Cast & creator
John Kavanagh
Best known for Vikings, Vikings, Vikings
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.
Also known as: Джон Кэвэна
61
film credits
22
television credits
83
1970–2026 · acting roles
6.9
average across scored titles
Signature credits
Known for
Across film & television
Filmography (83)
Showing 83 of 83 credits
Vikings
Pope Leo IV
2013Vikings
The Seer (voice)
2013Vikings
The Seer
2013
The Tudors
Cardinal Campeggio
2007The Tudors
Cardinal Lorenzo Campeggio
2007
Sharpe
Father Curtis
1993
Vikings: Valhalla
The Seer
2022
Performance
Adolphus Grigson
1991
ScreenPlay
Tom Crosbie
1986ScreenPlay
Superintendent O'Kelly
1986ScreenPlay
Father Dade
1986ScreenPlay
Sean Kerrigan
1986
Braveheart
Craig
1995
Lovejoy
Hennessey
1986
The Last Duel
Le Gris' Priest
2021
The Storyteller
Beggar
1988
Alexander
Parmenion
2004
Titanic: Blood and Steel
Edward Carson
2012
Scarlett
Jamie O'Hara
1994
In Secret
Inspector Michaud
2014
The Black Dahlia
Emmett Linscott
2006
Vikings: Athelstan's Journal
The Seer (archive footage)
2015Vikings: Athelstan's Journal
The Seer
2015
Florence Foster Jenkins
Arturo Toscanini
2016
Riverdance: The Animated Adventure
Gatekeeper (voice)
2021
Closing the Ring
Reverend Smith
2007
The Invisible Woman
Reverend Benham
2013
Peacock
Georgia's Boss
2022
Circle of Friends
Brian Mahon
1995
Father & Son
John O'Connor
2009
Rebel Heart
Eugene O'Brien
2001
Widows' Peak
Canon Murtagh
1994
Bucking Fastard
Mr. Westmoreland
2026
Some Mother's Son
Cardinal
1996
Dancing at Lughnasa
Father Carlin
1998
The Butcher Boy
Dr. Boyd
1998
The Tiger's Tail
Harry
2006
The Price
Kearney
1985
Benedict Arnold: A Question of Honor
Judge Shippen
2003
Supervized
Windsor
2019
Sharpe's Sword
Father Patrick Curtis
1995
Into the West
Hartnett
1992
Baltimore
Sir Alfred Beit
2024
Weeks
Jim
Bellman and True
Donkey
1987
Horse
Junior
2014
Children of the North
Seamus Reilly
1991
Pete's Meteor
Sergeant Maloney
2002
Arise and Go Now
Father Dade
1991
Cal
Skeffington
1984
The Storyteller: A Story Short
Beggar
1988
Children in the Crossfire
1984
The McKenzie Break
1970
The Ballroom of Romance
Bowser Egan
1982
Shadow of a Gunman
Adolphus Grigson
1995
The Runway
2010
Samuel Beckett: As the Story Was Told
Voice
1996
The Informant
IRA Chief
1997
Lost Memories
Dad
2017
Vicious Circle
Charlie Rice
1999
The Stag
Fionan and Little Kevin's Dad
2013
Love Lies Bleeding
Sean Kerrigan
1993
The Fantasist
Robert Foxley
1986
Who Bombed Birmingham?
Z
1990Last Days in Dublin
2001
August Saturday
Tom Crosbie
1990
Mystics
Gerry the Barman
2003
Der Irland-Krimi: Zerrissene Seelen
Arthur Browne
2024
One Sweet Hour
Tommy
Sinners
Frank
2002
Deposits
Narrator (voice)
2017
Events at Drimaghleen
Superintendent O'Kelly
1991
Fools of Fortune
Johnny Lacy
1990
The Halo Effect
Stan
2004
A Week in the Life of Martin Cluxton
Priest
1971
Puckoon
Haggerty
2002Revival: Pearse's Concept of Ireland
Patrick Pearse
1980
The Price
Kearney
1985The Wonderful Story of Kelvin Kind
2004Attracta
Mr. Devereux
1983
Joyriders
Manager
1988
Bad Company
Patrick Molloy
1993
The Country Girls
James
1983