---
name: "Denis O'Dea"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/denis-odea"
fi1m_id: "denis-odea"
imdb_id: "nm0640614"
tmdb_id: 85410
wikidata_id: "Q1187574"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "26 April 1905"
died: "5 November 1978"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 2
average_fi1m_score: 78
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 2
updated: "2026-09-25T04:08:46.890993+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Denis O'Dea

## Identity

Denis O'Dea

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/denis-odea
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** denis-odea
- **IMDb ID:** nm0640614
- **TMDB ID:** 85410
- **Wikidata ID:** Q1187574
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denis_O%27Dea, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1187574, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0640614/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/85410

Actor. Born 26 April 1905 in Dublin, Ireland. Died 5 November 1978.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 26 April 1905, Dublin, Ireland
- **Died:** 5 November 1978
- **Active:** 1935–1947
- **Also known as:**  Dennis O'Dea
- **Average Fi1m score:** 78, as actor, over 2 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1930s 73 (1), 1940s 82 (1)
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denis_O%27Dea, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1187574, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0640614/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/85410

## Streaming the US now

- **HBO Max:** [*Odd Man Out*](https://film.one/film/odd-man-out.md) (82)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

Denis O'Dea (26 April 1905 – 5 November 1978) was an Irish stage and film actor. Born in Dublin, he trained at the Abbey School of Acting and became a leading member of the Abbey Theatre company from 1929 to 1953, appearing in numerous productions including plays by Teresa Deevy.

His film career began in the mid-1930s with roles in two John Ford pictures, *The Informer* (1935) and *The Plough and the Stars* (1936). He is noted for playing police inspectors in Carol Reed films, including the part in pursuit of James Mason in *Odd Man Out* (1947) and Inspector Crowe in *The Fallen Idol* (1948). Other screen credits include *Under Capricorn* (1949), *Treasure Island* (1950), *Mogambo* (1953), *Niagara* (1953) and *Darby O'Gill and the Little People* (1959).

O'Dea married actress Siobhán McKenna in 1946; they had one son.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, dib.ie, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (2)

- *Odd Man Out* (1947), Fi1m 82, as Inspector — [page](https://film.one/film/odd-man-out.md)
- *The Informer* (1935), Fi1m 73, as Street Singer — [page](https://film.one/film/the-informer.md)

## Complete filmography (24)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Esther and the King* (1960), as Mordecai
- *Darby O'Gill and the Little People* (1959), as Father Murphy
- *I Captured the King of the Leprechauns* (1959), as Father Murphy
- *The Story of Esther Costello* (1957), as Father Devlin
- *The Rising of the Moon* (1957), as Police Sergeant Tom O'Hara (segment '1921')
- *Captain Lightfoot* (1955), as Regis Donnell
- *Mogambo* (1953), as Father Josef
- *Sea Devils* (1953), as Lethierry
- *Niagara* (1953), as Inspector Starkey
- *Never Take No for an Answer* (1951), as Father Damico
- *Captain Horatio Hornblower R.N.* (1951), as RAdm. Sir Rodney Leighton
- *The Long Dark Hall* (1951), as Sir Charles Morton
- *Treasure Island* (1950), as Dr. Livesy
- *Under Capricorn* (1949), as Mr. Corrigan
- *Landfall* (1949), as Captain Burnaby
- *Marry Me* (1949), as George Saunders
- *The Bad Lord Byron* (1949), as Prosecuting Counsel
- *The Fallen Idol* (1948), as Inspector Crowe
- *The Mark of Cain* (1947), as Sir William Godgrey
- *Odd Man Out* (1947), as Inspector — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/odd-man-out.md)
- *The Plough and the Stars* (1936), as The Covey
- *Beloved Enemy* (1936), as Sean's I.R.A. Friend (Uncredited)
- *The Informer* (1935), as Street Singer — Fi1m 73, [page](https://film.one/film/the-informer.md)
- *Guests of The Nation* (1935), Actor

## Gallery

- ![Denis O'Dea](https://film.one/media/person/1228208/gallery-dbb690ae0cbe.jpg) Denis O'Dea — Carl Van Vechten, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/Denis_O%27Dea_%281933%29_02.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Denis O'Dea](https://film.one/media/person/1228208/gallery-1e7b8e8c7bf5.jpg) Denis O'Dea — Image via TMDB
- ![Denis O'Dea](https://film.one/media/person/1228208/gallery-057d17b5d782.jpg) Denis O'Dea — Image via TMDB

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/denis-odea