Gabriel Byrne

For the Irish radio and television presenter, see Gay Byrne.

Gabriel Byrne
Byrne in 2010
Born	Gabriel James Byrne (1950-05-12) 12 May 1950 Dublin, Ireland
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1978–present
Spouses	Ellen Barkin ​ ​ (m. 1988; div. 1999)​ Hannah Beth King ​ (m. 2014)​
Children	3

Gabriel James Byrne (born 12 May 1950) is an Irish actor. He has received a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for a Grammy Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards and two Tony Awards. Byrne was awarded the Irish Film and Television Academy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018 and was listed at number 17 on The Irish Times list of Ireland's greatest film actors in 2020. The Guardian named him one of the best actors never to have received an Academy Award nomination.

Byrne's acting career began at the Focus Theatre in Dublin before he joined London's Royal Court Theatre in 1974. His screen debut came in the Irish drama serial The Riordans and the spin-off show Bracken. He went on to star in such films as Defence of the Realm (1986), Lionheart (1987), Miller's Crossing (1990), Little Women (1994), Dead Man (1995), The Usual Suspects (1995), The Man in the Iron Mask (1998), Enemy of the State (1998), Vanity Fair (2004), The 33 (2015), and Hereditary (2018). He co-wrote The Last of the High Kings (1996) and also produced In the Name of the Father (1993).

For his Broadway work, Byrne has received two nominations for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his roles in the Eugene O'Neill plays A Moon for the Misbegotten (2000), and Long Day's Journey into Night (2016). For his television work, Byrne has received two nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his role as Paul Weston in the HBO drama series In Treatment (2008–2010), he also received a Golden Globe Award. His other notable television roles include Vikings (2013), Maniac (2018), and War of the Worlds (2019–2022).

Early life

Gabriel James Byrne was born on 12 May 1950 in Walkinstown, Dublin, Ireland, the son of Roman Catholic parents. His father Dan was a soldier and cooper, while his mother Eileen (née Gannon), from Elphin, County Roscommon, was a hospital nurse. He has five younger siblings: Donal, Thomas, Breda, Margaret, and a sister who died at an early age, Marian.

Byrne attended Ardscoil Éanna secondary school in Crumlin, where he later taught Spanish and history. He attended University College Dublin, where he studied archaeology, Spanish and linguistics, and graduated with a BA in 1972, becoming proficient in the Irish language. He went on to complete a Higher Diploma in Education (HDipEd) in 1973.

About his early training to become a priest, Byrne said in an interview, "I spent five years in the seminary and I suppose it was assumed that one had a vocation. I realised subsequently that I didn't."

Byrne played football in Dublin with Stella Maris.

In January 2011, Byrne spoke in an interview on The Meaning of Life about being sexually abused by priests during his childhood.

Career

Byrne worked in archaeology when he left UCD. He maintained his love of his language, later writing the first television drama in Irish, Draíocht, on Ireland's national Irish-language television station, TG4, when it began broadcasting in 1996.

Before becoming an actor, Byrne had many jobs, including archaeologist, cook, and Spanish and history school teacher at Ardscoil Éanna in Crumlin. He started acting at age 29, and began his career on stage with the Focus Theatre and the Abbey Theatre in Dublin. He later joined the Performing Arts Course at Roslyn Park College in Sandymount. He came to prominence on the final season of the Irish television show The Riordans, subsequently starring in his own spin-off series, Bracken. His first play for television was Michael Feeney Callan's Love Is ... (RTÉ). He made his film debut in 1981, as King Uther Pendragon in John Boorman's King Arthur epic, Excalibur.

In 1983, Byrne appeared with Richard Burton in the miniseries Wagner, co-starring Laurence Olivier, John Gielgud and Ralph Richardson. In 1985, he starred in the acclaimed political thriller Defence of the Realm, though he subsequently said he had been upstaged by his co-star, veteran actor Denholm Elliott: "I amended the actor's cliché to 'Never work with children, animals or Denholm Elliott'." In the 90s, his production company Plurabelle Films received a first look deal with Phoenix Pictures.

Byrne holding his Herald Angel, an award given to him at the 2006 Edinburgh International Film Festival.

In 2007, Byrne led the jury of the Kerry Film Festival.

Upon his return to theatre in 2008, Byrne appeared as King Arthur in Camelot with the New York Philharmonic from 7 to 10 May, following the footsteps of veteran actors Richard Burton and Richard Harris. Byrne was cast in a film adaptation of Flann O'Brien's metafictional novel At Swim-Two-Birds, alongside Colin Farrell and Cillian Murphy. Actor Brendan Gleeson was set to direct the film. In October 2009, however, Gleeson expressed fear that, should the Irish Film Board be abolished as planned by the Irish State, the production might fall through.

