Gabriel Byrne

Gabriel James Byrne (born 12 May 1950) is an Irish actor, film director, film producer, writer, cultural ambassador and audiobook narrator. 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 soap opera The Riordans and the spin-off show Bracken. He has now starred in over 35 feature films, such as The Usual Suspects, Miller's Crossing, Stigmata, Spider and End of Days, in addition to writing two. Byrne's producing credits include the Academy Award–nominated In the Name of the Father. He has received 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 Walkinstown, Dublin 12, Dublin, Ireland, the son of a cooper and soldier, Dan, and a hospital nurse, Eileen (née Gannon) from Elphin, County Roscommon. He has four siblings: Donal, Thomas, Breda, and Margaret; another, Marian, died at an early age. Byrne was raised a strict Roman Catholic and educated in Ardscoil Éanna in Crumlin, where he later taught Spanish and History. 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 attended University College Dublin, where he studied archaeology and linguistics, becoming proficient in Irish. He played football in Dublin with Stella Maris.