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Gabriel Byrne

Gabriel Byrne

Actor, also producer and writer · Born May 12, 1950 (76) · Dublin, Ireland

Golden Globe winner · Primetime Emmy nominee · 1 other major award body

Gabriel James Byrne (born 12 May 1950) is an Irish actor. He has received a Golden Globe Award and nominations for a Grammy Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards and two Tony Awards. Byrne was awarded the Irish Film and Television Academy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018 and was listed at number 17 on The Irish Times list of Ireland's greatest film actors in 2020. In 2009, The Guardian named him one of the best actors who never received an Academy Award nomination. Byrne's acting career began at the Focus Theatre in Dublin before he joined London's Royal Court Theatre in 1974. His screen debut came in the Irish drama serial The Riordans and the spin-off show Bracken. He went on to star in such films as Defence of the Realm (1986), Lionheart (1987), Miller's Crossing (1990), Little Women (1994), Dead Man (1995), The Usual Suspects (1995), The Man in the Iron Mask (1998), Enemy of the State (1998), Vanity Fair (2004), The 33 (2015), and Hereditary (2018). He co-wrote The Last of the High Kings (1996) and produced In the Name of the Father (1993).  For his Broadway work, Byrne has received two nominations for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his roles in the Eugene O'Neill plays A Moon for the Misbegotten (2000) and Long Day's Journey into Night (2016). For his television work, Byrne has received two nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his role as Paul Weston in the HBO drama series In Treatment (2008–2010). He also received a Golden Globe Award. His other notable television roles include Vikings (2013), Maniac (2018), and War of the Worlds (2019–2022). Description above from the Wikipedia article Gabriel Byrne, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
May 12, 1950 (76)
From
Dublin, Ireland
Works as
Actor, also producer and writer
Titles
84 on MovieCove · 125 credits in all
TMDB popularity, last 156 days to Oct 27Up 15% in 30 days

What are Gabriel Byrne's films like?

Across their 78 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Self.

What they feel like to watch

their average across 74 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category

A split, not a type: Light 15 · Serious 21 · Dark 38

A split, not a type: Grounded 37 · Stylized 24 · Heightened 13

Gentle 11 · Charged 33 · Intense 30

A split, not a type: Steady 35 · Shifting 32 · Whiplash 7

Straight-faced 53 · Some laughs 19 · Funny 2

A split, not a type: Slow burn 37 · Even-paced 31 · Relentless 6

Casual 20 · Engaged 41 · Full focus 13

Easy watch 16 · Affecting 32 · Heavy 26

A split, not a type: Resolved 34 · Open-ended 24 · Ambiguous 16

Roles they play

62 analyzed roles

Usually the Hero: 19 of 62 analyzed roles.

Hero
19 of 62
Shadow
18 of 62
Mentor
7 of 62
Ally
7 of 62
Shapeshifter
6 of 62
Threshold guardian
3 of 62
Herald
1 of 62
Trickster
1 of 62
Show the 62 roles

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
47
Melancholic
41
Contemplative
23
Dread
16
Warm
9
Other
66

How their films end · 14 with a twist

  • Happy9
  • Bittersweet33
  • Tragic7
  • Ambiguous29

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Gabriel Byrne's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 55 of their 84 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (31).

Subscription and free streaming for Gabriel Byrne's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

125 credits, 84 with a MovieCove page; 23 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • Ballerina(2025)

    as The Chancellor

    Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all films
  • Four Letters of Love(2024)

    as Muiris Gore

    Midcredits score: 44th percentile of all films
  • Dance First(2023)

    as Samuel Beckett

    Midcredits score: 43rd percentile of all films
  • Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films
  • Lamborghini: The Legend(2022)

    as Enzo Ferrari

    Midcredits score: 25th percentile of all films
  • Murder at Yellowstone City(2022)

    as Sheriff Ambrose

    Midcredits score: 26th percentile of all films
  • Death of a Ladies' Man(2020)

    as Samuel O'Shea

    Midcredits score: 37th percentile of all films
  • ZeroZeroZero (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2020)

    Show 2 episodes · as Edward Lynwood

  • Lost Girls(2020)

    as Richard Dormer

    Midcredits score: 44th percentile of all films
  • War of the Worlds(2019)

