Denis O'Dea

Denis O'Dea

1905-04-26 – 1978-11-05 (age 73) Dublin, Ireland
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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

Niagara
Niagara

1953

as Inspector Starkey

Treasure Island
Treasure Island

1950

as Dr. Livesy

Under Capricorn
Under Capricorn

1949

as Mr. Corrigan

Mogambo
Mogambo

1953

as Father Josef

The Informer
The Informer

1935

as Street Singer

Captain Horatio Hornblower R.N.
Captain Horatio Hornblower R.N.

1951

as RAdm. Sir Rodney Leighton

Landfall
Landfall

1949

as Captain Burnaby

The Fallen Idol
The Fallen Idol

1948

as Inspector Crowe

Darby O'Gill and the Little People
Sea Devils
Sea Devils

1953

as Lethierry

Odd Man Out
Odd Man Out

1947

as Inspector

Marry Me
Marry Me

1949

as George Saunders

Beloved Enemy
Beloved Enemy

1936

as Sean's I.R.A. Friend (Uncredited)

Captain Lightfoot
Captain Lightfoot

1955

as Regis Donnell

Esther and the King
Esther and the King

1960

as Mordecai

I Captured the King of the Leprechauns
The Plough and the Stars
The Plough and the Stars

1936

as The Covey

The Story of Esther Costello
The Story of Esther Costello

1957

as Father Devlin

The Long Dark Hall
The Long Dark Hall

1951

as Sir Charles Morton

The Rising of the Moon
The Rising of the Moon

1957

as Police Sergeant Tom O'Hara (segment '1921')