Sean Caffrey

{{Short description|Actor from Northern Ireland (1940–2013)}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Sean Caffrey

| image = Actor_Sean_Caffrey.jpg

| caption = Publicity still for I Was Happy Here (1966)

| birth_name = James Caffrey

| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1940|04|15}}

| birth_place = Belfast, Northern Ireland

| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2013|04|25|1940|04|15}}

| death_place = Belfast, Northern Ireland

| restingplace =

| alma_mater = Queen's University, Belfast

| othername =

| occupation = Actor
Playwright
Stage designer

| yearsactive =

| domesticpartner = Phil Thompson

| website =

| awards =

}}

Sean Caffrey (15 April 1940 – 25 April 2013) was an actor from Northern Ireland.The Stage described him as "part of a generation of actors that came out of Northern Ireland in the 1960s to find prominence on British television," and the Belfast Telegraph called him "a largely unsung professional, who was always in demand."{{cite web|url=http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northern-ireland/sean-caffrey-obituary-unsung-character-actor-always-in-demand-29229930.html|title=Sean Caffrey obituary: Unsung character actor always in demand|publisher=BelfastTelegraph.co.uk|date=16 April 2013|accessdate=3 May 2013}}

He is perhaps best remembered for his performances on television in such series as No Hiding Place, Coronation Street, Z-Cars, Sutherland's Law, Oil Strike North, Survivors, Doctor Who (in the serial Horror of Fang Rock), The Professionals, Minder, Bergerac, Children of the North and Edge of Darkness.{{cite web|url=http://www.aveleyman.com/ActorCredit.aspx?ActorID=2503|title=Sean Caffrey|publisher=}} His film career included leading roles in I Was Happy Here (1966) and Lindsay Shonteff's Run with the Wind (1966). There were also roles of varying size in the Hammer films The Viking Queen (1967) and When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth (1970), The Human Factor (1979), Harry's Game (1982), Ascendancy (1983), Curse of the Pink Panther (1983), Resurrection Man (1998), Crossmaheart (1998) and Divorcing Jack (1998).{{cite web|url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b9f90b990|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181203055649/https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b9f90b990|url-status=dead|archive-date=3 December 2018|title=Sean Caffrey|publisher=}}

Caffrey's stage work included appearances at Belfast's Lyric, in Stewart Parker's Spokesong (1989), Graham Reid's Lengthening Shadows (1995), Bill Morrison's Drive On! (1996) and Gary Mitchell's Marching On (2000). At the Bristol Old Vic he was in Orton's Loot and Shakespeare's Macbeth (both 1987). At the Greenwich Theatre, he appeared in Brendan Behan's The Hostage (1970). At Project Arts Centre, Dublin, and the Royal Court, he was in Peter Sheridan's The Liberty Suit (1980).{{cite web|url=https://theatricalia.com/person/154y/sean-caffrey|title=Sean Caffrey - Theatricalia|website=theatricalia.com}}

As well as acting, Caffrey also worked as a set designer and writer, having authored the play Nora Surrender (1989), amongst others.{{cite web|url=https://www.thestage.co.uk/features/obituaries/2013/sean-caffrey/|title=Sean Caffrey - Obituaries - The Stage|date=15 May 2013|publisher=}} He also co-founded the North Face Theatre Company with his life partner, Phil Thompson.{{cite web|url=https://www.laganpress.co/authors/sean-caffrey|title=Sean Caffrey - Authors|first=Cloud Data|last=Service (clouddataservice.co.uk)|website=Lagan Press}}{{cite news|url=https://www.thetimes.com/world/ireland-world/article/sean-caffrey-h3hchcphpq8|title=Sean Caffrey|date=31 May 2013|publisher=|via=www.thetimes.co.uk}}