Michael Byrne | |
---|---|
Born | |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1962–present |
Michael Byrne (born 7 November 1943) is a British actor known for his roles in the National Theatre, Hollywood films, and television shows.
Byrne was born in London, England, to Helen Byrne of Kilkenny, Ireland, a single parent.
Byrne is a long-established stage actor, having joined the National Theatre in 1964 and appearing in many seasons since. He has also appeared on stage throughout the world. He has numerous theatre credits to his name including: Roberto Miranda in Death and the Maiden at the Royal Court, Maskwell in The Double Dealer and Claudio in Much Ado About Nothing at the National Theatre, Reg in Butley at The Criterion, and also The Cherry Orchard, The Seagull, Romeo and Juliet, Mayor of Zalamea, All My Sons, Lulu, Faith Healer, Duchess of Malfi, A Slight Ache, and Molly Sweeney amongst many others.
During his career he has played many German military roles such as Colonel Vogel in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade , Major Schroeder in Force 10 from Navarone , Reinhard Beck in The Scarlet and the Black and General Olbricht in The Plot to Kill Hitler . He was also the SS interrogator in Rogue Male . Byrne appeared as a Jewish concentration camp survivor who is instrumental in the capture of a Nazi war criminal (played by Sir Ian McKellen) in the film Apt Pupil .
He is also familiar to audiences as Smythe, a soldier who attempts to rape William Wallace's wife and first inspires Wallace to seek independence from England in the film Braveheart .
His other film credits include The Eagle Has Landed , Butley, A Bridge Too Far , The Medusa Touch , The Saint , Tomorrow Never Dies , The Good Father , The Sum of All Fears , Gangs of New York , Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 , Mortdecai.
On television, he has appeared in Thriller , Tales of the Unexpected , The Professionals , The Devil's Crown , Smiley's People as Peter Guillam, Yes, Prime Minister , Lord Mountbatten: The Last Viceroy , Between The Lines , Sharpe , Hornblower , A Touch of Frost , (The episode "Quarry", in which he played the father of Allie Byrne, his real-life daughter), Agatha Raisin (Hell’s Bells), Midsomer Murders (The Ghost of Causton Abbey), The Mists of Avalon , Waking the Dead , The Body Farm , Honest , Hamish Macbeth , and Casualty .
From April 2008 to January 2010, Byrne starred in Coronation Street , as Ted Page, Gail Platt's long lost father and the ex-lover of Audrey Roberts.
Byrne appeared in State of Play at the Edinburgh Festival written by Zia Trench.
He played Romeo to Siân Phillips' Juliet at the Bristol Old Vic.
He played Alfred Maxwell in BBC's Casualty , a terminally ill man with motor neuron disease and his friendship with clinical lead Connie Beauchamp.
He plays Bruce Titchener in The Archers .
Sir Alan Arthur Bates was an English actor who came to prominence in the 1960s, when he appeared in films ranging from Whistle Down the Wind to the "kitchen sink" drama A Kind of Loving.
Sir Michael John Gambon was an Irish-English actor. Gambon started his acting career with Laurence Olivier as one of the original members of the Royal National Theatre. Over his six-decade-long career, he received three Olivier Awards and four BAFTA TV Awards. In 1998, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for services to drama.
Milo Donal O'Shea was an Irish actor. He was twice nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his performances in Staircase (1968) and Mass Appeal (1982).
Michael Roy Kitchen is an English actor and television producer, best known for his starring role as Detective Chief Superintendent Christopher Foyle in the ITV drama Foyle's War, which comprised eight series between 2002 and 2015. He also played the role of Bill Tanner in two James Bond films opposite Pierce Brosnan, and that of John Farrow in BBC Four's comedy series Brian Pern.
Geraldine Margaret Agnew-Somerville is an Irish-British actress. She is known for her roles in the film Gosford Park (2001) and the Harry Potter film series (2001–2011). Her other roles have included Daphne (2007), My Week with Marilyn (2011) and Grace of Monaco (2014). In 1995, Somerville was nominated for a BAFTA Award for playing Jane Penhaligon in the television series Cracker.
Raymond Fearon is a British actor. He played garage mechanic Nathan Cooper on ITV's long-running soap opera Coronation Street and voiced the centaur Firenze in the Wizarding World film series Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts.
David John Bradley is an English actor. He is best known for his screen roles including Argus Filch in the Harry Potter film series, Walder Frey in the HBO fantasy series Game of Thrones, and Abraham Setrakian in the FX horror series The Strain.
Sean Harris is an English actor. He played Ian Curtis in 24 Hour Party People (2002), Micheletto Corella in The Borgias (2011–2013), Fifield in Prometheus (2012), Solomon Lane in Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015) and Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018), Philip in Possum (2018), William Gascoigne in The King (2019) and Henry Peter Teague / Peter Morley in The Stranger (2022).
David Patrick O'Hara is a Scottish stage and character actor. A graduate of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London, he is best known to audiences for his numerous supporting roles in high-profile films; including Irishman Stephen in Braveheart, dimwitted mobster Fitzy in The Departed, hitman Mr. X in Wanted, and Albert Runcorn in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1. He portrayed Det. Danny 'Mac' McGregor on The District, and Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey on The Tudors.
Gerard McSorley is an Irish theatre, television and film actor.
Alfred Burke was an English actor, perhaps best known for his portrayal of Frank Marker in the long running drama series Public Eye, which ran on television for ten years.
Michael Maloney is a British actor.
Alexandra Gilbreath is an English actress, born in Chalfont St Giles, Buckinghamshire and trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.
Douglas “Dougie” James Henshall is a Scottish television, film and stage actor. He is best known for his roles as Professor Nick Cutter in the science fiction series Primeval (2007–2011) and Detective Inspector Jimmy Pérez in the crime drama Shetland (2013–2022).
Paul Fox is an English actor, known for portraying Mark Redman in Coronation Street, Will Cairns in Emmerdale and Dr Jeff Goodwin in The Royal.
John Murray McEnery was an English actor.
Tim Wylton is a British actor best known for his television roles as Stanley Dawkins in My Hero, and Lol Ferris in As Time Goes By.
Jamie Blair Glover is an English actor. He is best known for playing Andrew Treneman in the BBC One school-based drama series, Waterloo Road, returning to the role in 2023. He was also cast as Harry Potter in the second cast of the West-End production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in 2017, and starred as Roger Tramplemain in Michael Frayn's comical farce Noises Off at the Novello Theatre in 2012. He also appeared as William Russell in the Doctor Who docudrama, An Adventure in Space and Time (2013).
Fiona Glascott is an Irish actress. She is best known for portraying a young Minerva McGonagall in the Fantastic Beasts franchise, a spin-off of the Harry Potter film series.
Philip Bulcock is an English actor who has appeared in numerous award-winning film and theatre productions. He played the part of The Four Seasons' bassist and vocal arranger, Nick Massi in the original cast of the Olivier Award-winning UK West End production of Jersey Boys and Murphy in The Dark Knight directed by Christopher Nolan.