Gabriel Byrne

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.

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 also received his first Emmy Award nomination (Best Lead Actor in a Drama Series) for the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards that same year.

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, he 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."

He played football in Dublin with Stella Maris.

His acting career began in the Focus Theatre before he joined London's Royal Court Theatre in 1979.

Byrne's 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 Excalibur (1981), 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 made his film debut in 1981, as King Uther Pendragon in John Boorman's King Arthur epic, Excalibur.

In 1983, he 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 claimed 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.

He co-wrote The Last of the High Kings (1996) and also produced In the Name of the Father (1993).

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).

For his Broadway work, he 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).

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

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.

Upon his return to theatre in 2008, he 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.

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 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.

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

Byrne worked in archaeology when he left UCD.

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

Other notable television roles include Vikings (2013), Maniac (2018), and War of the Worlds (2019–2022).

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.