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John Kavanagh(I)

  • Actor
  • Soundtrack
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John Kavanagh
VIKINGS: Hell
Play trailer3:47
Hell (2018)
14 Videos
14 Photos
John Kavanagh is one of Ireland's underrated character actors. Little detail is given on him, yet he has appeared in many well-known films and television series alongside a variety of actors.

Kavanagh began his career with the Irish comedy, Paddy (1970), where he played the small role of "Willie Egan". That same year, he played another small role in the World War II film, The McKenzie Break (1970), which is about a P.O.W. camp in Scotland, whose prisoners are preparing an escape.

The next twelve years brought Kavanagh no new films, though he continued to act on stage. Finally, he decided to return to screen acting with the theatrical film, The Ballroom of Romance (1982), which put him in a romance with accomplished actress Brenda Fricker. The film was followed up with the small film, Attracta (1983), and the made-for-television movie, The Country Girls (1983), starring Sam Neill.

Kavanagh's next theatrical film was one of the most famous films of his career: the Irish film Cal (1984), starring Helen Mirren and John Lynch. The film was about a young member of the IRA (Lynch) who is seeking to get out of the organization. He meets the widow of one of the IRA's victims (Mirren) and begins a love affair.

Moving on from this film, Kavanagh acted in a number of films and television series. He participated in the action film, The Joyriders (1999), the crime drama, Bellman and True (1987), the independent film, In the Border Country (1991), and the thriller, The Fantasist (1986), among others. Kavanagh's career picked up considerably in the mid-nineties. He acted alongside such classic actors as Mia Farrow and Jim Broadbent in the John Irvin film, Widows' Peak (1994). Kavanagh then guest-starred in the Sharpe series (starring Sean Bean and Hugh Fraser), where he played the holy man "Father Michael Curtis". That same year, he acted in the most talked about epic of its time: Mel Gibson's Braveheart (1995). Starring Gibson, Angus Macfadyen and Brendan Gleeson, Kavanagh acted as one of the nobles who routinely changed sides from Scotland to England in the Scottish wars of independence. The film won Best Picture and Best Director, and was a smash hit. After this fantastic success, Kavanagh acted in Some Mother's Son (1996), a prison film which was written by Jim Sheridan, and reunited with Brenda Fricker in Pete's Meteor (1998). He continued to act in other films throughout the nineties and, as the new millennium dawned, Kavanagh continued on to new projects. After a number of smaller films, Kavanagh acted in another historical epic, the mighty Oliver Stone film, Alexander (2004), starring Colin Farrell, Val Kilmer and Anthony Hopkins. Kavanagh played the role of "Parmenion", the old general who questions Alexander's actions. After a plot to kill the young leader is foiled, Parmenion is accused of being the mastermind behind it and is murdered. While the film was a triumph overseas, its domestic budget was a fraction of the budget, and it received negative reviews for a number of different reasons. After this, Kavanagh acted in Brian De Palma's murder film, The Black Dahlia (2006), which failed at the box office.

Kavanagh has rebounded with the successful television series, The Tudors (2007). Starring fellow Alexander (2004) cast member Jonathan Rhys Meyers, the series plays out the story of England's turmoil in the time of Henry the Eighth and his life as he breaks from the Catholic Church.
Born1946
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Born1946
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  • Awards
    • 1 nomination

"Vikings: Valhalla" Cast In and Out of Character

"Vikings: Valhalla" Cast In and Out of Character

Take a look at Sam Corlett, Frida Gustavsson, Leo Suter, and more of the series cast in and out of character.
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Photos

Photos14

John Kavanagh in Vikings: Valhalla (2022)
John Kavanagh in The Black Dahlia (2006)
Hilary Swank and John Kavanagh in The Black Dahlia (2006)
Hilary Swank and John Kavanagh in The Black Dahlia (2006)
John Kavanagh in The Black Dahlia (2006)
Mel Gibson, Angus Macfadyen, Alun Armstrong, James Cosmo, Brendan Gleeson, John Kavanagh, and David O'Hara in Braveheart (1995)
Felicity Jones and John Kavanagh in The Invisible Woman (2013)
John Kavanagh in Sacrifice (2013)
Josh Hartnett, Hilary Swank, and John Kavanagh in The Black Dahlia (2006)
John Kavanagh in The Black Dahlia (2006)
John Kavanagh in The Black Dahlia (2006)
Hilary Swank and John Kavanagh in The Black Dahlia (2006)