    Show 24 episodes · as Bill Ward

    Midcredits score: 35th percentile of all shows
  • Land Without God (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)

    Executive Producer

  • Maniac(2018)

    Show 5 episodes · as Porter Milgrim

    Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all shows
  • An L.A. Minute(2018)

    as Ted Gold

    Midcredits score: 18th percentile of all films
  • Hereditary(2018)

    Executive Producer · as Steve Graham

    Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films
  • My Astonishing Self: Gabriel Byrne on George Bernard Shaw (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)

    as Narrator

  • In the Cloud (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)

    as Doc Wolff

  • Lies We Tell(2017)

    as Donald

    Midcredits score: 7th percentile of all films
  • Atlantic Salmon: Lost at Sea (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)

    as Narrator

  • Mad to Be Normal(2017)

    as Jim

    Midcredits score: 45th percentile of all films
  • Carrie Pilby(2016)

    as Mr. Pilby

    Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films
  • No Pay, Nudity(2016)

    as Lester Rosenthal aka Lawrence Rose

    Midcredits score: 17th percentile of all films
  • Endless Night(2015)

    as Bram

    Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all films
  • Louder Than Bombs(2015)

    as Gene Reed

    Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all films
  • The 33(2015)

    as Andre Sougarret

    Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all films
  • Vikings: Athelstan's Journal (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)

    Show 3 episodes · as Earl Haraldson (archive footage)

  • Quirke(2013)

    Show 3 episodes · as Quirke

    Midcredits score: 39th percentile of all shows
  • Vampire Academy(2014)

    as Victor Dashkov

    Midcredits score: 35th percentile of all films
  • Just a Sigh(2013)

    as Man

    Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all films
  • All Things to All Men(2013)

    as Joseph Corso

    Midcredits score: 8th percentile of all films
  • Vikings(2013)

    Show 9 episodes · as Earl Haraldson

    Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all shows
  • Capital(2012)

    as Dittmar Rigule

    Midcredits score: 58th percentile of all films
  • Secret State(2012)

    Show 4 episodes · as Tom Dawkins

    Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all shows
  • Dreaming the Quiet Man(2010)

    as Narrator

    Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films
  • Tent City, U.S.A (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)

    Executive Producer

  • I, Anna(2012)

    as D.C.I. Bernie Reid

    Midcredits score: 42nd percentile of all films
  • The Women of SNL (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)

    as Priest (archive footage)

  • Perrier's Bounty(2009)

    as Voice of the Grim Reaper (voice)

    Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all films
  • Leningrad(2009)

    as Philip Parker

    Midcredits score: 45th percentile of all films
  • 2:22(2008)

    as Detective Swain (uncredited)

    Midcredits score: 23rd percentile of all films
  • Gabriel Byrne: Stories from Home (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)

    Actor

  • Camelot: Live from Lincoln Center (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)

    as King Arthur

  • Emotional Arithmetic(2007)

    as Christopher Lewis

    Midcredits score: 39th percentile of all films
  • In Treatment(2008)

    Show 106 episodes · as Dr. Paul Weston

    Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all shows
  • Attack on Leningrad (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)

    Show 4 episodes · as Phillip Parker

  • Leningrad (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)

    Show 4 episodes · Actor

  • Jindabyne(2006)

    as Stewart

    Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all films
  • Played(2006)

    as Eddie

    Midcredits score: 4th percentile of all films
  • Wah-Wah(2005)

    as Harry Compton

    Midcredits score: 64th percentile of all films
  • Assault on Precinct 13(2005)

    as Captain Marcus Duvall

    Midcredits score: 47th percentile of all films
  • The Bridge of San Luis Rey(2004)

    as Brother Juniper

    Midcredits score: 20th percentile of all films
  • P.S.(2004)

    as Peter Harrington

    Midcredits score: 40th percentile of all films
  • Vanity Fair(2004)

    as The Marquess of Steyne

    Midcredits score: 43rd percentile of all films
  • Patrick (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)

    as Patrick

  • Shade(2003)

    as Charlie Miller

    Midcredits score: 51st percentile of all films
  • Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all films
  • Spider(2002)

    as Bill Cleg

    Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all films
  • Ghost Ship(2002)

    as Captain Sean Murphy

    Midcredits score: 25th percentile of all films
  • Horses: The Story of Equus (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)

    as Narrator

  • Emmett's Mark(2002)

    as Jack Marlow / Stephen Bracken

    Midcredits score: 41st percentile of all films
  • Virginia's Run(2002)

    as Ford Lofton

    Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all films
  • When Brendan Met Trudy(2000)

    as Special Appearance

    Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all films
  • Madigan Men (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)

