Denis O'Dea
Known For
Acting
Born
1905-04-26 in Dublin, Ireland
Died
1978-11-05
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).
Most Known For
Treasure Island
as Dr. Livesy
Niagara
as Inspector Starkey
Darby O'Gill and the Little People
as Father Murphy
The Fallen Idol
as Inspector Crowe
Mogambo
as Father Josef
Captain Horatio Hornblower R.N.
as RAdm. Sir Rodney Leighton
Under Capricorn
as Mr. Corrigan
The Informer
as Street Singer
Odd Man Out
as Inspector
I Captured the King of the Leprechauns
as Father Murphy
Beloved Enemy
as Sean's I.R.A. Friend (Uncredited)
The Rising of the Moon
as Police Sergeant Tom O'Hara (segment '1921')
Sea Devils
as Lethierry
Esther and the King
as Mordecai
Captain Lightfoot
as Regis Donnell
The Long Dark Hall
as Sir Charles Morton
The Plough and the Stars
as The Covey
The Bad Lord Byron
as Prosecuting Counsel
The Story of Esther Costello
as Father Devlin
Landfall
as Captain Burnaby