That same year, he acted in Braveheart (1995) as one of the nobles who routinely changed sides from Scotland to England in the Scottish wars of independence. Kavanagh then guest-starred in the Sharpe series (starring Sean Bean and Hugh Fraser), where he played the holy man Father Michael Curtis. He acted alongside such classic actors as Mia Farrow and Jim Broadbent in the John Irvin film Widows' Peak (1994). Kavanagh's career picked up considerably in the mid-nineties. He participated in the thriller The Fantasist (1986), the crime drama Bellman and True (1987), the action film Joyriders (1988), and the independent film 4 Play: In the Border Country (1991), among others. Moving on from this film, Kavanagh acted in a number of films and television series. He meets the widow of one of the IRA's victims (Mirren) and they begin a love affair. The film was about a young member of the IRA (Lynch) who is seeking to get out of the organisation.

Kavanagh's next theatrical film was one of the most famous films of his career: the Irish film Cal (1984), starring Helen Mirren and John Lynch. The film was followed up with the small film Attracta (1983), and the made-for-television movie The Country Girls (1984), starring Sam Neill. 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 next twelve years brought Kavanagh no new films, though he continued to act on stage. He also starred in the subsequent television production, which aired in December 1978.

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). camp in Scotland whose prisoners are preparing an escape. That same year, he played another small role in the World War II film The McKenzie Break (1970), about a P.O.W. Kavanagh began his career with the Irish comedy Paddy (1970), where he played the small role of Willie Egan. In 1967, he joined the company and stayed with them for 10 years before becoming freelancer. Kavanagh attended the Brendan Smyth Academy since he was 19 and then trained at the Abbey Theatre.

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. Most recently, he is known for his portrayal of The Seer in the History Channel series Vikings.

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.

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