Actor
Gabriel Byrne
Born 12 May 1950 · Dublin, Ireland
Gabriel Byrne is an Irish actor who moved from Dublin stage work to international film. He is known for brooding, world-weary leads in films such as Miller's Crossing and The Usual Suspects. He also won acclaim on Broadway and as the therapist in HBO's In Treatment.
Key films
Excalibur (1981)
Early major film role as Uther Pendragon in John Boorman's Arthurian epic, raising his international profile.
Miller's Crossing (1990)
Lead role as Tom Reagan in the Coen brothers' acclaimed gangster film.
The Usual Suspects (1995)
Played Dean Keaton in the celebrated crime thriller, his best-known film.
Little Women (1994)
Played Professor Bhaer in a well-regarded literary adaptation, showing his range beyond crime dramas.
Hereditary (2018)
Played the father in Ari Aster's horror hit, a late-career highlight.
Key awards
- 2009 Golden Globe Award, Best Actor in a Television Series (Drama), for In Treatment
- 2018 IFTA Lifetime Achievement Award (Irish Film and Television Academy)
On Cinespective
Full filmography · 117
- 1978On a Paving Stone MountedActor
- 1979The Outsider · as Man in StreetActor
- 1981Excalibur · as UtherActor
- 1982The Rocking Horse Winner · as BassettActor
- 1982Joyce in June · as Keogh / Blazes BoylanActor
- 1983The Keep · as Major KaempfferActor
- 1983Hanna K. · as Joshué HerzogActor
- 1984Reflections · as William MastersActor
- 1984The Treatment · as Father MichaelActor
- 1986Defence of the Realm · as Nicholas 'Nick' MullenActor
- 1987Gothic · as Lord ByronActor
- 1987Hello Again · as Kevin ScanlonActor
- 1987Siesta · as AugustineActor
- 1987Lionheart · as Black PrinceActor
- 1988Julia and Julia · as PaoloActor
- 1988A Soldier's Tale · as SaulActor
- 1988The Courier · as ValActor
- 1990Miller's Crossing · as Tom ReaganActor
- 1990Shipwrecked · as Lt. John MerrickActor
- 1990Diamond Skulls · as HugoActor
- 1992Cool World · as Jack DeebsActor
- 1992Into the West · as Papa ReillyActor
- 1993Point of No Return · as BobActor
- 1993A Dangerous Woman · as MackeyActor
- 1994Little Women · as Friedrich BhaerActor
- 1994A Simple Twist of Fate · as John NewlandActor
- 1994Trial by Jury · as Daniel GrahamActor
- 1994Prince of Jutland · as FengeActor
- 1994All Things Bright and Beautiful · as The Good ThiefActor
- 1995The Usual Suspects · as KeatonActor
- 1995Dead Man · as Charlie DickinsonActor
- 1995Buffalo Girls · as Teddy BlueActor
- 1995Frankie Starlight · as Jack KellyActor
- 1995Irish Cinema: Ourselves Alone? · as Narrator (voice)Actor
- 1995Out of Ireland · as Richard O'Gorman (voice)Actor
- 1996Mad Dog Time · as Ben LondonActor
- 1996The Last of the High Kings · as Jack GriffinActor
- 1996The Brylcreem Boys · as Commandant O'BrienActor
- 1996Somebody Is Waiting · as Roger EllisActor
- 1996Draíocht · as FatherActor
- 1997Smilla's Sense of Snow · as The MechanicActor
- 1997The End of Violence · as RayActor
- 1997Weapons of Mass Distraction · as Lionel PowersActor
- 1997This Is the Sea · as RohanActor
- 1998Enemy of the State · as 'Brill'Actor
- 1998The Man in the Iron Mask · as D'ArtagnanActor
- 1998Quest for Camelot · as Lionel (voice)Actor
- 1998Polish Wedding · as BolekActor
- 1998Pirates · as Narrator (voice)Actor
- 1998Nothing Is What It Seems: The Making Of 'The Usual Suspects' · as SelfActor
- 1999End of Days · as The ManActor
- 1999Stigmata · as Father Andrew KiernanActor
