Milo O'Shea
| Milo O'Shea | |
|---|---|
O'Shea in Ulysses in 1967
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| Born |
2 June 1926 Dublin, Ireland |
| Died | 2 April 2013 (aged 86) New York City, New York |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1940–2005 |
| Spouse(s) |
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Milo O'Shea (2 June 1926 – 2 April 2013) was an Irish character actor. He was nominated for the Tony Award for his roles in Staircase and Mass Appeal.
O'Shea was born and brought up in Dublin and educated by the Christian Brothers at Synge Street school, along with his friend Donal Donnelly. His father was a singer and his mother a ballet teacher. Because he was bilingual, O'Shea performed in English-speaking theatres and in Irish in the Abbey Theatre Company. At age 12, he appeared in George Bernard Shaw's Caesar and Cleopatra at the Gate Theatre. He later studied music and drama at the Guildhall School in London and was a skilled pianist.
He was discovered in the 1950s by Harry Dillon, who ran the 37 Theatre Club on the top floor of his shop The Swiss Gem Company, 51 Lower O'Connell Street Dublin.
O'Shea began acting on the stage, then moved into film in the 1960s. He became popular in the United Kingdom, as a result of starring in the BBC sitcom Me Mammy alongside Yootha Joyce. In 1967–68 he appeared in the drama Staircase, co-starring Eli Wallach and directed by Barry Morse, which stands as Broadway’s first depiction of homosexual men in a serious light. For his role in that drama, he was nominated for a Tony Award in 1968.
O'Shea starred as Leopold Bloom in Joseph Strick's 1967 film version of Ulysses. Among his other memorable film roles in the 1960s were the well-intentioned Friar Laurence in Franco Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet and the villainous Dr. Durand Durand (who tried to kill Jane Fonda's character by making her literally die of pleasure) in Roger Vadim's counterculture classic Barbarella (both films were released in 1968). In 1984, O'Shea reprised his role as Dr. Durand Durand (credited as Dr. Duran Duran) for the Duran Duran concert film Arena, since his character inspired the band's name. He played Inspector Boot in the 1973 Vincent Price horror/comedy film Theatre of Blood.
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