Gabriel Byrne
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Bibliography
Biography
Both a strong leading presence and compelling character performer, actor Gabriel Byrne emerged from his native Ireland to become one of the more sought-after talents in the United States. Though he had been acting for over a decade across the Atlantic, Byrne did not begin making a name for himself in America until his dark, brooding performance as an Irish mobster in the Coen Brothers' deft "Miller's Crossing" (1990). But it was his turn as a former corrupt cop drawn into a heist-gone-bad in "The Usual Suspects" (1995) that propelled Byrne to stardom. He fluctuated with ease between romantic dramas, crime thrillers and period pieces in a fine display of diversity that translated well behind the camera as a writer and producer. Though he managed to get entangled in several flops - namely "Stigmata" (1999) and "End of Days" (1999) - Byrne managed to transcend setbacks with a varied slate of interesting projects, including "In Treatment" (HBO, 2007-2010), an experimental drama that allowed Byrne to display his considerable acting chops to a sophisticated audience, and the critically-acclaimed indie drama "Louder Than Bombs" (2015).
Born on May 12, 1950 in Dublin, Ireland, Byrne was the oldest of six children raised by a Guinness factory worker father and nurse mother. When he was 12 years old, a Catholic priest came to his school to show students what life was like saving souls in the South Pacific. From that moment, Byrne was interested in becoming a member of the clergy, and eventually went to seminary in Birmingham. But Byrne failed to fit in - perhaps being more interested in football and smoking cigarettes, while constantly late for prayers, had something to do with why he was finally asked to leave. Byrne returned home to Dublin and landed a scholarship to University College, where he studied languages and archeology. After graduating, he toiled in a series of odd jobs, namely installing glass eyes in teddy bears at a toy factory, working as a plumber, and teaching English. He made his first foray into acting in 1974 with the Dublin Shakespeare Society, then joined the Focus Theatre, an experimental repertory company run by director Jim Sheridan. In 1978, Byrne began acting full-time at the Abbey Theatre, where he stayed for two years. Finally, Byrne had found his footing.
Thanks to his stage work, Byrne started to land minor parts in small films, making his debut in "On a Paving Stone Mounted" (1978), which he followed with "The Outsider" (1979), a film that led to starring roles in the Irish soap opera "The Riordens" and its spin-off "Bracken." Byrne's first significant film role was as King Arthur's father in John Boorman's "Excalibur" (1981), a role made more difficult by the oppressive iron armor costumes. He played an obnoxious Israeli attorney in Costa-Gavras' disappointing "Hannah K" (1983), then a German soldier in Michael Mann's dreadful war drama "The Keep" (1983). Bryne proved himself a capable lead in the taut political thriller "Defense of the Realm" (1985), playing a newspaper reporter investigating the crash of a nuclear bomber in the English countryside. But Hollywood remained unimpressed, which, on a whole, considered Byrne a supporting player. He turned to American television in a pair of miniseries, playing the title role of "Christopher Columbus" (CBS, 1985), then the father of fascism's son in "Mussolini: The Untold Story" (NBC, 1985). Back on the big screen, he co-starred in a few unremarkable features, including "Lionheart" (1987) and "Hello, Again" (1987), before returning to England to take the lead in "Diamond Skulls" (1989).
In the 1990s, Bryne finally began to catch the attention of American audiences, starting with "Miller's Crossing" (1990), a revisionist take on the gangster film directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. As the brooding Tom Reagan, the right hand of an Irish mobster (Albert Finney) neck deep in a citywide gang war with his Italian rival (Jon Polito), Byrne's Reagan exuded a cool confidence, despite routine ass-kickings and a falling out with his boss over the same woman (Marcia Gay Harden). Byrne next essayed the cartoonist who creates the "Cool World" (1992) of Ralph Bakshi's mix of live action and animation, later remembering the experience as "like being sedated for three months." In "Point of No Return" (1993), he played a secret agent who oversees the training of a hit woman (Bridget Fonda). Later that year, he romanced two women - one dark and disturbed (Debra Winger), the other lonely and insecure (Barbara Hershey) - in "A Dangerous Woman" (1993), a rather conventional, but violent psycho-drama from director Stephen Gyllenhaal.
