Gabriel Byrne

 ( 1950 Births ) 

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,Stated on Inside the Actors Studio (2000). 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.

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.

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 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.

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 NUI 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 Magazine 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 Atheism 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 Irish 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".

Honours

• (1994). 9780863274626, Wolfhound Press. ISBN 9780863274626
• (2026). 9780802157126, Grove Press. ISBN 9780802157126

• Ruth Barton (2006). 9780716533436, Irish Academic Press. . ISBN 9780716533436
• Gabriel Byrne (1995). 9781570980466, Roberts Rinehart. . ISBN 9781570980466
• Andrea Grunert (2026). 9782847061222, Corlet éditions Diffusion. . ISBN 9782847061222
• Áine O'Connor (1996). 9780863275555, Wolfhound Press. . ISBN 9780863275555
• Áine O'Connor (1997). 9781570981098, Roberts Rinehart. . ISBN 9781570981098

• 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