Brían F. O'Byrne
Encyclopedia
Brían Francis O'Byrne is an Irish
actor who works mostly in the United States
. He was born in Mullagh, County Cavan
.
O'Byrne first attracted notice for his performances in the Martin McDonagh
plays The Beauty Queen of Leenane
(1996) as Pato Dooley (for which he received a Tony Award
nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Play) and The Lonesome West
(1997). He is known for taking on serious and dramatic roles, such as a serial killer
in Frozen
(1998) (for which he won a Tony Award
) and a priest accused of child molestation in Doubt
(2004), for which he received a Tony nomination. O'Byrne also appeared as a priest in the 2004 film Million Dollar Baby
. In May 2007, O'Byrne was nominated for a Tony Award for his performance as Alexander Herzen
in Tom Stoppard
's 2002 trilogy The Coast of Utopia
. In 2011, he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie for his performance in Mildred Pierce as Bert Pierce.
O'Byrne was featured in the 2009-2010 ABC
series FlashForward
, in which he played Aaron Stark. The show was not renewed. FlashForward began airing in Ireland 4 January 2010.
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
actor who works mostly in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. He was born in Mullagh, County Cavan
County Cavan
County Cavan is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Cavan. Cavan County Council is the local authority for the county...
.
O'Byrne first attracted notice for his performances in the Martin McDonagh
Martin McDonagh
Martin McDonagh is an Irish-British playwright, filmmaker, and screenwriter. Although he has lived in London his entire life, he is considered one of the most important living Irish playwrights.-Life:...
plays The Beauty Queen of Leenane
The Beauty Queen of Leenane
The Beauty Queen of Leenane is a 1996 black comedy by Irish playwright Martin McDonagh which was premiered by the Druid Theatre Company in Galway, Ireland...
(1996) as Pato Dooley (for which he received a Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Play) and The Lonesome West
The Lonesome West
The Lonesome West is a play by contemporary Irish playwright Martin McDonagh, part of his Connemara trilogy, which includes The Beauty Queen of Leenane and A Skull in Connemara...
(1997). He is known for taking on serious and dramatic roles, such as a serial killer
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
in Frozen
Frozen (play)
Frozen is a play by Bryony Lavery that tells the story of the disappearance of a 10-year-old girl, Rhona. The play follows Rhona's mother and killer over the years that follow. They are linked by a doctor who is studying what causes men to commit such crimes...
(1998) (for which he won a Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
) and a priest accused of child molestation in Doubt
Doubt (play)
Doubt: A Parable is a 2004 play by John Patrick Shanley. Originally staged off-Broadway at the Manhattan Theatre Club on November 23, 2004, the production transferred to the Walter Kerr Theatre on Broadway in March 2005 and closed on July 2, 2006 after 525 performances and 25 previews...
(2004), for which he received a Tony nomination. O'Byrne also appeared as a priest in the 2004 film Million Dollar Baby
Million Dollar Baby
Million Dollar Baby is a 2004 American sports drama film directed, co-produced, and scored by Clint Eastwood and starring Eastwood, Hilary Swank, and Morgan Freeman...
. In May 2007, O'Byrne was nominated for a Tony Award for his performance as Alexander Herzen
Alexander Herzen
Aleksandr Ivanovich Herzen was a Russian pro-Western writer and thinker known as the "father of Russian socialism", and one of the main fathers of agrarian populism...
in Tom Stoppard
Tom Stoppard
Sir Tom Stoppard OM, CBE, FRSL is a British playwright, knighted in 1997. He has written prolifically for TV, radio, film and stage, finding prominence with plays such as Arcadia, The Coast of Utopia, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, Professional Foul, The Real Thing, and Rosencrantz and...
's 2002 trilogy The Coast of Utopia
The Coast of Utopia
The Coast of Utopia is a 2002 trilogy of plays: Voyage, Shipwreck, and Salvage, written by Tom Stoppard with focus on the philosophical debates in pre-revolution Russia between 1833 and 1866...