A prominent force in Ireland's film industry, Byrne reportedly passed up an opportunity to play the villain in "Lethal Weapon III" to star as an alcoholic single father in Jim Sheridan's charming fable, "Into the West" (1993). Back in Hollywood, Byrne vied with Steve Martin for the love and custody of a little girl in "A Simple Twist of Fate" (1994) and played an obsessive U.S. Attorney in "Trial by Jury" (1994), though he probably turned more heads as the German philosophy professor who sweeps Jo (Winona Ryder) off her feet in "Little Women" (1994). He attained perhaps his highest screen profile since "Miller's Crossing," starring as a former corrupt cop-turned-expert thief in "The Usual Suspects" (1995), Bryan Singer's excellent neo-noir thriller about a gang of thieves recruited by a mysterious underworld figure to stop a massive drug deal, only to learn there is a bigger score to be had. He next teamed with Matt Dillon and Anne Parillaud for "Frankie Starlight" (1995), a gentle and poignant period romance that saw Byrne fall in love with a French woman (Anne Parillaud) after he helps her enter post-World War II Ireland.
In 1996, the increasingly busy Byrne co-starred with Johnny Depp in Jim Jarmusch's revisionist Western "Dead Man;" headlined the Irish love story "This Is the Sea" (1997), and finally co-wrote, co-produced and co-starred in the charming teen romance "Last of the High Kings" (released on video in the United States as "Summer Fling" in 1998). "Last of the High Kings" was merely the first screenplay to come from Byrne, who earlier proved himself as a prose writer with Pictures in My Head. In fact, Byrne sought through his production deal with Phoenix Pictures to showcase himself as a writer-director. Finding time in his acting schedule was difficult, however, as a couple of directing projects fell through. His continued admiration for European filmmaking led him to star in Wim Wenders' "The End of Violence" (1997), Bille August's "Smilla's Sense of Snow" (1997) and "Polish Wedding" (1998). Meanwhile, he displayed a taste for horsemanship and swordplay as the noble D'Artagnan in John Malkovich's star-studded, but ultimately disappointing historical adventure "The Man in the Iron Mask" (1998).
With his place in Hollywood firmly established, Byrne was free to choose his projects, even if it happened to be a small role in the paranoia-inspiring thriller "Enemy of the State" (1998). Perhaps in a nod to his former days as a priest-in-training, he played Father Andrew Kiernan in "Stigmata" (1999), then flipped to the other side to play Satan in "End of Days" (1999), both of which were released in the midst of the millennial apocalyptic craze. But whether he was playing a man of God or the human incarnate of evil, Byrne proved that his presence onscreen could enliven even the most insipid fare. After two decades removed from the stage, Byrne had a starring role in the Broadway revival of "A Moon for the Misbegotten" (2000), Eugene O'Neill's transcendent drama of guilt and forgiveness. His harrowing performance as the guilt-wracked James Tyrone received overwhelming praise by critics and theatergoers alike. Byrne's handling of the cumbersome, but heart-wrenching monologue - particularly where James confesses his sins to human angel Josie (Cherry Jones) - proved compelling, while his shift from emotional detachment to extreme candidness displayed unusually moving grace.
In another attempt to keep his acting career fresh, Byrne took on network television with a starring role in the short-lived sitcom "Madigan Men" (ABC, 2000-01), playing a recently divorced man who routinely receives romantic advice from his teenaged son Luke (John Hensley) and widowed father Seamus (Roy Dotrice). He maintained numerous producing projects on his slate, including "Mad About Mambo" (2000), a Belfast-set coming-of-age tale produced by his own Plurabelle Films. Meanwhile, Byrne continued to be in-demand as a character actor, happily toiling away with parts in such mainstream films as "Ghost Ship" (2002), a supernatural thriller in which he played a salvage ship captain whose crew encounters a mysterious ocean liner lost at sea. In the flashback sequences of "Spider" (2002), he played the father of a psychologically damaged man (Ralph Finnes) recently released from a mental institution, who may or may not be truthful about his childhood trauma. After a short role in "Shade" (2004), a little-seen indie about poker hustlers, Byrne appeared in the adaptation of Thackerey's "Vanity Fair" (2004), playing the seductively titled and privileged Marques of Steyne, who offers Becky Sharp (Reese Witherspoon) all she wants - but at a price.
