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Donald O'Brien is a Actor and Assistant Director French born on 15 september 1930 at Pau (France)
Donal "Donald" O'Brien (September 15, 1930) is an French-born Irish film and television actor. In his near 40-year career, O'Brien appeared in dozens of stage performances and in more than 60 film and television productions.
O'Brien was born in Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, raised in both Northern France and Dublin, Ireland with his family, and made his feature film debut in 1953 with Anatole Litvak's war drama Act of Love. He studied acting in Dublin and initially joined the Gate Theatre at age 19 before making the transition to film several years later. O'Brien's performance in The Train (1964), in which he played an SS Feldwebel, led to his first breakout role in Grand Prix (1966) starring alongside James Garner and Eva Marie Saint.
He was particularly known for his performances in the Spaghetti Western genre of the late-1960s and 70s, with memorable roles in Run, Man, Run! (1968), Four of the Apocalypse (1975), Keoma (1976), A Man Called Blade (1977) and They Died with Their Boots On (1978), as well as later appearances in Italian horror, post-apocalyptic, and zombie films. In 1980, O'Brien suffered a head injury which left him in a coma for three days and partially paralyzed. Though eventually recovering from his injuries, his mobility was significantly limited for the rest of his life. In spite of this, O'Brien continued to work for another decade in the Italian film industry, almost exclusively for directors Lucio Fulci and Joe D'Amato. His last years included supporting roles in The Name of the Rose (1986) and The Devil's Daughter (1991).
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Donald O'Brien
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Birth name Donal O'Brien
Nationality France
Birth 15 september 1930 at Pau (France)
Death 29 november 2003 (at 73 years) at Rome (Italie)
Nationality France
Birth 15 september 1930 at Pau (France)
Death 29 november 2003 (at 73 years) at Rome (Italie)
Donal "Donald" O'Brien (September 15, 1930) is an French-born Irish film and television actor. In his near 40-year career, O'Brien appeared in dozens of stage performances and in more than 60 film and television productions.
O'Brien was born in Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, raised in both Northern France and Dublin, Ireland with his family, and made his feature film debut in 1953 with Anatole Litvak's war drama Act of Love. He studied acting in Dublin and initially joined the Gate Theatre at age 19 before making the transition to film several years later. O'Brien's performance in The Train (1964), in which he played an SS Feldwebel, led to his first breakout role in Grand Prix (1966) starring alongside James Garner and Eva Marie Saint.
He was particularly known for his performances in the Spaghetti Western genre of the late-1960s and 70s, with memorable roles in Run, Man, Run! (1968), Four of the Apocalypse (1975), Keoma (1976), A Man Called Blade (1977) and They Died with Their Boots On (1978), as well as later appearances in Italian horror, post-apocalyptic, and zombie films. In 1980, O'Brien suffered a head injury which left him in a coma for three days and partially paralyzed. Though eventually recovering from his injuries, his mobility was significantly limited for the rest of his life. In spite of this, O'Brien continued to work for another decade in the Italian film industry, almost exclusively for directors Lucio Fulci and Joe D'Amato. His last years included supporting roles in The Name of the Rose (1986) and The Devil's Daughter (1991).
Biography
O'Brien grandit à Pau dans une famille originaire de l'Irlande, mais lors de la défaite de 1940, Donald O'Brien rentre à Dublin ou il décide de se lancer dans le théâtre et il doit rentrer en France, après le conflit. Il travaille un temps dans les bureaux de l’armée américaine, puis il reprend ensuite son activité de comédien. Il obtient son premier rôle en 1960 dans Les Scélérats de Robert Hossein. Mais O'Brien connaîtra le succès avec le western spaghetti avec Le Shérif de Rockspring (1971), Le colt était son dieu ou encore son travail avec des réalisateurs comme Lucio Fulci Le Retour de Croc Blanc (1974), Les Quatre de l'apocalypse (1975) et Joe d'Amato avec Emanuelle et les derniers cannibales en 1977.Usually with
Filmography of Donald O'Brien (43 films)
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The Sect (1991)
, 1h51Directed by Michele Soavi
Origin Italie
Genres Thriller, Horror
Themes Films about religion, Demons in film
Actors Kelly Curtis, Herbert Lom, Mariangela Giordano, Carla Cassola, Richard Sammel, Tomas Arana
Roles Justice Jonathan Ford
Rating61%
Following a 70s set prologue, the film takes place in present day Frankfurt, Germany. Miriam Kreisl (Kelly Curtis) is a young schoolteacher who narrowly misses her car hitting an old man carrying a box. Reluctantly, she takes in Moebius Kelly (Herbert Lom), the mysterious old man. What she doesn't know is that their meeting is no accident. Moebius is the elder of a Satanic sect and she has been chosen to give birth to the son of Satan.
