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Denis O'Dea

Acting Born Apr 26, 1905 Dublin, Ireland 24 credits

Biography

Denis O'Dea (26 April 1905 – 5 November 1978) was an Irish stage and film actor.

He was born in Dublin and attended Synge Street CBS. When very young he and his mother Kathleen (from County Kerry) moved in with her sister, who kept a boarding house at 54 South Richmond Street. He worked in insurance until taking up acting. O'Dea was a leading member of Dublin's Abbey Theatre where he had a great acting career from 1929 to 1953; a list of his performances can be found in the Abbey archives. He also appeared in numerous plays by Irish playwright Teresa Deevy, some of which toured New York and England. His work led to a number of notable film roles, including two mid-1930s John Ford films, The Informer and The Plough and the Stars (1936), and the part of the police inspector in pursuit of IRA man James Mason in Carol Reed's Odd Man Out (1947).

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Known for

Ripcord

as Dr. Livesy
Film

Niagara

as Inspector Starkey
Film

Darby O'Gill and the Little People

as Father Murphy

Physics or Chemistry

as Inspector Crowe
Film

Esther and the King

as Mordecai

Full filmography

  • Treasure Island (1950) as Dr. Livesy
  • Niagara (1953) as Inspector Starkey
  • Captain Horatio Hornblower R.N. (1951) as RAdm. Sir Rodney Leighton
  • Darby O'Gill and the Little People (1959) as Father Murphy
  • Mogambo (1953) as Father Josef
  • Sea Devils (1953) as Lethierry
  • The Informer (1935) as Street Singer
  • The Fallen Idol (1948) as Inspector Crowe
  • Under Capricorn (1949) as Mr. Corrigan
  • Beloved Enemy (1936) as Sean's I.R.A. Friend (Uncredited)
  • Odd Man Out (1947) as Inspector
  • Captain Lightfoot (1955) as Regis Donnell
  • Esther and the King (1960) as Mordecai
  • Marry Me (1949) as George Saunders
  • The Story of Esther Costello (1957) as Father Devlin
  • The Mark of Cain (1947) as Sir William Godgrey
  • The Long Dark Hall (1951) as Sir Charles Morton
  • I Captured the King of the Leprechauns (1959) as Father Murphy
  • The Plough and the Stars (1936) as The Covey
  • Landfall (1949) as Captain Burnaby
  • The Rising of the Moon (1957) as Police Sergeant Tom O'Hara (segment '1921')
  • The Bad Lord Byron (1949) as Prosecuting Counsel
  • Never Take No for an Answer (1951) as Father Damico
  • Cradle of Genius (1960) as Self