Alan Doyle - Life and Career

Life and Career

Doyle was born to Thomas and Regina Doyle in Petty Harbour, Newfoundland, his mother was a piano teacher who taught him. Doyle attended St. Kevin's in Goulds, NL just outside Petty Harbour. Doyle has a brother, Bernie, and two sisters, Michelle and Kim. He was raised Roman Catholic. He attended Memorial University of Newfoundland in St. John's, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. It is also there that he met Séan McCann, Bob Hallett and Darrell Power with whom he helped to form Great Big Sea. He primarily plays electric and acoustic guitars, and the bouzouki for live performances, but he's been known to play mandolin and banjo.

Before Great Big Sea Doyle played in a duo with John Brenton called Staggering Home. As a teen he played in his uncle's band, the New Sandells.

Doyle has also been involved with a handful of stage, television and film productions. As a child, he appeared as an extra in the movie A Whale For The Killing, based on Farley Mowat's book of the same name, which was filmed in his hometown. He has also hosted regional arts awards shows in Atlantic Canada, appeared as a presenter on the Juno Awards and done a turn onstage in his hometown's "24-Hour Musical" performance of Grease. In 2005, he composed music for the CBC comedy Hatching, Matching and Dispatching, which stars Mary Walsh. In 2006, he worked on scoring the film Young Triffie's Been Made Away With, directed by Walsh.

Doyle has been linked to Russell Crowe and his bands 30 Odd Foot of Grunts and The Ordinary Fear of God, having produced and co-written several songs on Crowe's album, My Hand, My Heart, and played several shows with Crowe. This friendship also led to Doyle's casting as Allan A'Dayle alongside Crowe, Cate Blanchett, Kevin Durand, and Scott Grimes in Ridley Scott's Robin Hood, released May 14, 2010. Doyle has also produced an album for his sister, Michelle Doyle.

Doyle's wife Joanne gave birth to their first son in July 2006.

Doyle and Great Big Sea released their tenth album, "Safe Upon The Shore" on July 13, 2010. Great Big Sea headlined Newfoundland-Labrador Night at the 2010 Winter Olympic Victory Ceremony in Vancouver, British Columbia on February 26, 2010.

He collaborated with "Law & Order" music composer Mike Post and wrote and performed a song named "Middle of Nowhere", written for the "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" episode "Broad Channel".

Doyle guest starred on the second episode of season two of the CBC Television series Republic of Doyle which aired on January 19, 2011. He portrayed Wolf Redmond, an inmate sent to prison on charges of B&Es and a few robberies.

Doyle guest starred with Russell Crowe, Kevin Durand, and Scott Grimes on the first show of the Republic of Doyle's third season. Previously, the four had worked together on Robin Hood (2010 film).

In 2012, Doyle released his first solo album, Boy on Bridge. The title is a nod to Doyle's appearance as "the boy on the bridge" in the lesser-known Jaws knock off, "Orca", when he was a young boy. The first single from the album is "I've Seen a Little" and the album features collaborations with Canadian musician Hawksley Workman and actor-musician Russell Crowe, among others.