Brían Francis O'Byrne (born 16 May 1967) is an Irish actor who works and lives in the United States. He was nominated for a

Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...

for his role in the miniseries ''

Mildred Pierce ''Mildred Pierce'' is a psychological drama by James M. Cain published by Alfred A. Knopf in 1941. A story of “social inequity and opportunity in America" set during the Great Depression, ''Mildred Pierce'' follows the trajectory of a lower- ...

'' (2011) and won a

BAFTA TV Award The BAFTA TV Awards, or British Academy Television Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the BAFTA. They have been awarded annually since 1955. Background The first-ever Awards, given in 1955, consisted of six categories. Until ...

for his role in the drama series ''

Little Boy Blue "Little Boy Blue" is an English-language nursery rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 11318. Lyrics A common version of the rhyme is: Little Boy Blue, Come blow your horn, The sheep's in the meadow, The cow's in the corn. Where is ...

'' (2017). O'Byrne received five

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...

nominations and won Best Featured Actor in a Play for his performance in the 2004 production of '' Frozen''.

Early life and education

O'Byrne was born in Mullagh, a village in the south-east of

County Cavan County Cavan ( ; gle, Contae an Chabháin) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of the Border Region. It is named after the town of Cavan and is base ...

, on 16 May 1967. He attended the Samuel Beckett Centre at

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

(T.C.D.) in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

. He moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in 1990, and was cast in the

Irish Repertory Theatre The Irish Repertory Theatre is an Off Broadway theatre founded in 1988. History The Irish Repertory Theatre was founded by Ciarán O'Reilly and Charlotte Moore, which opened its doors in September 1988,http://www.nyc-arts.org/organizations/ ...

production of ''

Philadelphia, Here I Come! ''Philadelphia, Here I Come!'' is a 1964 play by Irish dramatist Brian Friel. Set in the fictional town of Ballybeg, County Donegal, the play launched Friel onto the international stage. Plot ''Philadelphia, Here I Come!'' centres around Gareth ...

Career

O'Byrne first attracted notice for his performances in two plays by

Martin McDonagh Martin Faranan McDonagh (; born 26 March 1970) is a British-Irish playwright, screenwriter, producer, and director. Born and brought up in London, he is the son of Irish parents. He is known as one of the most acclaimed modern playwrights whose ...

, ''

The Beauty Queen of Leenane ''The Beauty Queen of Leenane'' is a 1996 dramatic play by Martin McDonagh which was premiered by the Druid Theatre Company in Galway, Ireland. It also enjoyed successful runs at London's West End, Broadway and Off-Broadway. It was nominated ...

'' (1996) as Pato Dooley (for which he received a

nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Play) and ''

The Lonesome West ''The Lonesome West'' is a play by British-Irish playwright Martin McDonagh, part of his Connemara trilogy, which includes ''The Beauty Queen of Leenane'' and ''A Skull in Connemara''. All three plays depict the murderous occurrences in the we ...

'' (1997). He is known for taking on serious and dramatic roles, such as a

serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

in '' Frozen'' (1998) (for which he won a

) and a priest accused of child molestation in '' Doubt: A Parable'' (2004), for which he received a

nomination. O'Byrne also appeared as a priest in the 2004 film '' Million Dollar Baby''. In May 2007, O'Byrne was nominated for a

for his performance as

Alexander Herzen Alexander Ivanovich Herzen (russian: Алекса́ндр Ива́нович Ге́рцен, translit=Alexándr Ivánovich Gértsen; ) was a Russian writer and thinker known as the "father of Russian socialism" and one of the main fathers of agra ...

Tom Stoppard Sir Tom Stoppard (born , 3 July 1937) is a Czech born British playwright and screenwriter. He has written for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covers the themes of human rights, censorship, and politi ...

's 2002 trilogy ''

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. It was the recipient of the 2007 Ton ...

''. He appeared in the play ''

Outside Mullingar ''Outside Mullingar'' is a play by John Patrick Shanley, which ran on Broadway in 2014. Production ''Outside Mullingar'' premiered on Broadway at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre in a Manhattan Theatre Club production on January 3, 2014 (previews) ...

'' by

John Patrick Shanley John Patrick Shanley (born October 13, 1950) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and director. He won the 1988 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the film ''Moonstruck''. His play, '' Doubt: A Parable'', won the 2005 Pulitzer P ...

on Broadway in 2014, and received a nomination for the 2014

Outer Critics Circle Award The Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on Broadway and Off-Broadway. They are presented by the Outer Critics Circle (OCC), the official organization of New York theater writers for out-of-town newspa ...

, Outstanding Actor in a Play. In 2011, O'Byrne was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie for his performance in ''

'' as Bert Pierce. O'Byrne was featured in the 2009–2010

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

series '' FlashForward'', in which he played Aaron Stark. The show was not renewed. ''FlashForward'' began airing in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

on 4 January 2010. In 2012, O'Byrne was cast in the ABC drama pilot ''Gilded Lilys'' created and produced by

Shonda Rhimes Shonda Lynn Rhimes (born January 13, 1970) is an American television screenwriter, producer, and author. She is best known as the showrunner—creator, head writer, and executive producer—of the television medical drama '' Grey's Anatomy'', ...

. In 2017, O'Byrne appeared in ''

'' as Steve Jones, the father of Rhys Jones who was murdered by gang members in 2007.

Personal life

O'Byrne is married to American actress

Heather Goldenhersh Heather Goldenhersh is an American actress. She has appeared on Broadway, on television, and in feature films. Early life Goldenhersh was born in Chicago, Illinois and grew up in St. Louis. She has said that she is "half-Jewish Jew ...

, with whom he co-starred in the Broadway play ''Doubt: A Parable'' as well as ''Three Women.'' The couple have two daughters.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Obyrne, Brian F. 1967 births Living people Best Supporting Actor BAFTA Award (television) winners Drama Desk Award winners Irish male film actors Irish male stage actors Irish male television actors Tony Award winners Place of birth missing (living people) Actors from County Cavan Irish emigrants to the United States People from Mullagh, County Cavan