scott, Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph; Jay Roach's Dinner for Schmucks opposite Paul Rudd and Steve Carell; Rob Letterman's Gullivers Travels starring opposite Jack Black, Jason Segel, and Emily Blunt; Richard Curtis' FOX, The Boat that Rockedopposite Phillip Seymour Hoffman; and Gareth Carrivick's Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel opposite Anna Faris.

Chris also starred inFestiva which was nominated for two BAFTA Awards including "Best British Film," and won him a BAFTA Scotland Award for "Best Actor in a Scottish Film." Chris' other television credits include starring in the cult comedy series, "The It Crowd" for Channel 4 Television and the critically acclaimed series "Crimson Petal & The White", a four part adaptation of Michael Faber's best-selling novel directed by Marc Munden for BBC. He is well known in Ireland for having starred in the popular RTÉ One drama "The Clinic", which earned him a nomination for an Irish Film & Television Award in 2003.

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