    Show 12 episodes · Producer · as Benjamin Madigan

  • Mad About Mambo (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)

    Executive Producer

  • Making Love (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)

    as Violinista / Jeno Varga Adulto

  • End of Days(1999)

    as The Man

    Midcredits score: 30th percentile of all films
  • Saturday Night Live: 25th Anniversary Special (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)

    as (archive footage)

  • Stigmata(1999)

    as Father Andrew Kiernan

    Midcredits score: 44th percentile of all films
  • Enemy of the State(1998)

    as 'Brill'

    Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films
  • Quest for Camelot(1998)

    as Lionel (voice)

    Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all films
  • Pirates (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1998)

    as Narrator (voice)

  • The Man in the Iron Mask(1998)

    as D'Artagnan

    Midcredits score: 61st percentile of all films
  • Polish Wedding(1998)

    as Bolek

    Midcredits score: 26th percentile of all films
  • This Is the Sea(1997)

    as Rohan

    Midcredits score: 46th percentile of all films
  • Midcredits score: 31st percentile of all films
  • Weapons of Mass Distraction(1997)

    as Lionel Powers

    Midcredits score: 38th percentile of all films
  • Smilla's Sense of Snow(1997)

    as The Mechanic

    Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all films
  • Somebody Is Waiting(1996)

    Co-Producer · as Roger Ellis

    Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all films
  • The Last of the High Kings(1996)

    Co-Executive Producer · Screenplay · as Jack Griffin

    Midcredits score: 47th percentile of all films
  • The Brylcreem Boys (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1996)

    Producer · as Commandant O'Brien

  • Mad Dog Time(1996)

    as Ben London

    Midcredits score: 38th percentile of all films
  • Draíocht (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1996)

    Writer · as Father

  • Dead Man(1995)

    as Charlie Dickinson

    Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all films
  • Irish Cinema: Ourselves Alone? (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1995)

    as Narrator (voice)

  • Frankie Starlight(1995)

    as Jack Kelly

    Midcredits score: 59th percentile of all films
  • The Usual Suspects(1995)

    as Keaton

    Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films
  • Out of Ireland (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1995)

    as Richard O'Gorman (voice)

  • Buffalo Girls (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1995)

    as Teddy Blue

  • Little Women(1994)

    as Friedrich Bhaer

    Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films
  • Trial by Jury(1994)

    as Daniel Graham

    Midcredits score: 21st percentile of all films
  • A Simple Twist of Fate(1994)

    as John Newland

    Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all films
  • All Things Bright and Beautiful (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1994)

    as The Good Thief

  • Royal Deceit(1994)

    as Fenge

    Midcredits score: 26th percentile of all films
  • In the Name of the Father(1993)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films
  • A Dangerous Woman(1993)

    as Mackey

    Midcredits score: 30th percentile of all films
  • Point of No Return(1993)

    as Bob

    Midcredits score: 47th percentile of all films
  • Into the West(1992)

    Associate Producer · as Papa Reilly

    Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films
  • Cool World(1992)

    as Jack Deebs

    Midcredits score: 14th percentile of all films
  • Shipwrecked(1990)

    as Lt. John Merrick

    Midcredits score: 64th percentile of all films
  • Miller's Crossing(1990)

    as Tom Reagan

    Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films
  • Dark Obsession(1989)

    as Hugo

    Midcredits score: 7th percentile of all films
  • A Soldier's Tale(1989)

    as Saul

    Midcredits score: 29th percentile of all films
  • The Courier (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1988)

    as Val

  • Julia and Julia (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1988)

    as Paolo

  • Siesta(1987)

    as Augustine

    Midcredits score: 36th percentile of all films
  • Hello Again(1987)

    as Kevin Scanlon

    Midcredits score: 27th percentile of all films
  • Lionheart(1987)

    as Black Prince

    Midcredits score: 21st percentile of all films
  • Gothic(1986)

    as Lord Byron

    Midcredits score: 41st percentile of all films
  • Defense of the Realm(1985)

    as Nicholas 'Nick' Mullen

    Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all films
  • Mussolini: The Untold Story (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1985)

