Denis O'Dea
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).
Personal Details
Also Known As
Movies (25)
Esther and the King
as Mordecai
1960
Cradle of Genius
as Self
1960
Darby O'Gill and the Little People
as Father Murphy
1959
I Captured the King of the Leprechauns
as Father Murphy
1959
The Story of Esther Costello
as Father Devlin
1957
The Rising of the Moon
as Police Sergeant Tom O'Hara (segment '1921')
1957
Captain Lightfoot
as Regis Donnell
1955
Mogambo
as Father Josef
1953
Sea Devils
as Lethierry
1953
Niagara
as Inspector Starkey
1953
Never Take No for an Answer
as Father Damico
1951
Captain Horatio Hornblower R.N.
as RAdm. Sir Rodney Leighton
1951
The Long Dark Hall
as Sir Charles Morton
1951
Treasure Island
as Dr. Livesy
1950
Landfall
as Captain Burnaby
1949
Under Capricorn
as Mr. Corrigan
1949
Marry Me
as George Saunders
1949
The Bad Lord Byron
as Prosecuting Counsel
1949
The Fallen Idol
as Inspector Crowe
1948
The Mark of Cain
as Sir William Godgrey
1947
Odd Man Out
as Inspector
1947
The Plough and the Stars
as The Covey
1936
Beloved Enemy
as Sean's I.R.A. Friend (Uncredited)
1936
The Informer
as Street Singer
1935
Guests of The Nation
1935