Byrne starred as therapist Paul Weston in the HBO series In Treatment from 2008 to 2010. He was named as TV's "latest Dr. McDreamy" by The New York Times for this role, and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Drama Series in 2008.

In 2011, Byrne signed up to appear in a film by director Costa-Gavras, Le Capital, an adaptation of Stéphane Osmont's novel of the same name.

In 2017, Byrne appeared in Mad to Be Normal (previously titled Metanoia), a biopic of the Scottish psychiatrist R. D. Laing, produced by Gizmo Films.

Walking with Ghosts, Byrne's one-man show based on his memoir of the same title (published by Grove Press in January 2021), premiered at the Gaiety Theatre, Dublin on 1 February 2022, before playing at the Edinburgh International Festival. It opened on 6 September 2022 at the Apollo Theatre in London, marking Byrne's West End debut at the age of 72, in 'a career-best performance', and opened on 26 October 2022 at the Music Box Theatre on Broadway.

Personal life

Byrne had a 12-year relationship with television producer and presenter Aine O'Connor, from 1974 to 1986. He began a relationship with actress Ellen Barkin, and relocated to Manhattan to be with her. A year later, in 1988, he married Barkin, with whom he has two children. The couple separated amicably in 1993, and divorced in 1999. He later married Hannah Beth King on 4 August 2014 at Ballymaloe House in County Cork. As of 2021, Byrne lives with his family in Rockport, Maine.

At the fifth Jameson Dublin International Film Festival in 2007, Byrne was presented with the first of the new Volta awards, for lifetime achievement in acting. He received the Honorary Patronage of the University Philosophical Society, of Trinity College Dublin on 20 February 2007. In November 2007, he was awarded an honorary degree by the National University of Ireland, Galway; the president of the university, Iognáid Ó Muircheartaigh, said that the award was in recognition of the actor's "outstanding contribution to Irish and international film".

Byrne released a documentary for the 20th Galway Film Fleadh in the summer of 2008 called Stories from Home, an intimate portrait about his life. It premiered in the United States in September 2009 at the Los Angeles Irish Film Festival.

Byrne mentioned in interviews and his 1994 autobiography, Pictures in My Head that he hates being called "brooding". He has been listed by People as one of the "Sexiest Men Alive". Entertainment Weekly has also dubbed Byrne as one of the hottest celebrities over the age of 50.

Byrne is an atheist and has been vocally critical of the Catholic Church, which he described in a 2011 interview with The Guardian as "repressive of women and minorities and repressive of its followers". In the same interview, he said that he still reads the Bible "for the fables".

Byrne was cultural ambassador for Ireland until he criticised The Gathering, a tourism initiative to encourage people of Irish heritage to visit the country, describing it as "a scam" and adding that the majority of Irish people "don't give a shit about the diaspora except to shake them down for a few quid". Byrne also criticised the marketing strategy employed by Guinness known as Arthur's Day as "a cynical piece of exercise in a country which has a huge drinking problem".

