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John Kavanagh
Acting
Biography
John Kavanagh (born 1946, Dublin, Ireland) is an Irish character actor who was a member of the Abbey Theatre company for ten years (1967–1977) before going freelance. He has worked in over 20 films and numerous TV series since 1970. His film credits include Braveheart (1995), The Butcher Boy (1997), Dancing at Lughnasa (1998), Florence Foster Jenkins (2016), and The Last Duel (2021). On television he is best known for playing The Seer / Pope Leo IV in Vikings (2013–2020) and Vikings: Valhalla (2022–2024), and Cardinal Lorenzo Campeggio in The Tudors (2007–2008). He received a Drama Desk Award nomination (1989) for Juno and the Paycock. He is also a singer, having played the lead in the Irish…
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John Kavanagh (born 1946, Dublin, Ireland) is an Irish character actor who was a member of the Abbey Theatre company for ten years (1967–1977) before going freelance. He has worked in over 20 films and numerous TV series since 1970. His film credits include Braveheart (1995), The Butcher Boy (1997), Dancing at Lughnasa (1998), Florence Foster Jenkins (2016), and The Last Duel (2021). On television he is best known for playing The Seer / Pope Leo IV in Vikings (2013–2020) and Vikings: Valhalla (2022–2024), and Cardinal Lorenzo Campeggio in The Tudors (2007–2008). He received a Drama Desk Award nomination (1989) for Juno and the Paycock. He is also a singer, having played the lead in the Irish stage production of Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris in the 1970s. No other personal details are publicly confirmed.
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BODY OF WORK
John Kavanagh's Filmography
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One Sweet Hour
as Tommy
Bucking Fastard
as Mr. Westmoreland
Der Irland-Krimi: Zerrissene Seelen
as Arthur Browne
Baltimore
as Sir Alfred Beit
The Last Duel
as Le Gris' Priest
Riverdance: The Animated Adventure
as Gatekeeper (voice)
Supervized
as Windsor
Deposits
as Narrator (voice)
Lost Memories
as Dad
Florence Foster Jenkins
as Arturo Toscanini
Horse
as Junior
In Secret
as Inspector Michaud
The Invisible Woman
as Reverend Benham
The Stag
as Fionan and Little Kevin's Dad
The Runway
Closing the Ring
as Reverend Smith
The Tiger's Tail
as Harry
The Black Dahlia
as Emmett Linscott
Alexander
as Parmenion
The Halo Effect
as Stan
No Poster
The Wonderful Story of Kelvin Kind
Mystics
as Gerry the Barman
Benedict Arnold: A Question of Honor
as Judge Shippen
Pete's Meteor
as Sergeant Maloney
Sinners
as Frank
Puckoon
as Haggerty
No Poster
Last Days in Dublin
Vicious Circle
as Charlie Rice
Dancing at Lughnasa
as Father Carlin
The Butcher Boy
as Dr. Boyd
The Informant
as IRA Chief
Some Mother's Son
as Cardinal
Samuel Beckett: As the Story Was Told
as Voice
Shadow of a Gunman
as Adolphus Grigson
Braveheart
as Craig
Sharpe's Sword
as Father Patrick Curtis
Circle of Friends
as Brian Mahon
Widows' Peak
as Canon Murtagh
Love Lies Bleeding
as Sean Kerrigan
Bad Company
as Patrick Molloy
Into the West
as Hartnett
Children of the North
as Seamus Reilly
Arise and Go Now
as Father Dade
Events at Drimaghleen
as Superintendent O'Kelly
August Saturday
as Tom Crosbie
Fools of Fortune
as Johnny Lacy
Who Bombed Birmingham?
as Z
Joyriders
as Manager
The Storyteller: A Story Short
as Beggar
Bellman and True
as Donkey
The Fantasist
as Robert Foxley
The Price
as Kearney
Children in the Crossfire
Cal
as Skeffington
The Country Girls
as James
No Poster
Attracta
as Mr. Devereux
The Ballroom of Romance
as Bowser Egan
No Poster
Revival: Pearse's Concept of Ireland
as Patrick Pearse
A Week in the Life of Martin Cluxton
as Priest
The McKenzie Break
Weeks
as Jim