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IMDbPro

Donald O'Brien(1930-2003)

  • Actor
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Maurizio Merli and Donald O'Brien in A Man Called Blade (1977)
Trailer for Doctor Butcher M.D.
Play trailer2:44
Zombie Holocaust (1980)
2 Videos
5 Photos
Though best known to cult film fans for his roles in Italian B-movies, Donald O'Brien hailed from Pau, in the Pyrenees mountains of France. His Irish father was a former US Army Calvary officer who fought in the Spanish-American war, and his mother was an English governess. When World War II broke out and France came under Nazi occupation, the O'Briens fled back to Ireland, where Donald would spend his formative years. He studied acting under the Irish theatre legend Micheál MacLiammóir, and later moved back to France, where he worked several oddjobs including prizefighter and office worker.

In 1953, the 23-year-old O'Brien made his first appearance in a feature film, Anatole Litvak's war drama Act of Love (1953). A chance meeting with director John Frankenheimer saw him cast as a Nazi officer in The Train (1964), which so impressed the director that he cast him in a supporting role in Grand Prix (1966). In 1967, O'Brien was brought to Italy to star in Sergio Sollima's cult Spaghetti Western Corri uomo corri (1968). His portrayal of ex-American lawman turned soldier of fortune Nathaniel Cassidy led to future leading roles in the genre for a number of years, during which he changed his name from "Donal" to "Donald" due to contracts frequently misspelling it.

O'Brien quickly became a staple of Italian B-movies, appearing in everything from Spaghetti Westerns, to horror films, to Sexploitation pictures. In 1981, he starred in Zombie Holocaust (1980) (retitled 'Doctor Butcher, M.D.' for its US release), which earned him a strong cult following among horror and exploitation film fans for his portrayal of the eponymous mad scientist. However, that same year he sustained a brain injury that paralyzed half his body, and significantly reduced the number of roles he could play even after he recovered. He appeared in several films for the notorious Joe D'Amato, and had a supporting role as a Franciscan friar opposite Sean Connery in Jean-Jacques Annaud's The Name of the Rose (1986).

Following another accident in 1996, O'Brien all but retired from acting, settling in Paris with his family.
BornSeptember 15, 1930
DiedNovember 29, 2003(73)
BornSeptember 15, 1930
DiedNovember 29, 2003(73)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank

Photos

Paul Scofield and Donald O'Brien in The Train (1964)
Burt Lancaster and Donald O'Brien in The Train (1964)
Lorenza Guerrieri and Donald O'Brien in Sex of the Witch (1973)
James Garner, Donald O'Brien, and Jack Watson in Grand Prix (1966)

Known for

Sean Connery in The Name of the Rose (1986)
The Name of the Rose
7.7
  • Pietro d'Assisi(as Donal O'Brian)
  • 1986
Zombie Holocaust (1980)
Zombie Holocaust
5.2
  • Dr. Obrero
  • Dr. Butcher (US version)
  • 1980
A Man Called Blade (1977)
A Man Called Blade
6.6
  • Burt Craven
  • 1977
The Train (1964)
The Train
7.8
  • Sergeant Schwartz(as Donal O'Brien)
  • 1964

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actor

  • Briganti: Amore e libertà (1994)
    Briganti: Amore e libertà
    • Barone
    • 1994
  • Honey Sweet Love... (1994)
    Honey Sweet Love...
    • Officer
    • 1994
  • Storia di una capinera (1993)
    Storia di una capinera
    • 1993
  • Frankenstein 2000 (1992)
    Frankenstein 2000
    • Ric
    • 1992
  • Kelly Curtis in The Sect (1991)
    The Sect
    • Justice Jonathan Ford
    • 1991
  • Eric Allan Kramer in Quest for the Mighty Sword (1990)
    Quest for the Mighty Sword
    • Gunther (as Donal O'Brien)
    • 1990
  • Flight from Paradise (1990)
    Flight from Paradise
    • 1990
  • Cellini: A Violent Life (1990)
    Cellini: A Violent Life
    • Bernardino, l'ermita (as Donald O'Brian)
    • 1990
  • Mortacci (1989)
    Mortacci
    • Archibald Williams
    • 1989
  • Ghosthouse (1988)
    Ghosthouse
    • Valkos (as Donald O'Brian)
    • 1988
  • Sean Connery in The Name of the Rose (1986)
    The Name of the Rose
    • Pietro d'Assisi (as Donal O'Brian)
    • 1986
  • Daniel Greene in Hands of Steel (1986)
    Hands of Steel
    • Prof. Olster
    • 1986
  • Sybil Danning in The Panther Squad (1984)
    The Panther Squad
    • General
    • 1984
  • I guerrieri dell'anno 2072 (1984)
    I guerrieri dell'anno 2072
    • Monk (as Donal O'Brian)
    • 1984
  • 2020 Texas Gladiators (1983)
    2020 Texas Gladiators
    • Black One (as Donal O'Brien)
    • 1983

Videos2

Doctor Butcher M.D.
Trailer 2:44
Doctor Butcher M.D.
Emmanuelle and the Last Cannibals
Trailer 1:27
Emmanuelle and the Last Cannibals

Personal details

Edit
  • Alternative names
    • Donald O'Brian
  • Born
    • September 15, 1930
    • Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France
  • Died
    • November 29, 2003

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Son of a former Irish member of the US Army cavalry. He was born in France, where his father had retired. Most of his film career was in Italy, mostly as a character actor in spaghetti westerns and B-actioners .
  • Nickname
    • Donald O'Brian

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