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

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

Appearances as themselves (1)

• 1960Cradle of Genius — Self