- 1999Saturday Night Live: 25th Anniversary Special · as (archive footage)Actor
- 2000Making Love · as Violinista / Jeno Varga AdultoActor
- 2000When Brendan Met Trudy · as Special AppearanceActor
- 2002Ghost Ship · as Captain Sean MurphyActor
- 2002Spider · as Bill ClegActor
- 2002Killing Emmett Young · as Jack Marlow / Stephen BrackenActor
- 2002Virginia's Run · as Ford LoftonActor
- 2002Pursuing the Suspects · as HimselfActor
- 2002Keyser Soze, Lie or Legend - Featurette · as SelfActor
- 2002Round Up: Deposing 'The Usual Suspects' · as SelfActor
- 2002Horses: The Story of Equus · as NarratorActor
- 2003Shade · as Charlie MillerActor
- 2003Flight from Death: The Quest for Immortality · as NarratorActor
- 2004Vanity Fair · as The Marquess of SteyneActor
- 2004P.S. · as Peter HarringtonActor
- 2004The Bridge of San Luis Rey · as Brother JuniperActor
- 2004Patrick · as PatrickActor
- 2005Assault on Precinct 13 · as Captain Marcus DuvallActor
- 2005Wah-Wah · as Harry ComptonActor
- 2006Jindabyne · as StewartActor
- 2006Played · as EddieActor
- 2007Saturday Night Live in the '90s: Pop Culture Nation · as SelfActor
- 20082:22 · as Detective Swain (uncredited)Actor
- 2008Emotional Arithmetic · as Christopher LewisActor
- 2008Camelot: Live from Lincoln Center · as King ArthurActor
- 2008Gabriel Byrne: Stories from HomeActor
- 2009Leningrad · as Philip ParkerActor
- 2010Perrier's Bounty · as Voice of the Grim Reaper (voice)Actor
- 2010The Women of SNL · as Priest (archive footage)Actor
- 2011A Man's Story · as SelfActor
- 2012Capital · as Dittmar RiguleActor
- 2012I, Anna · as D.C.I. Bernie ReidActor
- 2012John Ford: Dreaming the Quiet Man · as NarratorActor
- 2013All Things To All Men · as Joseph CorsoActor
- 2013Just a Sigh · as ManActor
- 2013Excalibur: Behind the Movie · as SelfActor
- 2014Vampire Academy · as Victor DashkovActor
- 2015The 33 · as Andre SougarretActor
- 2015Louder Than Bombs · as Gene ReedActor
- 2015Endless Night · as BramActor
- 2016Versus: The Life and Films of Ken Loach · as Self - ActorActor
- 2016No Pay, Nudity · as Lester Rosenthal aka Lawrence RoseActor
- 2017Carrie Pilby · as Mr. PilbyActor
- 2017Mad to Be Normal · as JimActor
- 2017Into the Night: Portraits of Life and Death · as SelfActor
- 2018Hereditary · as Steve GrahamActor
- 2018Lies We Tell · as DonaldActor
- 2018In the Cloud · as Doc WolffActor
- 2018Cursed: The True Nature of Hereditary · as Self - SteveActor
- 2018My Astonishing Self: Gabriel Byrne on George Bernard Shaw · as NarratorActor
- 2018Atlantic Salmon: Lost at Sea · as NarratorActor
- 2018An L.A. Minute · as Ted GoldActor
- 2020Lost Girls · as Richard DormerActor
- 2020Michael Des Barres: Who Do You Want Me To Be? · as SelfActor
- 2021Death of a Ladies' Man · as Samuel O'SheaActor
- 2022The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse · as The Horse (voice)Actor
- 2022Lamborghini: The Man Behind the Legend · as Enzo FerrariActor
- 2022Murder at Yellowstone City · as Sheriff AmbroseActor
- 2022Walking with Ghosts · as HimselfActor
- 2023Dance First · as Samuel BeckettActor
- 2025Ballerina · as The ChancellorActor
- 2025Four Letters of Love · as Muiris GoreActor
- 2025Blue Road: The Edna O'Brien Story · as SelfActor
- 2025Richard Burton: Wild Genius · as SelfActor
- 2025A World War II Fairy Tale: The Making of Michael Mann's 'The Keep' · as SelfActor
Filmography data from TMDB. The profile text is a draft written for Cinespective.