BEST known as Lewis Butler by BBC One viewers, Aidan O’Callaghan is becoming a household name in the UK.
But before his stint in EastEnders provoked a whirlwind of reactions – including calls to his parents – he took on a series of improbable jobs.
Albert Square has seen numerous villains walk in its paved streets over the decades, from ruthless thugs to bloodthirsty serial killers in the likes of Gray Atkins.
However, with actor Toby-Alexander Smith turning away from Walford in March, 2022, another was chosen to take his place.
This led to 33-year-old Cork actor Aidan O’Callaghan to take his first steps in the fictional London borough, ready to wreak psychological havoc as part of Ben Mitchell’s rape storyline.
Before he was thrown into life in the spotlight, Aidan worked a number of surprising jobs which included a time in an Aldi superstore as shown on his Instagram account.
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In May, 2021, he then recalled how he went about acting jobs without an agent in 2015.
Aidan notably worked on a campaign for financial company Amigo Loans.
“25-year-old agentless me in 2015: ‘I’m doing an advert for Omega, the watch brand (?) I think, should be fun'”, he captioned.
Several of his 5,186 followers replied, stunned by his jump into fame.
“Amazing”, one of them penned as another added: “you don’t need an agent, you got this.”
Aidan’s acting chops eventually led him straight to EastEnders, although it has been said he works as a pharmacist during his off days after studying at the Trinity College in Dublin.
He was selected to play the part of Prince Albert bartender and manager Lewis Butler and was well-liked during his first appearance in the long-running drama in April, 2022.
Since then, he has shown his true colours and fans have grown to intensely dislike him after he attacked Ben.
Unfortunately for Aidan, some viewers struggle with boundaries between life off and on-screen.
Aidan took to Twitter on June 8, to thank his fans – before revealing both of his parents received phone calls from viewers at their works.
“Thanks everyone for sending messages and support about EastEnders. I’m really grateful, but please don’t be calling my parents at their work. That’s too far”, he wrote.