Ator IV: The Hobgoblin (1990)
, 1h34Directed by Joe D'Amato
Genres Fantasy, Adventure
Actors Eric Allan Kramer, Donald O'Brien, Laura Gemser, Marisa Mell
Roles Gunther
Rating27%
When Ator is killed, many years later his son looks for his sword. Once upon a time a god gave a mighty sword to the king of Aquiles to bring justice to his people. Now he wants it back - but the king rather gives his life than the sword. Goddess Dehamira, who spoke for him, is being taken all her privileges and banned in a circle of fire, until a human arrives who's strong enough to free her. When prince Ator becomes 18, he gets the sword from the mean sorcerer gnome Grindl, to free Dehamira and his people. On his journey he has to fight against dragons and other fantastic figures.
Flight from Paradise (1990)
, 1h48Origin German
Genres Science fiction
Themes Post-apocalyptic films
Actors Inés Sastre, Fabrice Bernard-Josso, Horst Buchholz, Aurore Clément, Jacques Perrin, Van Johnson
Rating56%
Un vieillard conte à un enfant l'histoire du médaillon grâce auquel des êtres recréèrent la vie sur la Terre dévastée par une catastrophe écologique et nucléaire…
Mortacci (1989)
, 1h50Directed by Sergio Citti
Genres Comedy
Actors Vittorio Gassman, Carol Alt, Malcolm McDowell, Galeazzo Benti, Mariangela Melato, Nino Frassica
Roles Archibald Williams
Rating69%
In a cemetery in Rome, at night, the soldier Camillo arrives among the graves. The rude and crude keeper Domenico welcomes him and makes him sit in a chapel. Camillo is looking for happiness, so Domenico ushers Camillo in a coffin, and closes him inside. In a short time Camillo dies, and is found as raised in the world of the dead. In fact he is accepted by the clique of the souls of the cemetery, led by Domenico alive. So Camillo, to pass the time, recounts the adventures of her young life, when he was a soldier, returned to his country to war. In the village Camillo, despair for many years, was considered a hero, and now that he was back, the citizens of the country, for fear of having economic problems on the tourism organizations who had long served in the county to celebrate the "sanctity" of the soldier disappeared, they tried to kill in all the ways the poor Camillo.
Ghosthouse (1988)
, 1h35Directed by Umberto Lenzi
Origin Italie
Genres Horror
Themes Ghost films, Zombie films
Actors Lara Wendel, Donald O'Brien, Mary Sellers, Timothy Van Patten
Roles Valkos
Rating48%
A group of unlikely companions receive a radio call leading to a deserted house with a grisly past. After exploring the house, the group makes the foolish decision to split up, leading to a trail of death and destruction as the house unleashes its deadly past. Along the way expect severed heads, exploding light bulbs, demonic clown dolls, and creepy children. The clown doll is the main evil force from the film; the director of a funeral home stole it out of a child's coffin to give to his own daughter, leading to angry spirits possessing both the girl and the clown doll.
Hands of Steel (1986)
, 1h34Directed by Sergio Martino
Origin Italie
Genres Science fiction, Action
Themes Films set in the future
Actors Janet Ågren, John Saxon, Claudio Cassinelli, George Eastman, Roberto Bisacco, Darwyn Swalve
Roles Professor Olster
Rating53%
An evil industrialist (John Saxon) has created a cyborg (Daniel Greene) who is 70% robot and 30% human.
