Denis O'Dea
Born: 1905-04-26 in Dublin, Ireland
Died: 1978-11-05
Known For: Acting
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).
Filmography
1960
- Esther and the King as Mordecai
- Cradle of Genius as Self
1959
- Darby O'Gill and the Little People as Father Murphy
- I Captured the King of the Leprechauns as Father Murphy
1957
- The Rising of the Moon as Police Sergeant Tom O'Hara (segment '1921')
- The Story of Esther Costello as Father Devlin
1955
- Captain Lightfoot as Regis Donnell
1953
- Niagara as Inspector Starkey
- Mogambo as Father Josef
- Sea Devils as Lethierry
1951
- Captain Horatio Hornblower R.N. as RAdm. Sir Rodney Leighton
- The Long Dark Hall as Sir Charles Morton
- Never Take No for an Answer as Father Damico
1950
- Treasure Island as Dr. Livesy
1949
- Under Capricorn as Mr. Corrigan
- The Bad Lord Byron as Prosecuting Counsel
- Marry Me as George Saunders
- Landfall as Captain Burnaby
1948
- The Fallen Idol as Inspector Crowe
1947
- Odd Man Out as Inspector
- The Mark of Cain as Sir William Godgrey
1936
- Beloved Enemy as Sean's I.R.A. Friend (Uncredited)
- The Plough and the Stars as The Covey
1935
- The Informer as Street Singer
- Guests of The Nation