Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1546062
sagaftra.org | Summer 2026 | SAG -AF TR A 55 W hat does it take to break records and garner 11 Grammys, two Academy Awards and two Golden Globes, all while still in your 20s? A conversation between acclaimed recording artist Finneas O'Connell and SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director & Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland on a recent episode of the SAG-AFTRA podcast reveals that it might just be an exceptional appetite for hard work. For the multifaceted O'Connell, who recently received much praise for his original score for the second season of the Netflix drama Beef, that work ethic, along with the grounded understanding of the rigors of show business, was forged early in life. Coming of age in a creative family, the Los Angeles native witnessed firsthand the side hustles and odd jobs needed to sustain a performing artist household. "My mom has kept our SAG health insurance alive doing [automated dialogue replacement and] loop group for my whole life," O'Connell said of his mother, SAG-AFTRA member Maggie Baird, who has appeared in daytime dramas such as Another World and As the World Turns, along with series ranging from L.A. Law to The X-Files. She would also "bake wedding cakes for people. She would teach various classes [...] She used to be a member of the Groundlings and then became a teacher at the Groundlings and taught fitness classes also." O'Connell's father, SAG-AFTRA member Patrick O'Connell, took roles on Guiding Light, The West Wing and others. Between acting gigs, he worked as a handyman and at a motel. "The thing that was always illustrated to us," O'Connell said, referring to himself and his pop sensation sister Billie Eilish, "was that the thing you're passionate about is worth doing, and maybe it'll make you some money and maybe it'll make you none. But to live a life that you're passionate about is the important thing. And that if you can subsidize that in some way, then that's a vision of success." Performing Arts as a Family Business O'Connell is currently one of the most sought-after music producers of his generation, though his first taste of industry experience came via acting. He credits accompanying his parents to auditions for giving him the impression, even at a young age, that although pursuing a career in entertainment required diligence, it was still "good fun." Landing his first acting roles in 2011, O'Connell earned his union card with voiceover work. His first on-screen job was in Bad Teacher, where he found "being DAVID FISHER/SHUTTERSTOCK THIS HISTORY-MAK ING RECORDING ARTIST SHARES HIS JOURNE Y AND HIS PAS SION. FINNEAS For tune Favors Finneas O'Connell at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on Jan. 26, 2020, with his Grammys for Best New Artist; Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album for When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?; and Record of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance for "Bad Guy."