The Name of the Rose (1986)
, 2h11Directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud
Origin Italie
Genres Drama, Thriller, Historical, Crime
Themes Assassinat, Films about magic and magicians, Films about religion, Witches in film, Serial killer films
Actors Sean Connery, F. Murray Abraham, Christian Slater, Michael Lonsdale, Valentina Vargas, Helmut Qualtinger
Roles Pietro d'Assisi
Rating76%
As an old man nearing the end of his life, Adso, youngest son of the Baron of Melk recounts how, as a young novice in 1327, he accompanied his mentor, the Franciscan friar William of Baskerville to a Benedictine abbey in Northern Italy. The abbey had been chosen as the site for a theological debate between the Franciscan order and the Pope on the poverty of Christ. The abbey is already home to a famed scriptorium where scribes copy, translate or illuminate books. The mysterious recent death of the monk Adelmo of Otranto - a young but famous illuminator - has stirred fears among the abbey's devout inhabitants. The Abbot seeks help from William, known for his deductive powers. The illuminator's death cannot be dismissed as a suicide because the body was found at the foot of a tower having only a window which cannot be opened. William is reluctant to involve himself, though he is persuaded not only because of the intellectual challenge, but also because of his desire to disprove fears of a demonic culprit in Adelmo's death. William is also motivated to act by his fears that the Abbot will summon officials of the inquisition if the mystery remains unsolved.
Commando Panther (1984)
Directed by Pierre Chevalier, Pierre Chevalier
Genres Science fiction, Action, Adventure, Crime
Actors Sybil Danning, Jack Taylor, Karin Schubert, Donald O'Brien, Analia Ivars, Katja Bienert
Roles General
Rating32%
Dans un futur indéterminé, le monde est dirigé par la Nouvelle Organisation des Nations ("New Organisation Of Nations", alias N.O.O.N.). Dans le cadre du programme de conquête spatiale, le lancement d’une fusée révolutionnaire est interrompu par une organisation écologiste terroriste, qui réclame l’arrêt des essais spatiaux et prend le contrôle de la fusée. C’est le moment pour N.O.O.N. de faire appel à son meilleur agent, Ilona.
Warriors of the Year 2072 (1984)
, 1h29Directed by Lucio Fulci
Origin Italie
Genres Science fiction, Thriller, Action
Themes Films about television, Films set in the future, La téléréalité, Dystopian films
Actors Jared Martin, Fred Williamson, Howard Ross, Claudio Cassinelli, Donald O'Brien, Valeria Cavalli
Roles Monk
Rating48%
In the year 2072, set in a dystopia Rome, Italy, WBS TV's chief of programming, Cortez (Claudio Cassinelli), is fuming at the constituently high ratings enjoyed by a rival American TV show, 'Kill-Bike'. The show has features gladiatorial fights to the death on motorcycles, and has made a hero of a man called Drake (Jared Martin) the unbeaten champion. Cortez is all the more bitter because it was he who discovered Drake in the first place. WBS's current answer to the American show is 'The Danger Game', a simulation game showing the hallucinations of a contestant experiencing the approach of violent death. Fear, panic, and screaming at the extremely realistic simulations triggers a further increase in the intensity. Unfortunately for the station, even this spectacle fails to compete against the American show.
2020 Texas Gladiators (1983)
, 1h31Directed by Joe D'Amato, George Eastman
Origin Italie
Genres Science fiction, Action
Themes Post-apocalyptic films
Actors Al Cliver, Peter Hooten, Donald O'Brien
Roles Black One
Rating44%
La Terre est détruite par le nucléaire dans le Texas et les survivants doivent ramener l'ordre sur terre. Ils seront confrontés à un dictateur, ses soldats et ses alliées qui sont toutes une horde de motards assassins.
