Summary
Over the years of production ofThe Omenmovies, several actors have stepped in to play the role of Damien. As the main character in the films,Damien is an unassuming young child who turns out to be the Antichrist. From there, he wreaks havoc on the characters around him as the spirit of Satan comes out, with Damien killing all those who oppose him and for his gain. As the series continues, audiences witness Damien grow up into a genuinely evil man inThe Omenseries.
Damien is not featured in the most recent installment in the series,2024’sThe First Omen. This exclusion is by nature ofThe First Omenbeing a prequel to the main series, showing events that lead up to the 1976 film. Even though the character is absent from the most recent installment, Damien is still the most critical element of the majority ofThe Omenseries, and over the years, his role has been inhabited by many main actors.
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Noel O’Connell
Infant Damien In 1976’s The Omen
The very first iteration of Damien is played by Noel O’ConnellinThe Omen. O’Connell plays the baby version of Damien who is brought home by Robert and Katherine at the beginning of the movie. As an infant, O’Connell doesn’t have to do any acting, but nonetheless, his presence is still pivotal. The Thorn couple is grieving the loss of their stillborn child and uses baby Damien as a point of hope in their grief.
Damien was not the only role that O’Connell played in his infancy. In the same year, the actor played Young Tommy in six episodes ofWhen the Boat Comes In. He then appeared as a character named Job Tray inExploits at West Poleyin 1985, butdid not go on to have an acting career into adulthood.
Harvey Spencer Stephens
Child Damien in 1976’s The Omen
Throughout the majority of the first film, it is Stephens who takes on the role of Damien. The child actor delivers a franchise-critical performance, as he provides the series introduction to the demonic child at the film’s core.InThe Omen, Damien is unaware that he is the son of Satan, so the audience must watch this child go on a journey of ignorance to sadist tendencies as he destroys his family members. The 1976 film was the only movie to feature Stephens on screen, but the 1991 sequelOmen IV: The Awakeninglater featured him in archival material.
Cast at five years old,The Omenwas Stephens’ first on-screen performance. As in the case of O’Connell, he did not go on to have an acting career as an adult. In 2006, he made a cameo appearance inThe Omenremake as Tabloid Reporter #3, but he has not appeared in any films since.
Jonathan Scott-Taylor
Teenage Damien in Damien: The Omen II
Though the follow-up toThe Omenwas released in theaters only two years after the original film, the next feature time jumps several years.Damien: The Omen IIkicks off as the character is about to turn thirteen, and finally learns about his Satanic destiny. Playing this newly-minted teenage Damien is Jonathan Scott-Taylor, who was 16 years old at the time of the film’s release.
Scott-Taylor got his start in acting a few years beforeThe Omensequel, playing a character named Andrew in an episode ofTen from the Twenties. AfterDamien: The Omen II, the young actor went on to play small roles in a couple of other TV series, includingThe Mill on the Floss,Tales of the Unexpected, andSaturday Night Thriller.His last on-screen role was in 1988when he played a character named Berry in two episodes of a TV miniseries calledTroubles.
Sam Neill
Adult Damien in The Omen III: The Final Conflict
By the time the third (but, contrary to the title, not final) installment ofThe Omenwas released in 1981, Damien’s child days were long gone. After the events ofOmen II, Damien has now descended into being theAntichrist in his adult years. Sam Neill is by far the biggest and best-known actor to play Damien in any film in the franchise. He was the first adult to play the character, portraying the part at the age of 34.
ThoughNeill had not yet played his career-defining role inJurassic Parkwhen he was inThe Omen III, he was already a working actor by the time he was in the horror film. A couple of years before, he played a lead role in the Australian filmMy Brilliant Career, as well as a few smaller roles. Now 76 years old, Neill is still a working actor whose recent projects include roles inThe Twelve,Apples Never Fall, andBring Him to Me.
Tomas Wooler
Infant Damien in 2006’s The Omen Reboot
Thirty years after the original release ofThe Omen, John Moore directed a poorly received remake of the iconic film. Rather than continueThe Omenfranchise,the film was a direct remake that starred Liev Schreiber and Julia Stiles as Robert and Katherine Thorn. Like the 1976 version, Damien begins as a newborn baby whom the couple adopts. He then grows into infancy, where he is played by Tomas Wooler, playing the role previously occupied by O’Connell in the original film.
The Omenwas, of course, Wooler’s first role, andthe child actor did not go on to be in any other filmsfollowing his appearance in the horror film. This continues the trend of Damien child actors cutting their careers off after appearing inThe Omen, as many of the actors did not go on to act in films in their adulthood.
Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick
Child Damien in 2006’s The Omen Reboot
In the final movie with Damien, the child version is played by Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick. Given Stephens’ crucial performance in the role in the original film, finding a child actor to play the antichrist role was critical.The Omenremake team decided to choose a child that looked relatively similar to Stephens, giving Damien a likeness to what the child actor looked like in the original film.
Davey-Fitzpatrick was only seven years old whenThe Omenwas released, putting him around six years old during filming and five or six at the time of casting. Unlike many other Damien stars, the child actor went on to have several roles after his appearance inThe Omen. In 2012,he played a character in Wes Anderson’s masterfulMoonrise Kingdom, followed by an appearance in Richard Linklater’sBefore Midnightin 2013. Now 25 years old, it seems Davey-Fitzpatrick’s career has slowed down in recent years, as he has not had an on-screen role since 2020.
The Omen
Cast
The Omen (2006) is a horror film directed by John Moore, starring Liev Schreiber, Julia Stiles, and Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick. The film is a remake of the 1976 classic, following Robert Thorn as he suspects his adopted son, Damien, may be the Antichrist. The narrative delves into themes of supernatural destiny and parental fear, retaining the ominous and suspenseful atmosphere of the original.
