Biography
Gabriel Byrne took a while to get to his acting career, as his early years were initially spent growing up in Ireland with intentions to become a priest. That wasn't a good fit for him so he attended university, studying linguistics and archaeology. He didn't start acting until the end of his 20s, spending the time post-college in a variety of other fields. Byrne's initial breakout role was on Irish television drama "The Riordans" (RTE One 1965-1979), carrying his role of Pat Barry to a spinoff called "Bracken" (RTE One 1980-82). His major film debut came soon after as he appeared as Uther Pendragon in the epic "Excalibur" (1981). The rest of the '80s was filled with a slew of roles, whether it was more fantasy flicks like "Lionheart" (1987) or horror movies like "Gothic" (1986). At the start of the next decade, Byrne starred in the Coen Brothers' "Miller's Crossing" (1990), which kicked off a busy stretch for the actor. He also appeared in "Little Women" (1994), Bryan Singer's "The Usual Suspects" (1995), and thriller "Stigmata" (1999). He even hosted "Saturday Night Live" (NBC 1975- ) in 1995. The new century led to more roles for Byrne, including memorable turns in David Cronenberg's "Spider" (2002) and the drama "Jindabyne" (2006). He returned to television in a major with the role of Dr. Paul Weston on the drama "In Treatment" (HBO 2008-2010), earning a Golden Globe Award for the performance. He followed that role up with more work in film, most notably in Ari Aster's "Hereditary" (2018) as well as a variety of other films ranging from "Vampire Academy" (2014)" to "The 33" (2015). He additionally appeared in a few episodes of the Emma Stone and Jonah Hill-starring psychological drama series "Maniac" (Netflix 2018).