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1978	On a Paving Stone Mounted	Unknown
1981	Love Is ...	Larry
1981	Excalibur	Uther Pendragon
1983	Hanna K.	Joshua Herzog
1983	The Keep	Sturmbannfuhrer Erich Kaempffer
1984	Reflections	William Masters
1985	Defence of the Realm	Nick Mullen
1986	Gothic	Lord Byron
1987	Lionheart	The Black Prince
1987	Hello Again	Dr. Kevin Scanlon
1987	Julia and Julia	Paolo Vinci
1987	Siesta	Augustine
1988	The Courier	Val
1989	A Soldier's Tale	Saul
1989	Diamond Skulls	Lord Hugo Bruckton
1990	Miller's Crossing	Tom Reagan
1990	Shipwrecked	Lieutenant John Merrick
1992	Into the West	Papa Reilly	Also associate producer
1992	Cool World	Jack Deebs
1993	Point of No Return	Bob	aka The Assassin
1993	A Dangerous Woman	Colin Mackey
1993	In the Name of the Father	—	Executive producer
1994	A Simple Twist of Fate	John Newland
1994	Trial by Jury	Daniel Graham
1994	Little Women	Professor Friedrich Bhaer
1994	Prince of Jutland	Fenge
1995	The Usual Suspects	Dean Keaton / Keyser Söze (flashback)
1995	Dead Man	Charlie Dickinson
1995	Frankie Starlight	Jack Kelly
1996	Mad Dog Time	Ben London
1996	The Last of the High Kings	Jack Griffin	Also writer and executive producer
1996	Somebody Is Waiting	Roger Ellis	Also executive producer
1996	Dr. Hagard's Disease	Unknown	Unreleased; also executive producer
1997	Smilla's Sense of Snow	The Mechanic
1997	The End of Violence	Ray Bering
1997	This Is the Sea	Rohan
1998	Polish Wedding	Bolek
1998	The Man in the Iron Mask	D'Artagnan
1998	The Brylcreem Boys	Sean O'Brien	Also co-producer
1998	Quest for Camelot	Sir Lionel (voice)
1998	Enemy of the State	NSA Agent Fake Brill
1999	Stigmata	Father Andrew Kiernan
1999	End of Days	The Man / Satan
2000	Canone inverso	The Violinist ('Jeno Varga')
2000	Mad About Mambo	—	Executive producer
2002	Virginia's Run	Ford Lofton
2002	Spider	Bill Cleg
2002	Emmett's Mark	Jack Marlow / Stephen Bracken
2002	Horses: The Story of Equus	Narrator (voice)
2002	Ghost Ship	Captain Sean Murphy
2003	Shade	Charlie Miller
2003	Flight from Death	Narrator (voice)
2004	Vanity Fair	The Marquess of Steyne
2004	P.S.	Peter Harrington
2004	The Bridge of San Luis Rey	Brother Juniper
2005	Assault on Precinct 13	Captain Marcus Duvall
2005	Wah-Wah	Harry Compton
2006	Played	Eddie
2006	Jindabyne	Stewart Kane
2007	Emotional Arithmetic	Christopher Lewis
2008	2:22	Detective Swain	Uncredited
2009	Butte, America	Narrator (voice)
2009	Perrier's Bounty	The Reaper (voice)
2009	Leningrad	Phillip Parker
2012	Le Capital	Dittmar Rigule
2012	I, Anna	Detective Bernie Reid
2013	Just a Sigh (Le Temps de l'aventure)	Doug
2013	All Things to All Men	Joseph Corsco
2014	Vampire Academy	Victor Dashkov
2015	The 33	André Sougarret
2015	Louder Than Bombs	Gene Reed
2015	Nobody Wants the Night	Bram Trevor
2016	Carrie Pilby	Mr. Daniel Pilby
2016	No Pay, Nudity	Lawrence Rose
2017	Mad to Be Normal	Jim
2017	Lies We Tell	Donald
2018	In the Cloud	Doc Wolff
2018	An L.A. Minute	Ted Gold
2018	Hereditary	Steve Graham	Also executive producer
2018	Atlantic Salmon: Lost at Sea	Narrator (voice)
2020	Lost Girls	Richard Dormer
2020	Death of a Ladies' Man	Samuel O'Shea
2022	Murder at Yellowstone City	Sheriff James Ambrose
2022	Lamborghini: The Man Behind the Legend	Enzo Ferrari
2022	The Boy, The Mole, The Fox And The Horse	The Horse (voice)	Short film
2023	Dance First	Samuel Beckett	Post-production
2025	From the World of John Wick: Ballerina †	The Chancellor	Post-production

Key

†	Denotes films that have not yet been released

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1978–1979	The Riordans	Pat Barry	Drama series
1980–1982	Bracken	Pat Barry	Drama series
1981	Strangers	Johnny Maguire	Episode: "The Flowers of Edinburgh"
1981	The Search for Alexander the Great	Ptolemy	4 episodes
1982	Joyce in June	Keogh / Blazes Boylan	Television film
1983	Wagner	Karl Ritter	3 episodes
1985	Christopher Columbus	Christopher Columbus	4 episodes
1985	Mussolini: The Untold Story	Vittorio Mussolini	6 episodes
1993	Intimate Portrait	Narrator (voice)	Episode: "Kim Cattrall"
1994	Screen Two	The Good Thief	Episode: "All Things Bright and Beautiful"
1995	Buffalo Girls	Teddy Blue	Television film
1995	Saturday Night Live	Himself / Various Characters	Episode: "Gabriel Byrne/Alanis Morissette"
1996	Draíocht	Father	Television film
1997	Glenroe	Pat Barry	Episode: "Miley's New Bullock"
1997	Weapons of Mass Distraction	Lionel Powers	Television film
2000	Madigan Men	Ben Madigan	12 episodes; also co-executive producer
2008–2010	In Treatment	Dr. Paul Weston	106 episodes
2012	Secret State	Tom Dawkins	4 episodes
2013	Vikings	Earl Haraldson	6 episodes
2014	Quirke	Quirke	3 episodes
2016	Marco Polo	Pope Gregory X	Episode: "Let God's Work Begin"
2018	Maniac	Porter Milgrim	5 episodes
2019–2022	The War of the Worlds	Bill Ward	24 episodes
2020	ZeroZeroZero	Edward Lynwood	2 episodes

Theatre

Year	Title	Role	Theatre	Ref.
2000	A Moon for the Misbegotten	James 'Jim' Tyrone, Jr.	Walter Kerr Theatre (Broadway)
2002	The Exonerated	Kerry Max Cook (replacement)	Bleecker Street Theatre (Off-Broadway)
2005	A Touch of the Poet	Cornelius Melody	Studio 54 (Broadway)
2008	Camelot	King Arthur	Avery Fisher Hall
2016	Long Day's Journey into Night	James Tyrone	American Airlines Theatre (Broadway)
2022	Walking with Ghosts	Performer	Music Box Theatre (Broadway)

