Alison Doody

Acting

Alison Doody

Born 1966-11-11 · Dublin, Ireland

Alison Doody (born November 11, 1966) is an Irish actress and model. She is the youngest of three children. She was educated in a convent, where she gained a passion for the arts. She later studied at the National College of Fine Arts in Dublin, but left because she lacked the motivation and thought she would take a year off to think it out. Meanwhile, while sitting in a café with friends, she was approached by a still photographer who asked her if she would be interested to model. Thinking she could use the pocket money, she said yes. Modeling proved to be both fun and lucrative, and very soon she did it professionally. Her modeling contracts led to commercial work, which would take her around the world. One day, a casting director saw her work and suggested she try acting instead. She was sent to London at age 19, where she quickly won an audition to appear in the new James Bond film, A View to a Kill (1985). She so loved acting that she pursued a career in that direction. After her first film, she shot a few TV dramas in London and in Dublin, but her big break came when she was cast as Austrian seductress Dr. Elsa Schneider in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989). Apparently she made a huge impression on Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, who loved her great sense of humor and her Grace Kelly looks. After Indiana Jones, which introduced her to Hollywood and to the United States, she was chosen to replace Cybill Shepherd as spokeswoman for L'Oréal. After that she shot a few B-movies in the United States, but at one point felt she missed Ireland too much, so she went back to Dublin. In 1994, she put her career on hold to spend more time with media heir Gavin O'Reilly, whom she had been dating for two years. In 1996 they married, and later had two children. In 2002, she was asked to cameo in the 'Michael Caine (I)_ comedy Les acteurs (2003), and there she regained a lust for the movie industry. The following summer, she shot Allan Quatermain et la pierre des ancêtres (2004) with co-starPatrick Swayze, and it's then that the whole ball started rolling again. In 2005, she and her husband divorced and she decided to re-launch her stalled career, but she quickly realized how difficult it was to break into this kind of business for a second time, especially after ten years away from the camera. Recently she appeared in the short film Benjamin's Struggle (2005), directed by newcomer James Breese, and played a role in the well-known British series Meurtres en sommeil (2000). In a recent interview, she said she was thrilled to be acting again, but added that she wasn't willing to accept anything for the sake of working. She is determined to find the right part, but she also wants to do different things: "I'm fed up playing the nasty Nazi. I'd like to do something quite extreme."

Acting credits

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade poster
7.9

In 1938, an art collector appeals to eminent archaeologist Dr. Indiana Jones to embark on a search for the Holy Grail. Indy learns that a medieval historian has vanished while searching for it, and the missing man is his own father, Dr. Henry Jones Sr.. He sets out to rescue his father by following clues in the old man's notebook, which his father had mailed to him before he went missing. Indy arrives in Venice, where he enlists the help of a beautiful academic, Dr. Elsa Schneider, along with Marcus Brody and Sallah. Together they must stop the Nazis from recovering the power of eternal life and taking over the world!

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

1989

RRR poster
7.7

A fictional history of two legendary revolutionaries' journey away from home before they began fighting for their country in the 1920s.

RRR

2022

A View to a Kill poster
6.3

A newly-developed microchip designed by Zorin Industries for the British Government that can survive the electromagnetic radiation caused by a nuclear explosion has landed in the hands of the KGB. James Bond must find out how and why. His suspicions soon lead him to big industry leader Max Zorin who forms a plan to destroy his only competition in Silicon Valley by triggering a massive earthquake in the San Francisco Bay.

A View to a Kill

1985

Major League II poster
5.7

After losing in the ALCS the year before, the Cleveland Indians are determined to make it into the World Series this time! However, they first have to contend with Rachel Phelps again when she buys back the team.

Major League II

1994

We Still Kill the Old Way poster
6.1

A group of aging London gangsters go on a vigilante killing spree when one of their number is murdered by a street gang.

We Still Kill the Old Way

2014

The Rising Hawk poster
5.9

During the 13th century, a small village fights for freedom in the frontier landscape of the Carpathian Mountains against Mongolian invaders.

The Rising Hawk

2019

Division 19 poster
5.8

In 2039, jails have been turned into online portals where the public gets to choose what prisoners eat, wear, watch and who they fight. So successful is Panopticon TV, it is about to be rolled out to a whole town, providing subscribers even more choice.

Division 19

2017

A Prayer for the Dying poster
5.9

Martin, an I.R.A. hitman, is seen by a Catholic priest while carrying out a hit. He grows a bond with the priest and his niece. But his past and his former employers put all their lives in danger.

A Prayer for the Dying

1987

Taffin poster
5.6

When a small Irish town is terrorized by a corrupt business syndicate, a lone hero wages an all out war.

