2600:1700:7558:1890:193F:A9B8:67F1:7E0C: /* Filmography */

2025-06-28T19:53:19Z

Filmography

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{{Short description|Irish actor (1905–1978)}}
{{EngvarB|date=December 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2017}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Denis O'Dea
| image = Denis O'Dea (1933) 02.jpg
| imagesize =
| alt =
| caption = Denis O'Dea in 1933. Photo by [[Carl Van Vechten]]
| birthname =
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=y|1905|4|26}}
| birth_place = [[Dublin]], Ireland
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=y|1978|11|5|1905|4|26}}
| death_place = Dublin, [[Republic of Ireland]]
| othername =
| occupation =
| yearsactive = 1935–1960
| spouse = {{marriage|[[Siobhán McKenna]]|1946}}
| children = 1
| website =
}}

'''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]].<ref name="it-1">{{cite web |last1=Butler |first1=John |title=Having sharks for breakfast |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/having-sharks-for-breakfast-1.197778 |website=The Irish Times |publisher=[[Irish Times]] |accessdate=29 September 2020 |language=en}}</ref> 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.<ref>1911 Census returns</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.abbeytheatre.ie/archives/person_detail/12996|title=The Abbey Theatre Archives|website=}}</ref> He also appeared in numerous plays<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://deevy.nuim.ie/items/browse?advanced%5b0%5d%5belement_id%5d=37&advanced%5b0%5d%5btype%5d=is+exactly&advanced%5b0%5d%5bterms%5d=O%27Dea%2C+Denis%2C+1905+-+1978|title=The Teresa Deevy Archive|website=}}</ref> 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 (1935 film)|The Informer]]'' and ''[[The Plough and the Stars (film)|The Plough and the Stars]]'' (1936), and the part of the police inspector in pursuit of [[Irish Republican Army (1922-1969)|IRA]] man [[James Mason]] in [[Carol Reed]]'s ''[[Odd Man Out]]'' (1947).<ref name=boy>{{cite book|last=Boylan|first= Henry |year=1998|title=A Dictionary of Irish Biography, 3rd Edition|page= 314|location=Dublin|publisher= Gill and MacMillan|ISBN = 0-7171-2945-4}}</ref>

Other films in which he appeared include ''[[The Mark of Cain (1947 film)|The Mark of Cain]]'' (1947), ''[[The Fallen Idol (film)|The Fallen Idol]]'' (1948, again for Reed, and again as a police inspector), [[Alfred Hitchcock]]'s ''[[Under Capricorn]]'' (1949), ''[[The Bad Lord Byron]]'' (1949), ''[[Landfall (1949 film)|Landfall]]'' (1949), ''[[Marry Me! (1949 film)|Marry Me!]]'' (1949), [[Walt Disney Pictures|Disney's]] ''[[Treasure Island (1950 film)|Treasure Island]]'' (1950), ''[[Captain Horatio Hornblower]]'' (1951), ''[[The Long Dark Hall]]'' (1951), ''[[Mogambo]]'' (1953; another John Ford film), ''[[Niagara (1953 film)|Niagara]]'' (1953), ''Never Take No for an Answer'' (1953), ''[[The Rising of the Moon (film)|The Rising of the Moon]]'' (1957), ''[[Captain Lightfoot]]'' (1957), ''[[Darby O'Gill and the Little People]]'' (1959), and ''[[Esther and the King]]'' (1960).<ref name=ria-dict>{{cite book| last = McGuire| first = James| last2 = Quinn | first2 = James |year=2009|title=Dictionary of Irish Biography|volume= III|location=Dublin|publisher= Royal Irish Academy-Cambridge University Press|ISBN = 9780521633314}}</ref>

==Family==
He was married to actress [[Siobhán McKenna]] from 1946 until his death in 1978 at the age of 73; they had one son, [[Donnacha O'Dea]], who is a champion swimmer and professional poker player.<ref name=boy/>

==Filmography==
{{div col|colwidth=26em}}
* ''Guests of the Nation'' (1935)
* ''[[The Informer (1935 film)|The Informer]]'' (1935) – Street Singer
* ''[[Beloved Enemy]]'' (1936) – Sean's I.R.A. Friend (uncredited)
* ''[[The Plough and the Stars (film)|The Plough and the Stars]]'' (1936) – The Covey
* ''[[Odd Man Out]]'' (1947) – Inspector
* ''[[The Mark of Cain (1947 film)|The Mark of Cain]]'' (1947) – Sir William Godgrey
* ''[[The Fallen Idol (film)|The Fallen Idol]]'' (1948) – Inspector Crowe
* ''[[The Bad Lord Byron]]'' (1949) – Prosecuting Counsel
* ''[[Marry Me! (1949 film)|Marry Me!]]'' (1949) – Saunders
* ''[[Under Capricorn]]'' (1949) – Mr. Corrigan
* ''[[Landfall (1949 film)|Landfall]]'' (1949) – Capt. Burnaby
* ''[[Treasure Island (1950 film)|Treasure Island]]'' (1950) – [[Dr. Livesey (character)|Dr. Livesey]]
* ''[[The Long Dark Hall]]'' (1951) – Sir Charles Morton
* ''[[Captain Horatio Hornblower]]'' (1951) – RAdm. Sir Rodney Leighton
* ''[[Peppino e Violetta]]'' (1951) – Father Damico
* ''[[Never Take No for an Answer]]'' (1951) – Father Damico
* ''[[Niagara (1953 film)|Niagara]]'' (1953) – Inspector Starkey
* ''[[Sea Devils (1953 film)|Sea Devils]]'' (1953) – Lethierry
* ''[[Mogambo]]'' (1953) – Father Josef
* ''[[Captain Lightfoot]]'' (1955) – Regis Donnell
* ''[[The Rising of the Moon (film)|The Rising of the Moon]]'' (1957) – Police Sergeant Tom O'Hara (3rd Episode)
* ''[[The Story of Esther Costello]]'' (1957) – Father Devlin
* ''[[Darby O'Gill and the Little People]]'' (1959) – Father Murphy
* ''[[Esther and the King]]'' (1960) – [[Mordecai]] (final film role)
{{div col end}}

== Playography ==
{{div col|colwidth=26em}}
* ''The Reapers'' (1930)
* ''A Disciple'' (1931)
* ''Temporal Powers'' (1932)
* ''Katie Roche'' (1937) New York
* ''Katie Roche'' (1937) [[Cambridge]], England
* ''Temporal Powers'' (1937)
* ''The King of Spain's Daughter'' (1938) [[Dublin]]
* ''The King of Spain's Daughter'' (1939) [[Cork (city)|Cork]]
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb name|0640614}}
* {{IBDB name|68449}}
* Denis O'Dea at [http://deevy.nuim.ie/ The Teresa Deevy Archive]
* Denis O'Dea at [http://www.abbeytheatre.ie/archives/ The Abbey Theatre Archive]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Odea, Denis}}
[[Category:1905 births]]
[[Category:1978 deaths]]
[[Category:Irish male film actors]]
[[Category:Irish male stage actors]]
[[Category:Abbey Theatre]]
[[Category:People from Portobello, Dublin]]
[[Category:20th-century Irish male actors]]
[[Category:Male actors from County Dublin]]
[[Category:People educated at Synge Street CBS]]

Denis O'Dea - Revision history

2600:1700:7558:1890:193F:A9B8:67F1:7E0C: /* Filmography */