Sean Caffrey

Sean Caffrey (born James Caffrey on 15 April 1940 in Belfast, Northern Ireland) was a versatile Northern Irish actor, playwright, and set designer whose career spanned nearly five decades. He emerged from a generation of Belfast‑born performers that broke into British television in the 1960s, earning praise from The Stage as part of a cohort that brought the island’s talent to a wider audience. Caffrey quickly became a familiar face on screen, appearing in iconic series such as No Hiding Place, Coronation Street, Z‑Cars, The Professionals and the classic Doctor Who serial “Horror of Fang Rock”. His film work ranged from leading roles in I Was Happy Here (1966) and Lindsay Shonteff’s Run with the Wind (1966) to memorable supporting parts in Hammer productions like The Viking Queen (1967) and When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth (1970). Throughout the 1970s, 80s and 90s he continued to appear in high‑profile movies such as The Human Factor (1979), Harry’s Game (1982), Ascendancy (1983), Curse of the Pink Panther (1983) and the late‑1990s cult titles Resurrection Man, Crossmaheart and Divorcing Jack. On stage, Caffrey was equally prolific, performing at Belfast’s Lyric Theatre in Stewart Parker’s Spokesong (1989) and Graham Reid’s Lengthening Shadows (1995), as well as at the Bristol Old Vic in Orton’s Loot and Shakespeare’s Macbeth (both 1987). His theatrical reach extended to the Greenwich Theatre, Project Arts Centre in Dublin, and the Royal Court, where he tackled works by Brendan Behan and Peter Sheridan. Beyond acting, he contributed as a set designer and authored plays such as Nora Surrender (1989), co‑founding the North Face Theatre Company with his life partner Phil Thompson, thereby leaving a lasting imprint on both screen and stage in the United Kingdom.