Gabriel Byrne

Gabriel Byrne
Byrne at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival
Born	Gabriel James Byrne May 12, 1950 (1950-05-12) (age 59) Dublin, Ireland
Occupation	Actor, film director, film producer, screenwriter, author
Years active	1979 – present
Spouse(s)	Ellen Barkin (1988–1999)

Gabriel James Byrne (Irish: Gabriel Séamas Ó Broin; born May 12, 1950) is an Irish actor, film director, film producer, writer, and audiobook narrator. His acting career began in the Focus Theatre before he joined London’s Royal Court Theatre in 1979. Byrne's screen début came in the Irish soap opera The Riordans and the spin-off show Bracken. The actor has now starred in over 35 feature films, such as The Usual Suspects, Miller's Crossing and Stigmata, in addition to writing two. Byrne's producing credits include the Academy Award-nominated In the Name of the Father. Currently, he is receiving much critical acclaim for his role as Dr. Paul Weston in the HBO drama In Treatment.

Early life

Byrne, the first of six children, was born in Crumlin, Dublin, Ireland, the son of a cooper and soldier, Dan, and a hospital nurse from Galway, Eileen (née Gannon).^[1][2] His siblings are Donal, Thomas, Breda, Margaret. Another, Marian, died at a young age. Byrne was raised Catholic^[3] and educated by the Irish Christian Brothers. With regard to 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 you had a vocation. I have realised subsequently that I didn't have one at all." He attended University College Dublin, where he studied archaeology and linguistics, becoming proficient in Irish. He played football in Dublin with the Stella Maris Football Club in Drumcondra.

Career

Byrne worked in archaeology when he left UCD but maintained his love of his language, 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, bullfighter, and Spanish schoolteacher.^{[clarification needed]} 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 Royal Court Theatre and the Royal National Theatre in London.

Byrne came to prominence on the final season of the Irish television show The Riordans, subsequently starring in his own spin-off series, Bracken. He made his film debut in 1981 as King Uther Pendragon in John Boorman's King Arthur epic, Excalibur.

Byrne currently stars as therapist Dr. Paul Weston in the new, critically acclaimed HBO primetime weeknight series In Treatment. He was named as TV's "latest Dr. McDreamy" by the New York Times^[4] for this role, and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Drama Series in 2008. He also received his first Emmy Award nomination (Best Lead Actor in a Drama Series) for the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards (Bryan Cranston of Breaking Bad won.) that same year.

Upon his return to theatre in 2008, he appeared as King Arthur in Camelot with the New York Philharmonic from May 7 to May 10, following the footsteps of veteran actors Richard Burton and Richard Harris.

Byrne will next appear in a film adaptation of Flann O'Brien's metafictional novel At Swim-Two-Birds, in which he will be cast alongside Colin Farrell and Cillian Murphy. Actor Brendan Gleeson will be directing the film, which will be released in 2010.^[5]

Personal life

Byrne did not set foot in America until he was 37. He now holds both Irish and US citizenship.

In 1988, Byrne married actress Ellen Barkin with whom he has two children, John "Jack" Daniel (born 1989) and Romy Marion (born 1992). The couple separated amicably in 1993 and divorced in 1999.

Byrne currently resides in Brooklyn, and is a fan of Chelsea FC.^[6]

Byrne is also actively involved in various charities, in addition to being a human rights activist. In 2004, Byrne was appointed a UNICEF Ireland Ambassador. He became a patron of Croi (The West of Ireland Cardiology Foundation) in 1997 in response to the care given to his mother while she was a patient in a Galway hospital.

At the 5th Jameson Dublin International Film Festival in 2007, Byrne was presented with the first of the newly created Volta awards, for lifetime achievement in acting. He also received the Honorary Patronage of the University Philosophical Society, of Trinity College, Dublin on February 20, 2007. In November of that same year, he was awarded an honorary degree by the National University of Ireland, Galway; the president of the University, Dr Iognáid Ó Muircheartaigh, said that this award is in recognition of the actor's "outstanding contribution to Irish and international film".^[7]

Although the actor is noted as a fiercely private person, he released a documentary for the 20th Galway Film Fleadh in the summer of 2008 called Stories from Home, an intimate portrait about his life.

Byrne mentioned in interviews and his 1995 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 recently dubbed Byrne as one of the hottest celebrities over the age of 50.^[8]

Filmography

Stage

Awards and nominations

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

References

External links

• Gabriel Byrne at the Internet Movie Database
• Gabriel Byrne's Biography
• Gabriel Byrne's entry in Art of Amnesty
• JewReview.net Gabriel Byrne video interview on Jindabyne and In Treatment
• NPR Fresh Air: The Art of Listening Gabriel Byrne discusses his role on "In Treatment" (May 30, 2009)