Trivia

A former electrician, he maintained electrical equipment at a safari park in Zimbabwe before becoming an actor.

He did not start acting until he was in his mid-twenties.

He was recommended by David Puttnam for the Eighth Doctor in Doctor Who (1996). Cunningham had acted in War of the Buttons (1994), which was produced by Puttnam. Executive Producer Philip David Segal seriously considered him for it, but the Eighth Doctor was eventually cast with Paul McGann. If Cunningham had been cast, he would have been the first non-British actor to play The Doctor.

He left school at at the age of 15.

As of 2017, he has appeared in both the highest grossing Irish independent film, (Lực Lượng Cảnh Sát (2011)), and the second-highest grossing Irish independent film, (The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2006)).