Irish actor David Kelly is probably best known to worldwide audiences for his role as Michael O'Sullivan in the 1998 comedy hit Waking Ned (known in the U.S. as Waking Ned Devine) and for several roles in the cult John Cleese TV series Fawlty Towers. However, he has also performed in other major productions, including Ordinary Decent Criminal (2000), starring Kevin Spacey; the TV miniseries Kidnapped (1995), starring Armand Assante; A Man of No Importance (1994), starring Albert Finney; and the TV miniseries Scarlett (1994), starring Timothy Dalton.
Kelly was born in Dublin on July 11, 1929. After undergoing training at Dublin's Abbey Theatre, he became a stage actor. Over the years, he has performed in productions of William Shakespeare, Samuel Beckett, Brendan Behan, Arthur Miller, and William Butler Yeats. He has also acted in film adaptations of the works of James Joyce and Victor Hugo. Kelly's screen career began in 1958, when he appeared in Dublin Nightmare. Five years later, he landed a role in the TV series Doctor Who. After appearing in scores of other film, TV, and stage productions in the '60s, '70s, '80s, and '90s, Kelly continued to remain active in the new century in such films as Happy As Larry (2002), Mean Machine (2001), Rough for Theatre 1 (2000), Greenfingers (2000), and the previously mentioned Kevin Spacey film. ~ Mike Cummings, All Movie Guide
Education
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Abbey Theatre School, Dublin, Ireland
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Synge Street Catholic Boys School, Dublin, Ireland
Milestones
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1956 Made uncredited feature debut as a cop in "The Wrong Man"
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1958 Appeared in the film "Dublin Nightmare"
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1966 Landed a role in the TV series "Doctor Who"
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1970 First US film, "Quackser Fortune Has a Cousin in the Bronx"
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1972 Starred in the BBC series "Tales from the Lazy Acre"
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1973 Was featured in the British TV series "Oh Father"
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1975 Most memorable television work includes the cult British TV comedy "Fawlty Towers" with John Cleese
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1977 Played Albert Riddle, a one-armed dishwasher in "Robin's Nest", a spin-off of "Man About the House" (aired in syndication in the USA in 1983)
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1977 Appeared as the Dean of Studies in Joseph Strick's film adaptation of James Joyce's "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man"
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1980 Co-starred in the British comedy series "Cowboys"
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1982 Had featured role in the London Weekend Television series sitcom "Whoops Apocalypse"
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1983 Acted role of Balthazar in the BBC production of Shakespeare's "The Comedy of Errors"
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1984 Had featured role in Terence Young's "The Jigsaw Man"
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1986 Co-starred with Walter Matthau in Roman Polanski's "Pirates"
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1989 Starred as a weathered hill farmer in Aislung Walsh's directorial debut "Joyriders"
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1991 Played recurring role of Paddy in episodes of the British comedy series "2 Point 4 Children"
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1992 Portrayed the grandfather in Mike Newell's underrated "Into the West"
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1994 Offered a fine support turn opposite Albert Finney in Suri Krishnamma's "A Man of No Importance"
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1995 Played a priest in Peter Yates' "The Run of the Country"
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1997 Appeared in "The Matchmaker," starring Janeane Garofalo
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1998 Breakthrough screen role at age 69, as the high-strung cohort of Ian Bannen's schemer in "Waking Ned Devine"; nominated by both the Golden Satellite Awards and the Screen Actors Guild Awards for his outstanding performance
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2000 Had featured role in the British comedy "Greenfingers" directed by Joel Hershman
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2002 Co-stared with Milo O'Shea in David Blair's "Mystics"
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2005 Cast as Grandpa Joe in Tim Burtons' remake of Roald Dahl's classic tale "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"
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Appeared in the world premiere of Brendan Behan's play "The Quare Fellow"; also acted in the 1962 feature adaptation
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Began career on stage at The Gate Theatre in Dublin
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Starred in Samuel Beckett's one-man piece "Krapp's Last Tape," in New York's Lincoln Centre as well as in Chicago and Melbourne, Australia
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Toured Europe in George Bernard Shaw's plays "Candida" and "Mrs. Warren's Profession"