'' (1967) Moore began his acting career at the
Abbey Theatre in Dublin, and made his British stage debut at the age of 19 as Heathcliff in a production of
Wuthering Heights. He featured in the West End in the 1945 war play
Desert Rats by
Colin Morris. His first film role was as an
IRA man in
The Voice Within (1946), where he was billed as "Keiron O'Hanrahan". He acted on the Liverpool stage in
Purple Dust. He gave an acclaimed performance in the
West End hit
Red Roses for Me (written by
Seán O'Casey). This was seen by
Alexander Korda, who signed Moore to a long-term contract. Korda announced he was likely to become a major star: He has a brilliant acting talent. Then he has six-feet-two of brawn, a mobile photogenic face, rich expressive eyes, and ability to adapt himself to any type of role – ultra romantic or the last word in villainy. Very soon he will be one of the big names on the world's screens." Adopting the stage name Kieron Moore, he was cast in a leading role in
A Man About the House (1947), directed by
Leslie Arliss. Arliss said Moore was "terrific. Naturally, since he's had no film experience, his work is still a bit rough, but he does the right thing by instinct. He smashes through at you from the screen." There followed the psychological thriller
Mine Own Executioner (1947), co-starring with
Burgess Meredith. Korda then gave Moore the plum role of the suave Count Vronsky in
Julien Duvivier's production of
Anna Karenina (1948), which starred
Vivien Leigh and
Ralph Richardson. The movie was a box-office flop, and Moore received the worst notices of his career. He played Heathcliff in a BBC Television adaptation of
Wuthering Heights in 1948. Korda's fourth film with him was a comedy set in Ireland,
Saints and Sinners (1949), directed by Arliss. Moore went to France to co-star with
Michèle Morgan in
Marc Allégret's
Maria Chapdelaine (1950), also known as
The Naked Heart.
Hollywood Moore was invited to
Hollywood, where in 1951 he made two films, playing
Uriah the Hittite in the biblical epic
David and Bathsheba, supporting
Gregory Peck and
Susan Hayward, and a
French Foreign Legion corporal in
Ten Tall Men, starring
Burt Lancaster. Both were supporting roles. Moore went to Italy to play the lead in an Italian-English comedy,
Honeymoon Deferred (1951). In France, he had a small role in another film for Allegret,
La demoiselle et son revenant (1952).
British B films Moore was in a British B film,
Mantrap (1953), for
Hammer Films, supporting
Paul Henreid. He had the lead in
Recoil (1953, directed by
John Gilling),
Conflict of Wings (1954) and
The Blue Peter (1954). He supported
Michael Redgrave in
The Green Scarf (1954). "Thank heavens for this", Moore said. "I've had a rough time of it, especially during the last three years. Now perhaps I can re-establish myself as an actor." It did not happen. Moore had the lead in the Danzinger Brothers'
Satellite in the Sky (1956) and returned to Hammer for
The Steel Bayonet (1957). He directed some episodes of
The Vise in 1956-57 and was in
Overseas Press Club – Exclusive!, and
Three Sundays to Live (1957) for the Danzigers.
Supporting roles and occasional leads Moore had supporting roles in
Carol Reed's
The Key (1958) and
Robert Aldrich's
The Angry Hills (1959) and had a memorable role as town bully Pony Sugrue in
Walt Disney's ''
Darby O'Gill and the Little People (1959), where he fought a young Sean Connery. He also guest-starred in Tales of the Vikings'' (1959). He gave an impressive performance in the comedy-thriller
The League of Gentlemen (1960), playing a
homosexual former
fascist and army officer recruited to take part in a big robbery. He also played opposite
Patrick McGoohan in an episode of
Danger Man titled 'The Sanctuary' (1960). There followed roles in
The Day They Robbed the Bank of England (1960), and
The Siege of Sidney Street (1960), shot on location in Ireland. Moore had the lead role in ''
Doctor Blood's Coffin (1961), directed by Sidney J. Furie and supporting roles in I Thank a Fool (1962), The 300 Spartans, The Main Attraction (1962), The Day of the Triffids (1962) (for Philip Yordan), Girl in the Headlines (1963), and Hide and Seek'' (1964). Moore did two more for Yordan,
The Thin Red Line (1964), and
Crack in the World (1965) (the second disaster movie after 'Triffids' where his character's romantically linked to
Janette Scott), then
Son of a Gunfighter (1965) (all second-billed and all shot in Spain) and
Arabesque (1966). He had lead roles in
Bikini Paradise (1967) (filmed in the
Canary Islands) and
Run Like a Thief (shot in Spain) (1967). In his final film,
Custer of the West (1967), he played Chief
Dull Knife, for Yordan, again shot in Spain. He also made television appearances in such shows as
Three Live Wires,
Sir Francis Drake,
Zero One,
Boy Meets Girl,
Department S in the 1969 episode Dead Men Die Twice as an international crime boss,
Vendetta,
Jason King,
The Adventurer,
The Protectors and
Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)—the last of these was in the episode "
When the Spirit Moves You", as the villain Miklos Corri. Moore created a TV series,
Ryan International (1970), which he also starred in and wrote some episodes. It ran for ten episodes. His last acting appearance was in an episode of
The Zoo Gang (1974). ==Post-acting career==