Known for

Anthony Hopkins, Val Kilmer, Angelina Jolie, and Colin Farrell in Alexander (2004)
Alexander
5.6
  • Parmenion
  • 2004
Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Jodie Comer, and Adam Driver in The Last Duel (2021)
The Last Duel
7.4
  • Le Gris' Priest
  • 2021
Hugh Grant, Meryl Streep, and Simon Helberg in Florence Foster Jenkins (2016)
Florence Foster Jenkins
6.8
  • Arturo Toscanini
  • 2016
Mia Kirshner in The Black Dahlia (2006)
The Black Dahlia
5.6
  • Emmett Linscott
  • 2006

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actor

  • Leo Suter, Frida Gustavsson, and Sam Corlett in Vikings: Valhalla (2022)
    Vikings: Valhalla
    • The Seer
    • TV Series
    • 2022–2023
  • Allan Mustafa in Peacock (2022)
    Peacock
    • Georgia's Boss
    • TV Series
    • 2022
  • Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Jodie Comer, and Adam Driver in The Last Duel (2021)
    The Last Duel
    • Le Gris' Priest
    • 2021
  • Pierce Brosnan in Riverdance: The Animated Adventure (2021)
    Riverdance: The Animated Adventure
    • The Gatekeeper (voice)
    • 2021
  • Alexander Ludwig, Jordan Patrick Smith, Marco Ilsø, and Alex Høgh Andersen in Vikings (2013)
    Vikings
    • The Seer
    • Pope Leo IV
    • Seer
    • TV Series
    • 2013–2020
  • Fantasy Ireland (2020)
    Fantasy Ireland
    • Narrator
    • TV Series
    • 2020
  • Tom Berenger, Beau Bridges, Fionnula Flanagan, and Louis Gossett Jr. in Supervized (2019)
    Supervized
    • Windsor
    • 2019
  • Deposits (2017)
    Deposits
    • (voice)
    • Short
    • 2017
  • Lost Memories (2017)
    Lost Memories
    • Dad
    • Short
    • 2017
  • Hugh Grant, Meryl Streep, and Simon Helberg in Florence Foster Jenkins (2016)
    Florence Foster Jenkins
    • Arturo Toscanini
    • 2016
  • Jewels (2016)
    Jewels
    • Narrator
    • Short
    • 2016
  • The Great Wide Open (2015)
    The Great Wide Open
    • Grandad
    • Short
    • 2015
  • Vikings: Athelstan's Journal (2015)
    Vikings: Athelstan's Journal
    • The Seer
    • TV Series
    • 2015
  • Peter McDonald, Hugh O'Conor, and Amy Huberman in The Bachelor Weekend (2013)
    The Bachelor Weekend
    • Fionan's dad
    • 2013
  • Jessica Lange, Elizabeth Olsen, and Oscar Isaac in In Secret (2013)
    In Secret
    • Inspector Michaud
    • 2013

Soundtrack

  • Sean Bean in Sharpe (1993)
    Sharpe
    • performer: "Oft in the Stilly Night"
    • TV Series
    • 1995

Videos14

Florence Foster Jenkins
Clip 0:53
Florence Foster Jenkins
Florence Foster Jenkins
Clip 1:17
Florence Foster Jenkins
Florence Foster Jenkins
Clip 0:58
Florence Foster Jenkins
Florence Foster Jenkins
Clip 0:51
Florence Foster Jenkins
U.S. Trailer
Trailer 2:25
U.S. Trailer
International Trailer
Trailer 2:13
International Trailer
U.S. Trailer
Trailer 2:06
U.S. Trailer
The Runway
Trailer 1:35
The Runway
Bellman And True
Trailer 3:15
Bellman And True
VIKINGS: Hell
Trailer 3:47
VIKINGS: Hell
VIKINGS: The Plan
Trailer 1:40
VIKINGS: The Plan
VIKINGS: The Lost Moment
Trailer 4:23
VIKINGS: The Lost Moment

Personal details

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  • Alternative names
    • Mr. John Kavanagh
  • Born
    • 1946
    • Ireland
  • Spouse
    • Anne Kavanagh? - present (3 children)
  • Other works
    Co-starring in Brian Friel's "Dancing at Lughnasa" at Dublin's Gate Theatre with Dawn Bradfield, Derbhle Crotty, Peter Gowen, Andrea Irvine, Ben Price, Aisling O'Neill and Catherine Walsh.

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Did his own singing in Sharpe's Sword (1995).
  • Trademarks
      Frequently plays Irishmen or is in films revolving around Irish themes

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