Gabriel Byrne

Byrne was in a relationship with TV producer Aine O’Connor for 12 years. Their relationship ended in 1986.

Later, he married actor Ellen Barkin. The couple had two children but divorced in 1999.

He married Hannah Beth King on August 4, 2014. They had a daughter in February 2017.

Gabriel was born on May 12, 1950, in Dublin, Ireland. He was the eldest of the six children of his parents. Byrne’s father was a barrel maker for ‘Guinness,’ the Irish brewer, and his mother was a nurse.

After being influenced by a Catholic priest, Gabriel considered becoming a priest and moved to England to study for it. However, after a few years, he left the seminary and went back to Ireland. Later, he revealed that he had been sexually abused during his training at the seminary.

Byrne attended the ‘University College, Dublin’ (UCD), on a scholarship. After receiving his degree in archaeology and linguistics, he started working as a teacher at ‘Ardscoil Éanna’ in Crumlin, Dublin.

Gabriel experimented with a number of jobs, including that of a plumber, an archaeologist, and a cook, before deciding to pursue acting.

Gabriel was 29 years old when he decided to devote his life to acting. He started as a theater actor at Dublin’s ‘Focus Theatre’ and ‘Abbey Theatre’.

In 1978, Gabriel made his TV debut in the soap opera ‘The Riordans,’ in which he played the role of ‘Pat Barry’. He reprised his role in ‘Bracken,’ which was a spinoff of ‘The Riordans.’

Gabriel made his movie debut in ‘Excalibur’ in 1981. Soon, he became a Hollywood star.

Gabriel appeared in a number of TV series such as ‘Stranger’ (1981) and ‘Christopher Columbus’ (1985). He also starred in films such as ‘Hanna K.’ (1983), ‘Gothic’ (1986), ‘Lionheart’ (1987), and ‘Dark Obsession’ (1989), until he had his first big success with ‘Miller’s Crossing’ (1990).

Byrne tasted massive success with ‘Miller’s Crossing,’ in 1990. The rest is history.

He became a star soon after. During the 1990s, he delivered remarkable performances in movies such as ‘Into the West’ (1992), ‘Little Women’ (1994), ‘The Usual Suspects’ (1995), ‘The End of Violence’ (1997), ‘Enemy of the State’ (1998), ‘Stigmata’ (1999), and ‘End of Days’ (1999).

In 2000, Byrne went back to doing theater. His work in the ‘Broadway’ production ‘A Moon for the Misbegotten’ at the ‘Walter Kerr Theatre’ was widely appreciated.

He continued starring in films such as ‘Canone Inverso’ (2000), ‘Virginia’s Run’ (2002), ‘Ghost Ship’ (2002), and ‘Shade’ (2003). In 2004, he became a part of another hit movie ‘Vanity Fair.’

In 2005, he gave an outstanding performance in ‘A Touch of the Poet,’ a ‘Broadway’ show by ‘Studio 54.’ The same year, he also starred in the Hollywood action film ‘Assault on Precinct 13.’