[1][3] He joined YouthAction NI's Rainbow Factory, a cross-community drama troop for Catholic and Protestant children and also got to spend time in the United States in the summer as part of an exchange programme.

[1][3] His mother found a role for him by checking the local newspapers, and he soon won the stage production part of the Artful Dodger in Oliver Twist.

[3] Popular in Northern Ireland for various sketches (including the trendy priest) in Dry Your Eyes, he had a feature role in a short film by Simon Fitzmaurice called The Sound of People.

[4] McCann had a role in the film My Boy Jack (as Guardsman Bowe), about Rudyard Kipling and his son, who was killed in World War I.

[1] McCann played Sergeant R. V. Burgin in the miniseries The Pacific, produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, which aired in March 2010.

He contacted Lord Attenborough's assistant to send Spielberg samples of his work to increase his chances of getting the role.