John Kavanagh
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- January 1, 1946 (age 80)
- Birthplace
- Dublin, Ireland
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 stage production of Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris in the 1970s. No other personal details are publicly confirmed.
Known For
Filmography
Weeks
Movie · as Jim
The Great Wide Open
Movie · as Grandad
One Sweet Hour
Movie · as Tommy
Bucking Fastard
Movie · as Mr. Westmoreland
Baltimore
Movie · as Sir Alfred Beit
Vikings: Valhalla
TV · as The Seer · 4 eps
Peacock
TV · as Georgia's Boss · 1 ep
The Last Duel
Movie · as Le Gris' Priest
Riverdance: The Animated Adventure
Movie · as Gatekeeper (voice)
Supervized
Movie · as Windsor
Deposits
Movie · as Narrator (voice)
Lost Memories
Movie · as Dad
Florence Foster Jenkins
Movie · as Arturo Toscanini
Vikings: Athelstan's Journal
TV · as The Seer (archive footage) · 6 eps
In Secret
Movie · as Inspector Michaud
Horse
Movie · as Junior
The Invisible Woman
Movie · as Reverend Benham
The Stag
Movie · as Fionan and Little Kevin's Dad
Vikings
TV · as Pope Leo IV, The Seer (voice) · 1 ep
Titanic: Blood and Steel
TV · as Edward Carson · 1 ep
The Runway
Movie
Father & Son
TV · as John O'Connor · 4 eps
Closing the Ring
Movie · as Reverend Smith
The Tudors
TV · as Cardinal Campeggio, Cardinal Lorenzo Campeggio · 4 eps
The Tiger's Tail
Movie · as Harry
The Black Dahlia
Movie · as Emmett Linscott
Alexander
Movie · as Parmenion
The Halo Effect
Movie · as Stan
The Wonderful Story of Kelvin Kind
Movie
Mystics
Movie · as Gerry the Barman
Benedict Arnold: A Question of Honor
Movie · as Judge Shippen
Pete's Meteor
Movie · as Sergeant Maloney
Sinners
Movie · as Frank
Puckoon
Movie · as Haggerty
Last Days in Dublin
Movie
Rebel Heart
TV · as Eugene O'Brien · 4 eps
Vicious Circle
Movie · as Charlie Rice
Dancing at Lughnasa
Movie · as Father Carlin
The Butcher Boy
Movie · as Dr. Boyd
The Informant
Movie · as IRA Chief
Some Mother's Son
Movie · as Cardinal
Samuel Beckett: As the Story Was Told
Movie · as Voice
Sharpe's Sword
Movie · as Father Patrick Curtis
Braveheart
Movie · as Craig
Circle of Friends
Movie · as Brian Mahon
Shadow of a Gunman
Movie · as Adolphus Grigson
Widows' Peak
Movie · as Canon Murtagh
Scarlett
TV · as Jamie O'Hara · 1 ep
Bad Company
Movie · as Patrick Molloy
Love Lies Bleeding
Movie · as Sean Kerrigan
Sharpe
TV · as Father Curtis · 1 ep
Into the West
Movie · as Hartnett
Arise and Go Now
Movie · as Father Dade
Events at Drimaghleen
Movie · as Superintendent O'Kelly
Children of the North
Movie · as Seamus Reilly
Performance
TV · as Adolphus Grigson · 1 ep
Who Bombed Birmingham?
Movie · as Z
August Saturday
Movie · as Tom Crosbie
Fools of Fortune
Movie · as Johnny Lacy
Joyriders
Movie · as Manager
The Storyteller: A Story Short
Movie · as Beggar
The Storyteller
TV · as Beggar · 1 ep
Bellman and True
Movie · as Donkey
The Fantasist
Movie · as Robert Foxley
Lovejoy
TV · as Hennessey · 1 ep
ScreenPlay
TV · as Tom Crosbie, Superintendent O'Kelly, Father Dade, Sean Kerrigan · 1 ep
The Price
Movie · as Kearney
The Price
TV · as Kearney · 6 eps
Cal
Movie · as Skeffington
Children in the Crossfire
Movie
Attracta
Movie · as Mr. Devereux
The Country Girls
Movie · as James
The Ballroom of Romance
Movie · as Bowser Egan
Revival: Pearse's Concept of Ireland
Movie · as Patrick Pearse
A Week in the Life of Martin Cluxton
Movie · as Priest
The McKenzie Break
Movie