    Show 4 episodes · as Vittorio Mussolini

  • Christopher Columbus (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1985)

    Show 4 episodes · as Christopher Columbus

  • Reflections (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1984)

    as William Masters

  • The Treatment (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1984)

    as Father Michael

  • The Keep(1983)

    as Major Kaempffer

    Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all films
  • Hanna K. (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1983)

    as Joshué Herzog

  • Joyce in June (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1982)

    as Keogh / Blazes Boylan

  • The Rocking Horse Winner (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1982)

    as Bassett

  • The Search for Alexander the Great (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1981)

    Show 4 episodes · as Ptolemy

  • Excalibur(1981)

    as Uther

    Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films
  • Bracken (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1980)

    Show 12 episodes · as Pat Barry

  • The Outsider(1979)

    as Man in Street

    Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all films
  • On a Paving Stone Mounted (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1978)

    Actor

  • The Last of Summer (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1978)

    Show 4 episodes · as Bishop's secretary

  • Strangers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1978)

    Show 1 episode · as Johnny Maguire

  • Live from Lincoln Center (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1976)

    Show 31 episodes · as King Arthur

  • Sauver Mozart (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Actor

Career shape

Star power in the 99th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 125 titles, 124 of them dated from 1976 to 2025; peak year 1994.

Film career

MilestoneBreakoutAward win
19762025

Peak 1994 · back in prominent film roles after a quiet stretch. Top draw in 42 MovieCove titles. Film roles by billing, audience size and rating; 25+ votes. A show carries a single first-air date, so shows are not on the curve.

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting121 of 125: 114 only acting, 7 with another role · typical Midcredits score46thWriting2 of 125: 0 only writing, 2 with another roleProducing10 of 125: 4 only producing, 6 with another role · typical Midcredits score79th

125 titles, 7 with more than one role — acting and producing overlap on 6 of them.

By decade

1970s5 · acting1980s19 · acting1990s36 · 35 acting · 6 crew2000s27 · 26 acting · 2 crew2010s28 · 26 acting · 3 crew2020s9 · acting

Billing

usually 3rd · top billed in 18% of 60 roles
819196010616

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored. Billing is TMDB cast order for roles with 25+ votes, billed in the top 30; the columns are the share of top-billed roles in each era, 5-year spans from the year on the label, merged until each holds at least 5 roles.

Awards

a Golden Globe from 4 major nominations, 1998–2009.

WinNomination
  1. 2009
    • Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
    • Golden Globe, won · Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Drama
  2. 2008
    • Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
  3. 1998
    • Grammy Award, nominated · Best Spoken Word Album for Children

Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.

How do Gabriel Byrne's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 46th percentile, the median of all 78; across their 74 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 45th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

45thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 74

Approval · how many liked their films

48thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 74

Reach · how many have seen their films

77thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 74

Midcredits score across 84 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up17
  • 50th to 74th20
  • 25th to 49th36
  • Below 25th11

Shape of the crowd

37 of their 84 titles are Mixed.

  • Universally Loved10
  • Universally Panned1
  • Divisive1
  • Crowd Pleaser26
  • Broadly Agreed9
  • Mixed37

Reviewers score the acting 69/100 in their films, across 68 reviewed titles; fans 79, detractors 45. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is Gabriel Byrne's work okay for kids?

Across up to 30 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore, sex & nudity, profanity and frightening / intense run heavier than most films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore23 titles27–92 · median 67 · intenseheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity30 titles19–63 · median 44 · moderateheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity26 titles14–81 · median 54 · moderateheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs22 titles19–63 · median 37 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense22 titles27–82 · median 60 · moderateheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 39

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.

Who does Gabriel Byrne work with?

People who share at least 2 of Gabriel Byrne's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Amy Ryan shares the most, 3.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Composers and editors

Producers

Mixed roles