Owen Dara was born in Cork, Ireland. Since leaving his native country he has lived and worked in various parts of the world. He studied as a Drama and Media major at the University of Melbourne, Australia, graduating with a BA in 1994. During his years in Australia, he established himself as a headliner on the Australian comedy circuit and appeared on many TV and radio shows, both as a stand-up comedian and comedic interviewee. During a five-week run as a headliner at a Singapore comedy club, he recorded his first comedy CD: Comedy for Humans.
He has also worked as an actor both on stage and screen. During his first year in Australia, he won the West Australian Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Michael in "The Country Girls" with the Irish Theatre Players, and soon after moving to Los Angeles, he was cast in the role of Tom in the US premiere of "Brighton Beach Scumbags," directed by Irish-American Director Paul Quinn. Owen is also an accomplished singer/songwriter, and has performed and recorded many of his original songs. His latest CD, The Breaking Tide, was released in the summer of 2008.
Owen's first book, White Horses: An Irish Childhood, was released in December 2007. The memoir chronicles Owen’s life from the age of four to twenty, and through the eyes of a child, it delves deeply into the workings of Irish society and the dynamics of an Irish family of the time. His one-man show White Horses: The Solo Show premiered in Los Angeles in 2007. In the spring of 2008 he wrote, directed, and was featured in a short film The Ballad of Tracy Wright. He is currently in preproduction for his first feature film.