John Kavanagh
Acting
1946-01-01 · Dublin, Ireland
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.
Filmography
TheatersOne Sweet Hour
2026 · Movie
TheatersBucking Fastard
2026 · Movie
Der Irland-Krimi: Zerrissene Seelen
2024 · Movie
Baltimore
2024 · Movie
Peacock
2022 · Series
Vikings: Valhalla
2022 · Series
The Last Duel
2021 · Movie
Riverdance: The Animated Adventure
2021 · Movie
Supervized
2019 · Movie
Deposits
2017 · Movie
Lost Memories
2017 · Movie
Florence Foster Jenkins
2016 · Movie
Vikings: Athelstan's Journal
2015 · Series
Horse
2014 · Movie
In Secret
2014 · Movie
The Invisible Woman
2013 · Movie
The Stag
2013 · Movie
Vikings
2013 · Series
Titanic: Blood and Steel
2012 · Series
The Runway
2010 · Movie
Father & Son
2009 · Series
Closing the Ring
2007 · Movie
The Tudors
2007 · Series
The Tiger's Tail
2006 · Movie
The Black Dahlia
2006 · Movie
Alexander
2004 · Movie
The Halo Effect
2004 · Movie
The Wonderful Story of Kelvin Kind
2004 · Movie
Mystics
2003 · Movie
Benedict Arnold: A Question of Honor
2003 · Movie
Pete's Meteor
2002 · Movie
Sinners
2002 · Movie
Puckoon
2002 · Movie
Last Days in Dublin
2001 · Movie
Rebel Heart
2001 · Series
Vicious Circle
1999 · Movie
Dancing at Lughnasa
1998 · Movie
The Butcher Boy
1998 · Movie
The Informant
1997 · Movie
Some Mother's Son
1996 · Movie
Samuel Beckett: As the Story Was Told
1996 · Movie
Shadow of a Gunman
1995 · Movie
Braveheart
1995 · Movie
Sharpe's Sword
1995 · Movie
Circle of Friends
1995 · Movie
Scarlett
1994 · Series
Widows' Peak
1994 · Movie
Love Lies Bleeding
1993 · Movie
Bad Company
1993 · Movie
Sharpe
1993 · Series
Into the West
1992 · Movie
Children of the North
1991 · Movie
Performance
1991 · Series
Arise and Go Now
1991 · Movie
Events at Drimaghleen
1991 · Movie
August Saturday
1990 · Movie
Fools of Fortune
1990 · Movie
Who Bombed Birmingham?
1990 · Movie
Joyriders
1988 · Movie
The Storyteller: A Story Short
1988 · Movie
The Storyteller
1988 · Series
Bellman and True
1987 · Movie
The Fantasist
1986 · Movie
ScreenPlay
1986 · Series
Lovejoy
1986 · Series
The Price
1985 · Series
The Price
1985 · Movie
Children in the Crossfire
1984 · Movie
Cal
1984 · Movie
The Country Girls
1983 · Movie
Attracta
1983 · Movie
The Ballroom of Romance
1982 · Movie
Revival: Pearse's Concept of Ireland
1980 · Movie
A Week in the Life of Martin Cluxton
1971 · Movie
The McKenzie Break
1970 · Movie
Weeks
Movie