Gabriel Byrne

GABRIEL BYRNE

Born May 12, 1950, in Dublin, Ireland.

At the age of 12 he decided to become a priest: in order to go to Africa as a missionary. But a few years later he was caught with a cigarette and kicked out of the seminary.

Before going to college, Byrne tried many occupations; he was an archaeologist, a cook, and even a bullfighter, but after a while he became a teacher of Gaelic and Spanish at a Dublin girls' school. Local drama club, and he organized, finally realized his true calling, and at age 29, Byrne left his place as a teacher, joined the theater company, directed by Jim Sheridan, who later became a famous film director.

In 1981, Byrne got a role in a popular television series "The Riordans", and six months later the studio decided to run a series with him in the title role. Television was followed by cinema: in 1981, John Boorman invited Byrne for a small role in the movie "Excalibur. After that he quite a lot appeared in Europe at such directors as Costa-Gavras, Ken Loach, Ken Russell; played at The Focus Theatre and Abbey Theatre in Dublin and London's Royal Court and National Theatre.

In 1987, the filming of "Siesta" Gabriel Byrne met with American actress Ellen Barkin, who a year later became his wife, and another year later - in 1989 - gave birth to his son Jack. In 1992-m was born their daughter Romy, and in 1993-m Byrne and Barkin separated, maintaining excellent relations and shared custody of the children.

Also in 1989, Byrne made his full debut in American cinema - he played a major role in the Coen brothers gangster "black" comedy "Miller Pass. Since then he has lived and worked in America. Filmed often, although a truly successful projects he was not so much.

Byrne not only acting, but also shooting: in 1996 he made his directorial debut "The Lark in the Clear Air. Byrne founded a production company, contributed to the emergence of several high-profile films, such as the film by his longtime friend Sheridan "In the name of the father. He writes scripts, and in 1994 he published his autobiographical book Pictures in my head, which instantly became a bestseller in Ireland. He is seriously engaged in charity work.

In 2000, he returned to the theater: he played on Broadway Jim Tyrone in Eugene O'Neill's play "Moon for the Stepchildren of Destiny", for which he was nominated for the main theater award of America - "Tony Award".