Desmond Devenish

Desmond Thomas Devenish is a British-American writer, director, actor, and producer.

Early life

Devenish was born in Manhattan, New York City to Louise Devenish (née Mellion), appraiser and professor of fine and decorative arts and Thomas Devenish, a New York dealer of fine English furniture, born in England to parents who were vaudevillians.

Among the schools Devenish attended were Saint David's School (New York City), Riverdale Country School, John F. Kennedy High School (New York City), Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, Marymount Manhattan College, where he received his BA in Theatre Arts, and The Los Angeles Film School.

Theatre Devenish performed in the Broadway production of On the Waterfront at The Brooks Atkinson Theatre, which starred Ron Eldard, Penelope Ann Miller, David Morse and James Gandolfini. In 2025, Devenish wrote, directed, and performed The Forum, a raw and intimate solo theatre piece exploring themes of belief, betrayal, and the cost of conviction. The show premiered at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Film While still in high school, Devenish landed the lead role in Delinquent, directed by Peter Hall. He also starred in Exit 8A which ran at Sundance and The LA Film Festival.

As a filmmaker, his LA Film School thesis, Split, was acquired by Shorts International. His second short Closure won best short at San Pedro International Film Festival. Devenish's feature film directorial debut, Misfortune, a gritty thriller shot in Tucson, Arizona won the Yellow Rose at Jaipur International Film Festival, best feature at Black Hills Film Festival, and was nominated for the Grand Jury Award at Dances With Films. Misfortune was theatrically released in a dozen U.S. markets, and is distributed by Entertainment One.

Eddie & Sunny, Devenish's sophomore feature, which stars Gabriel Luna and Joanna Vanderham, centers on an impulsive loving homeless family, who commit a cartel-related homicide, leaving them and their child fugitives in pursuit of safe harbor. Silvio Muraglia and Andrea Iervolino have helmed on producing the project, filmed in Ostia, Italy and Guatemala.

Television Stretch It Out!, a comedy special, written and performed by Shawn Pelofsky and directed by Devenish, is distributed by Comedy Dynamics.

Books

Stage + Opening date Closing date Title Role Playwright Theatre Notes 12 April 1995 7 May 1995 On The Waterfront Little Frankie Budd Schulberg Brooks Atkinson

Filmography

Film YearFilmCredited as directorscreenwriterProducerActor Role 1995 Delinquent Tim 2004 Exit 8A (short film) Nick 2009 Split (short film) 2013 Closure (short film) Jude 2016 Pull Away (short film) Vincent 2016 Gregory Porter Don't Forget Your Music 2016 Misfortune Boyd 2017 Happy Birthday or Felicidades (short film) 2018 Stretch It Out 2020 Eddie & Sunny