His next film, the remake of John Carpenter's 1976 thriller, "Assault On Precinct 13" (2005), provided Byrne with what Roger Ebert characterized as "one of his thankless roles in which he is hard, taciturn, and one-dimensional enough to qualify for Flatland." In "Jindabyne" (2006), Byrne was a gas station clerk in Australia who goes off on a fishing trip with his pals and discovers the naked body of a young Aboriginal woman killed by a racist old man (Chris Haywood). But instead of calling the police, the men decide to go on with their fishing trip, which causes all hell to break loose when they go home to their wives (which include Laura Linney). Back on television, Byrne starred in one of the more talked about cable shows, "In Treatment" (HBO, 2007-2010), playing a seemingly successful psychotherapist and family man whose life starts falling apart because of his intimate involvement with his patients. Each 30-minute episode put on display a full therapy session, which aired five days a week and showcased a regular set of patients (Blair Underwood, Mia Wasikowska and Embeth Davidtz). But critics and audiences were split over being either fascinated or bored with witnessing an entire therapy session, causing some to question the durability of the show. Regardless, there was no conflict over Byrne's performance. After the show ended in 2010, Byrne continued working steadily in both Europe and America, alternating between starring roles in films like police drama "All Things To All Men" (2013) and supporting character parts in films ranging from teen horror-comedy "Vampire Academy" (2014) to fact-based rescue drama "The 33" (2015). He also appeared in a character arc on the series "Vikings" (History 2013- ). In 2015, Byrne starred with Jesse Eisenberg in Joachim Trier's debut English-language film "Louder Than Bombs."
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Writer (Feature Film)
Producer (Feature Film)
Music (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1962
Attended a Roman Catholic seminary in Birmingham, England
1978
Made his film acting debut in the British feature "On a Paving Stone Mounted"
1979
Appeared in the US-Netherlands co-production "The Outsider"
1979
Joined the National Theater in London
1981
Had his first substantial film role as Uther Pendragon, father of Arthur, in John Boorman's "Excalibur"
1982
Starred in Irish TV series "The Riordens"
1983
Had featured roles in Michael Mann's "The Keep" and Kevin Billington's "Reflections"
1985
Had his debut starring role in the political thriller "Defence of the Realm"
1985
Portrayed the title character in the CBS-TV miniseries "Christopher Columbus"
1986
Played Lord Byron in Ken Russell's "Gothic"
1987
Featured in the Italian drama "Julia and Julia" opposite Kathleen Turner
1987
Co-starred with future wife Ellen Barkin in the ambitious thriller "Siesta"
1990
Was cast as the cool-headed organized crime lieutenant in the Coen brothers' stylized feature "Miller's Crossing"
1992
First credit as associate producer (also starred), "Into the West"; scripted by Jim Sheridan
1992
Played a cartoon artist trapped in the world of his creation in "Cool World"
1993
Co-starred opposite Bridget Fonda in "Point of No Return"
1993
Executive produced Sheridan's "In the Name of the Father"
1995
Was one of the ensemble of criminals in Bryan Singer's "The Usual Suspects"
1996
Co-wrote screenplay for (also produced and acted in) "Last of the High Kings"
1996
Co-starred with ex-wife Ellen Barkin in "Mad Dog Time"
1997
Co-starred opposite Ben Kingsley as rival executives in the HBO black comedy "Weapons of Mass Distraction"
1997
Portrayed Rohan in "This Is the Sea"; Sheridan played small role as Station Master
1997
Acted opposite Julia Ormond in "Smilla's Sense of Snow"
1998
Played the patriarch in "Polish Wedding" opposite Claire Danes and Lena Olin
1998
Portrayed D'Artagnan in "The Man in the Iron Mask"
1999
Played a Vatican-sanctioned investigator in "Stigmata"
2000
Plurabelle Films produced the Belfast-set coming of age comedy "Mad About Mambo"
2000
Cast in the stage revival of Eugene O'Neill's "A Moon for the Misbegotten"; received a Tony nomination for Best Actor
2002
Cast as Ralph Finnes' father in David Cronenberg's "Spider"
2002
Appeared as a salavage vessel captain in the spooky thriller "Ghost Ship"
2004
Starred opposite Laura Linney and Topher Grace in "P.S."
2005
Cast in Richard E. Grant's directorial debut, "Wah-Wah"
2008
Portrayed therapist Paul Weston in the critically acclaimed HBO series "In Treatment"; earned an Emmy (2008, 2009) nomination for Best Actor in a Drama Series
2009
Nominated for the 2009 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in Drama Series
2012
Was cast as Tom Dawkins on the mini-series "Secret State"
2013
Had a recurring role on "Vikings"
2017
Appeared in the David Tennant starring biodrama "Mad to Be Normal"
2017
Led the cast of the crime drama "Lies We Tell"
2018
Co-starred with Toni Collette and Alex Wolff in the horror drama "Hereditary"
Family
Companions
