John Kavanagh

John Kavanagh (born 1946) is an Irish actor who has acted on the stage, in over twenty films including Cal (1984), Braveheart (1995) and Alexander (2004), and on television. Most recently, he is known for his portrayal of The Seer in the History Channel series Vikings. He has received a number of accolades, including a Drama Desk Award nomination in 1989 for his role in a revival of Juno and the Paycock. Education Kavanagh attended the Brendan Smyth Academy since he was 19 and then trained at the Abbey Theatre. In 1967, he joined the company and stayed with them for 10 years before becoming freelancer. Career Kavanagh began his career with the Irish comedy Paddy (1970), where he played the small role of Willie Egan. That same year, he played another small role in the World War II film The McKenzie Break (1970), about a P.O.W. camp in Scotland whose prisoners are preparing an escape. A singer as well as an actor, Kavanagh played the lead in the Irish stage production of Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris in the 1970s (alongside his sister Anne Bushnell). He also starred in the subsequent television production, which aired in December 1978. The next twelve years brought Kavanagh no new films, though he continued to act on stage. Finally, he decided to return to screen acting with the theatrical film The Ballroom of Romance (1982), which put him in a romance with actress Brenda Fricker. The film was followed up with the small film Attracta (1983), and the made-for-television movie The Country Girls (1984), starring Sam Neill.