. In 2011, he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie for his performance in Mildred Pierce as Bert Pierce.
O'Byrne was featured in the 2009-2010 ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
series FlashForward
Flashforward
A flashforward is an interjected scene that takes the narrative forward in time from the current point of the story in literature, film, television and other media. Flashforwards are often used to represent events expected, projected, or imagined to occur in the future...
, in which he played Aaron Stark. The show was not renewed. FlashForward began airing in Ireland 4 January 2010.
Filmography
- Joe Forrester (1976) - TV (1 episode)
- ValerieThe Hogan FamilyThe Hogan Family is an American television situation comedy that aired from March 1, 1986 to July 20, 1991...
(1986), Father Rooney - TV (1 episode) - Avenue X (1994), Sonny
- The Fifth Province (1997), Timmy
- The Last Bus Home (1997), Jessop
- ElectricityElectricityElectricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
(1997), Graham Crouch - Amongst WomenAmongst WomenAmongst Women is a novel by the Irish author John McGahern . The novel tells the story of Michael Moran, a bitter, ageing Irish Republican Army veteran, and his tyranny over his wife and children, who both love and fear him. It is McGahern's best known novel and is considered his masterpiece...
(1998), Luke - TV - An Everlasting PieceAn Everlasting PieceAn Everlasting Piece is a 2000 American comedy film. The movie was directed by Barry Levinson and written by and starring Barry McEvoy. The plot involves two wig salesmen, one Catholic and one Protestant, who live in war torn Belfast, Northern Ireland, in the mid-'80s...
(2000), George - The Mapmaker (2001), Richie Markey
- BanditsBanditsBandits is a 2001 American crime-comedy drama film directed by Barry Levinson. It stars Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton, and Cate Blanchett. Filming began in October 2000 and ended in February 2001. It helped Thornton earn a National Board of Review Best Actor Award for 2001...
(2001), Darill Miller - Disco PigsDisco PigsDisco Pigs is a 2001 Irish film directed by Kirsten Sheridan and written by Enda Walsh, who adapted it from his 1996 play of the same name. Cillian Murphy and Elaine Cassidy star as Cork teenagers who have a lifelong, but unhealthy, friendship that is imploding as they approach adulthood.-Plot:The...
(2001), Gerry - The Grey ZoneThe Grey ZoneThe Grey Zone is a 2001 film directed by Tim Blake Nelson and starring David Arquette, Steve Buscemi, Harvey Keitel, Mira Sorvino and Daniel Benzali. It is based on the book Auschwitz: A Doctor's Eyewitness Account written by Dr. Miklós Nyiszli....
(2001), SS interrogator - OzOz (TV series)Oz is an American television drama series created by Tom Fontana, who also wrote or co-wrote all of the series' 56 episodes . It was the first one-hour dramatic television series to be produced by premium cable network HBO. Oz premiered on July 12, 1997 and ran for six seasons...
(2001), Padraig ConnollyPadraig ConnollyPadraic Connolly is a fictional character, portrayed by Brian F. O'Byrne on the HBO drama Oz. He appeared in three episodes in season 4: "Even the Score", "Famous Last Words", and "Orpheus Descending"."...
- TV - Easy (2003), Mick
- IntermissionIntermission (film)Intermission is a 2003 Irish comedy crime film directed by John Crowley which tells a story of a young couple and people surrounding them. The film is set in Dublin, Ireland and is filmed in a TV drama style with several storylines crossing over one another during the course of the film.Mark O'Rowe...
(2003), Mick
- Million Dollar BabyMillion Dollar BabyMillion Dollar Baby is a 2004 American sports drama film directed, co-produced, and scored by Clint Eastwood and starring Eastwood, Hilary Swank, and Morgan Freeman...