Accolades

Year	Award	Category	Title	Result	Ref.
1979	Jacob's Awards	Best Actor in a TV Series (Drama)	Bracken	Won
1987	Fantasporto	Best Actor	Gothic / Defence of the Realm	Won
1995	National Board of Review of Motion Pictures	Best Acting by an Ensemble	The Usual Suspects	Won
1998	Satellite Awards	Best Actor in a Mini-Series or TV Movie	Weapons of Mass Distraction	Nominated
	Grammy Awards	Best Spoken Word for Children	The Star-Child / The Nightingale and the Rose	Nominated
1999	Cinequest Film Festival	Maverick Tribute Award		Won
2000	Theatre World Awards	Best Acting	A Moon for the Misbegotten	Won
	Tony Awards	Best Leading Actor in a Play		Nominated
	Razzie Awards	Worst Supporting Actor	End of Days / Stigmata	Nominated
	Blockbuster Entertainment Awards	Favorite Actor (Horror)	Stigmata	Nominated
2005	Irish Film and Television Awards	Best Lead Actor in a Feature Film	Wah-Wah	Nominated
2006	Inside Film Awards	Best Actor	Jindabyne	Nominated
	Australian Film Institute Awards	Best Lead Actor		Nominated
	Outer Critics Circle Awards	Outstanding Actor in a Play	A Touch of the Poet	Won
2007	Jameson Dublin International Film Festival	Lifetime Achievement in Acting		Won
2008	Irish Film and Television Awards	Best Lead Actor in a Feature Film	Jindabyne	Nominated
	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series	In Treatment	Nominated
	Dingle International Film Festival	Gregory Peck Excellence in the Art of Film Award		Awarded
	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actor in a Television Series - Drama	In Treatment	Won
	Satellite Awards	Best Actor in a Television Series – Drama		Nominated
2009	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series		Nominated
2016	Tony Awards	Best Leading Actor in a Play	Long Day's Journey into Night	Nominated
2018	Irish Film and Television Awards	Lifetime Achievement Award	For his contribution to cinema	Received
2021		Best Actor in a Leading Role - Film	Death of a Ladies' Man	Won

Honours

In 2007, NUI Galway awarded him an honorary doctorate for his outstanding contribution to Irish and international film, theatre and the arts.

Bibliography

• Pictures in My Head. Dublin: Wolfhound Press. 1994. ISBN 978-0-86327-462-6.
• Walking with Ghosts: A Memoir. New York: Grove Press. 2020. ISBN 978-0-8021-5712-6.

Further reading

• Barton, Ruth (May 2006). Acting Irish in Hollywood: from Fitzgerald to Farrell. Dublin: Irish Academic Press. pp. 163–179. ISBN 978-0-7165-3343-6. OCLC 70173129 – via Google Books.
• Byrne, Gabriel (1995). Pictures in My Head. Boulder, Colombia: Roberts Rinehart. ISBN 978-1-57098-046-6. OCLC 33180598 – via Google Books.
• Grunert, Andrea (2006). "La lumière derrière le masque : une approche du jeu de Gabriel Byrne". In Starfield, Penny (ed.). Masque et lumière (in French). Corlet: Corlet éditions Diffusion. pp. 222–229. ISBN 978-2-84706-122-2. OCLC 492099503 – via Google Books.
• O'Connor, Áine (1996). Leading Hollywood: Gabriel Byrne, Liam Neeson, Aidan Quinn, Stephen Rea, Patrick Bergin, Pierce Brosnan. Dublin: Wolfhound Press. ISBN 978-0-86327-555-5. OCLC 605650228 – via Google Books.
• O'Connor, Áine (1997). Hollywood Irish: In Their Own Words; Illustrated Interviews with Gabriel Byrne, Liam Neeson, Pierce Brosnan, Stephen Rea, Aidan Quinn and Patrick Bergin. Boulder, Colombia: Roberts Rinehart. ISBN 978-1-57098-109-8. OCLC 36919802 – via Google Books.

External links

• Gabriel Byrne at IMDb
• Gabriel Byrne at the Internet Broadway Database
• Gabriel Byrne at the BFI's Screenonline
• "Star Bio's: Gabriel Byrne". Archived from the original on 13 March 2007.
• Gabriel Byrne profile, artforamnesty.org; accessed 11 August 2017
• Gabriel Byrne video interview, jewreview.net; accessed 11 August 2017
• Gabriel Byrne discusses his role on In Treatment, npr.org, 30 May 2009
• Gabriel Byrne tells of childhood sexual abuse, Guardian.co.uk, 19 January 2010