Career
Byrne worked in archaeology when he left UCD. He maintained his love of his language, later writing the first television drama in Irish, Draíocht, on Ireland's national Irish-language television station, TG4, when it began broadcasting in 1996.
Before becoming an actor, Byrne had many jobs, including archaeologist, cook, Spanish and history school teacher at Ardscoil Éanna in Crumlin and even a spell as a bullfighter in Spain. He started acting at age 29, and began his career on stage with the Focus Theatre and the Abbey Theatre in Dublin. He later joined the Performing Arts Course at Roslyn Park College in Sandymount. He came to prominence on the final season of the Irish television show The Riordans, subsequently starring in his own spin-off series, Bracken. His first play for television was Michael Feeney Callan's Love Is ... (RTÉ). He made his film debut in 1981, as King Uther Pendragon in John Boorman's King Arthur epic, Excalibur.
In 1983, Byrne appeared with Richard Burton in the miniseries Wagner, co-starring Laurence Olivier, John Gielgud and Ralph Richardson. In 1985, he starred in the acclaimed political thriller Defence of the Realm, though he subsequently said he had been upstaged by his co-star, veteran actor Denholm Elliott: "I amended the actor's cliché to 'Never work with children, animals or Denholm Elliott'."
In 1990, Byrne starred as the protagonist Tom Reagan in the Coen Brothers 1929-set film Miller's Crossing, in which his character serves as an advisor to a crime boss while trying to keep the peace between the Irish and Italian mobs in Philadelphia. Despite the character being a member of the Irish mob, the Coens originally wanted Byrne to speak in an American accent rather than his native Irish. Byrne argued that his accent was a good fit for the dialogue, and the Coens eventually agreed, though they are known for rarely deviating from their original vision.
In 1995, Byrne starred as one of the main characters, Dean Keaton, in the crime thriller The Usual Suspects, written by Christopher McQuarrie and directed by Bryan Singer. When Byrne was initially approached with the script, he turned the offer down, thinking the filmmakers couldn't pull it off. When he met with McQuarrie and Singer in person, he was convinced of their abilities, then backed out again due to personal reasons. Finally, the production team agreed to shoot the picture in Los Angeles, and Byrne signed on for good.
In the 90s, his production company Plurabelle Films received a first look deal with Phoenix Pictures.
In 2007, Byrne led the jury of the Kerry Film Festival.
Upon his return to theatre in 2008, Byrne appeared as King Arthur in Camelot with the New York Philharmonic from 7 to 10 May, following the footsteps of veteran actors Richard Burton and Richard Harris. Byrne was cast in a film adaptation of Flann O'Brien's metafictional novel At Swim-Two-Birds, alongside Colin Farrell and Cillian Murphy. Actor Brendan Gleeson was set to direct the film. In October 2009, however, Gleeson expressed fear that, should the Irish Film Board be abolished as planned by the Irish State, the production might fall through.
Byrne starred as therapist Paul Weston in the HBO series In Treatment from 2008 to 2010. He was named as TV's "latest Dr. McDreamy" by The New York Times for this role, and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Drama Series in 2008.
In 2011, Byrne signed up to appear in a film by director Costa-Gavras, Le Capital, an adaptation of Stéphane Osmont's novel of the same name.
In 2017, Byrne appeared in Mad to Be Normal (previously titled Metanoia), a biopic of the Scottish psychiatrist R. D. Laing, produced by Gizmo Films.
In 2018, Byrne starred in filmmaker Ari Aster's feature debut Hereditary as Steve, the husband and father in a family experiencing occult disturbances following the death of his mother-in-law. It ranked 83rd on Rolling Stone's list of "The 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century" and 10th on The Hollywood Reporter's list of the "25 Best Horror Movies of the 21st Century." It was Byrne's second time working with Alex Wolff, who played his son, after In Treatment, and Wolff said, “He’s the person that I’ve worked with who has probably inspired me the most,” about Byrne in a profile by DuJour.
Walking with Ghosts, Byrne's one-man show based on his memoir of the same title (published by Grove Press in January 2021), premiered at the Gaiety Theatre, Dublin on 1 February 2022, before playing at the Edinburgh International Festival. It opened on 6 September 2022 at the Apollo Theatre in London, marking Byrne's West End debut at the age of 72, in 'a career-best performance', and opened on 26 October 2022 at the Music Box Theatre on Broadway.