(2004), Father Horvak - The Blackwater LightshipThe Blackwater LightshipThe Blackwater Lightship is a 1999 novel written by Irish novelist Colm Tóibín, and was short-listed for the Booker Prize.-Plot summary:The story is described from the viewpoint of Helen, a successful school principal living with her husband and two children in Ireland...
(2004), Larry - TV - The New World (2005), Lewes
- In an Instant (2005), The Man
- Law & Order: Special Victims UnitLaw & Order: Special Victims UnitLaw & Order: Special Victims Unit is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City, where it is also primarily produced...
(2005), Liam Connors - TV - Before the Devil Knows You're DeadBefore the Devil Knows You're DeadBefore the Devil Knows You're Dead is a 2007 crime drama directed by Sidney Lumet and written by Kelly Masterson. It stars Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Marisa Tomei, and Albert Finney. The title comes from the Irish saying: "May you be in heaven a full half-hour before the devil knows...
(2007), Bobby - Bug (2007), Dr Sweet
- No Reservations (2007), Sean
- Brotherhood (2007–2009), Colin Carr - TV
- The InternationalThe International (film)The International is a 2009 thriller film directed by Tom Tykwer. The film follows an Interpol agent and an American attorney who investigate corruption within the IBBC, a fictional merchant bank based in Luxembourg. It serves organized crime and corrupt governments as a banker and as an arms...
(2009), The Consultant - FlashForwardFlashforwardA flashforward is an interjected scene that takes the narrative forward in time from the current point of the story in literature, film, television and other media. Flashforwards are often used to represent events expected, projected, or imagined to occur in the future...
(2009), Aaron Stark - TV - Brooklyn's FinestBrooklyn's FinestBrooklyn's Finest is a 2009 American crime film starring Richard Gere, Don Cheadle, Ethan Hawke, and Wesley Snipes in his first theatrical film since 2004's Blade: Trinity. The film also stars Will Patton, Ellen Barkin and Vincent D'Onofrio. It is directed by Antoine Fuqua, and written by Michael...
(2010), Ronny Rosario - Mildred Pierce (2011), Bert Pierce - TV
- Season of the WitchSeason of the WitchSeason of the Witch, also known as Hungry Wives, and Jack's Wife, is George A. Romero's third horror film. Filmed in 1971 and released in 1972, the film is about a housewife who becomes involved in witchcraft...
(2011), Teutonic High Priest
Awards
- Theatre World Special Award (1998)Theatre World AwardThe Theatre World Award, first awarded for the 1945-46 season, is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway or off-Broadway.-History:...
: The Beauty Queen of LeenaneThe Beauty Queen of LeenaneThe Beauty Queen of Leenane is a 1996 black comedy by Irish playwright Martin McDonagh which was premiered by the Druid Theatre Company in Galway, Ireland...
, Ensemble Performance - Tony Award (2004)Tony AwardThe Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
: Best Featured Actor in a PlayTony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a PlayThis is a list of the winners and nominations of Tony Award for the Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play. The award has been presented since 1949.-1950s:* 1951: Eli Wallach – The Rose Tattoo* 1952: John Cromwell – Point of No Return...
, FrozenFrozen (play)Frozen is a play by Bryony Lavery that tells the story of the disappearance of a 10-year-old girl, Rhona. The play follows Rhona's mother and killer over the years that follow. They are linked by a doctor who is studying what causes men to commit such crimes... - Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a PlayDrama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a PlayThe Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play was first awarded at the 1974–1975 Drama Desk Awards and has been awarded every year since. Before the 21st Drama Desk Awards, acting awards were given without making distinctions between roles in straight dramas as opposed to musicals, nor were...
, DoubtDoubt (play)Doubt: A Parable is a 2004 play by John Patrick Shanley. Originally staged off-Broadway at the Manhattan Theatre Club on November 23, 2004, the production transferred to the Walter Kerr Theatre on Broadway in March 2005 and closed on July 2, 2006 after 525 performances and 25 previews...