Zombie Holocaust (1980)
, 1h24Directed by Marino Girolami
Origin Italie
Genres Horror
Themes Medical-themed films, Zombie films, Films about viral outbreaks, Disaster films
Actors Ian McCulloch, Donald O'Brien, Alexandra Delli Colli, Dakar
Roles Dr. Obrero / Dr. Butcher (US version)
Rating52%
In New York City a hospital worker is found to have been devouring bodies in the morgue. Morgue assistant and anthropology expert Lori (Alexandra Delli Colli) discovers he was from the Asian Molucca islands where she grew up. Dr. Peter Chandler (Ian McCulloch) investigates, and he and Lori discover that similar corpse mutilations have occurred in other city hospitals, where immigrants from this region are working.
The Day Christ Died (1980)
Directed by James Cellan Jones
Origin USA
Genres Drama
Themes Films set in Africa, Films about religion, Films about sexuality, Films based on the Bible, Portrayals of Jesus in film, Films about virginity
Actors Chris Sarandon, Hope Lange, Colin Blakely, Keith Michell, Jonathan Pryce, Jay O. Sanders
Roles Roman Soldier
Rating62%
Images in a Convent (1979)
, 1h22Directed by Joe D'Amato
Origin Italie
Genres Fantastic, Pornographic
Themes Films about religion, Films about sexuality, Erotic films, Sexploitation films, Nonnesploitation, LGBT-related film, Lesbian-related films
Actors Paola Senatore, Marina Hedman, Guia Lauri Filzi, Aïché Nana, Donald O'Brien, Maria Rosaria Riuzzi
Roles exorcist
Rating54%
Pour ne pas être corrompue par son oncle pervers et libidineux, la comtesse Isabella de Lignate rentre dans le couvent de Santa Fiora, au fin fond de la province de Grosseto, en Toscane, afin de lui échapper. Dès son arrivée, des événements étranges s'y produisent. Dans le jardin trône notamment une statue du diable qui semble régir des pulsions lubriques chez les nonnes. La nuit, au risque d'être découvertes par leur mère supérieure, elles entremêlent leurs chairs dans des accès de crise sexuelle blasphématoires et goûtent au plaisir du sado-masochisme et du lesbianisme. Alors que le couvent se transforme en lupanar, un beau jeune homme, Carlo, est retrouvé blessé devant l'établissement religieux et il est aussitôt recueilli pour être soigné. Mais sa présence perturbe les religieuses, toutes excitées sexuellement par sa présence, et surtout la mère supérieure qui, croyant qu'il est l'incarnation du Diable car il charme toutes les filles, demande à un exorciste de le purifier. Elle demande à une nonne, Marta, de le quérir chez lui mais elle est violée dans la forêt par deux braconniers. Parvenant à s'enfuir, elle est sauvée par l'exorciseur qui la ramène au couvent. Alors qu'il tente de chasser les forces démoniaques tapies dans le maison religieuse, amenées par Carlo selon la mère supérieure, la statue du Diable se met à saigner puis se balade partout. Dès lors, toutes les religieuses possédées par lui se jettent les unes sur les autres dans un sabbat saphique incontrôlable.
Tough to Kill (1979)
Genres War, Action
Actors Luc Merenda, Donald O'Brien, Donald Brian, Piero Vida, Isarco Ravaioli, Alessandro Haber
Roles Major Hagerty
Rating52%
The Inglorious Bastards (1978)
, 1h30Directed by Enzo G. Castellari
Origin Italie
Genres War, Thriller, Comedy, Action, Adventure
Themes Political films
Actors Bo Svenson, Fred Williamson, Peter Hooten, Michel Constantin, Joshua Sinclair, Debra Berger
Roles SS Officer
Rating64%
The plot is set in 1944 in France. American soldiers Berle, a deserter; Nick Colasanti, a petty thief; Fred, nicknamed "Assassin"; Tony, a mutineer; and Lieutenant Yeager (arrested for refusing to execute orders to kill, among others, women and children) are sentenced to death for their crimes and are shipped to a prisoners' camp near the Ardennes.