Taffin

1988

The Secret Garden poster
7.7

When a spoiled English girl living in 19th century India loses both parents in a cholera epidemic, she is sent back to England to live in a country mansion. The lord is a strange old man-- frail and deformed, immensely kind but so melancholy. She wishes to discover what has caused him so much sorrow and to bring joy back to the household. It all must have something to do with the screams and wails which echo through the house at night and no one wants to talk about.

The Secret Garden

1987

Deceptions poster
6.7

Twin sisters -- one a European jet-setter, the other an unhappy New Jersey housewife -- impulsively decide to swap lives and identities for a week, with unforseen results.

Deceptions

1985

RRR: Behind & Beyond poster
7.5

An in-depth look at the making of S.S. Rajamouli's magnum opus, RRR, with behind-the-scenes footage and exclusive interviews. Explores the vision, challenges, and dedication involved in creating this cinematic phenomenon.

RRR: Behind & Beyond

2024

Indiana Jones: Making the Trilogy poster
7.9

George Lucas and Steven Spielberg tell the struggles and the passion for making the Indiana Jones Trilogy.

Indiana Jones: Making the Trilogy

2003

The Actors poster
5.6

During the run of a particularly awful interpretation of Richard III, the star, Anthony O'Malley, begins to frequent a rough pub to develop his character. He meets Barreller who he discovers owes someone he's never met a considerable sum of money. Seeing an opportunity to make some fast money, O'Malley convinces hapless extra, Tom, to meet Barreller as the debt collector.

The Actors

2003

Selling Hitler poster
8.0

In 1981, Gerd Heidemann, a war correspondent and reporter with the German magazine Stern, makes what he believes is the literary and historical scoop of the century: the personal diaries of Adolf Hitler. Over the next two years, Heidemann and the senior management figures at Stern secretly pay 10 million German marks to a mysterious 'Dr Fischer' for the sixty volumes of 'Hitler's diaries'. However, to the dismay of all, it is discovered after the publication of first extract that the diaries are crude forgeries, faked by Stuttgart criminal Konrad Kujau.

Selling Hitler

1993

The Storyteller: Sapsorrow poster
NR

A beautiful princess seeking to escape an arranged marriage, flees to a distant kingdom and disguises herself as a loathsome hag. But then she falls in love with the new kingdom's prince.

The Storyteller: Sapsorrow

1988

Muse poster
NR

Luca is the pre-eminent artist of his generation and at the peak of his career, lauded, feted and collected by all. He is the ultimate showman however, his fortune and fame have left him agoraphobic and crippled by depression. He hasn't left his house in five years, he's a virtual recluse who battles daily with his demon. When a chance encounter brings Luca back from the edge, the question is, can he stay there.

Muse

2019

Duel of Hearts poster
7.0

Lady Caroline Faye meets Lord Vane Brecon and is attracted to him. When she finds out that he is being accused of a murder he did not commit, she sets out to prove him innocent

Duel of Hearts

1992

The Unofficial Science of Indiana Jones poster
6.0

Greg James and Maisie Adam will team up to tackle some of the classic Indiana Jones stunts – we’re talking dodging poisonous darts, outrunning giant boulders and surviving fireballs. Alex Brooker explores the franchise’s famous filming locations and meets iconic cast members to hear their favourite on-set stories.

The Unofficial Science of Indiana Jones

2024

Benjamin's Struggle poster
7.0

In 1930s Germany, a young boy attempts to steal the original manuscript of Hitler's Mein Kampf in the hope that it will end the suffering of his family.

Benjamin's Struggle

2005

Temptation poster
4.4

After five years in prison for insurance fraud the sailor Lanarsky is released. Together with his buddy Bone he gets a job as seamen on board the yacht owned by the wife of his insurance fraud-partner Michael Reddick. Lanarsky has a question to his former partner who he thinks tried to cheat him. But Michael Reddich himself has another insurance plan ready where he will kill everybody on board the yacht, blow it up and then claim the life-insurance for his wife. But Lanarsky and the wife Lee escape and follow Michael to the nearby Cayman Island where the final showdown takes place.

Temptation

1994

Billy & Chuck poster
6.0

A tale about a young boy who sets out on an adventure deep into the forest to face his fear, guided only by a voice at the end of his walkie-talkie.

Billy & Chuck

2011

The Rapture poster
4.0

Told through the eyes of Casper Harrison. The Rapture is a fast paced mystery thriller where good and evil collide in the quest to possess the most holiest of artifacts, The Spear Of Destiny.

The Rapture

2010

Harry's Kingdom poster
NR

It's the most important night of the year for the dynamic salesmen of King Double Glazing - the company prize-giving. It's all smiles for the winning salesmen and their ladies, but this is the world of Harry King , where you're only as good as your last double patio. One mistake and you're on Harry's chop list.

Harry's Kingdom

1987