Paul Jeffrey Byrne (born December 15, 1974) is an American film and television actor. He is best known for his roles as Nicky "Rugrat" Koskoff in the

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominatio ...

film '' The Wolf of Wall Street'' (2013) and

Bolin Bolin is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bert Bolin (1925–2007), Swedish meteorologist * Bob Bolin (born 1939), American Major League Baseball pitcher * Charles E. Bolin (1843–1924), American politician * Jane Bolin (1908� ...

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...

's animated series ''

The Legend of Korra ''The Legend of Korra'' (abbreviated as TLOK), also known as ''Avatar: The Legend of Korra'' or simply ''Korra'', is an American anime-influenced animated television series created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko for Nickelode ...

'' (2012–2014).

Early life and education

Byrne was born in

Maplewood, New Jersey Maplewood is a township in Essex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township is an inner-ring suburban bedroom community of New York City in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's populatio ...

, to Emma N. (Ferraro) and Paul I. Byrne Jr., and was raised in

Old Tappan, New Jersey Old Tappan ( ) is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 5,750,Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan is a comprehensive four-year public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades from the suburban communities of Harrington Park, Northvale, Norwood and Old Tappan in Berge ...

in 1992. A graduate of

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

with a double major in finance and theater and an MFA from The Theatre School at

DePaul University DePaul University is a private university, private, Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Congregation of the Mission, Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th-centu ...

, Byrne was on his way to becoming an investment banker out of college when a drama teacher at BC convinced him to follow his passion for acting.

Career

Byrne started his career in small roles in such films as ''

Bruce Almighty ''Bruce Almighty'' is a 2003 American fantasy comedy film directed by Tom Shadyac and written by Steve Koren, Mark O'Keefe and Steve Oedekerk. The film stars Jim Carrey as Bruce Nolan, a down-on-his-luck television reporter who complains to God ...

'', '' Fun with Dick and Jane'', ''

Bewitched ''Bewitched'' is an American fantasy sitcom television series that originally aired for eight seasons on ABC from September 17, 1964, to March 25, 1972. It is about a witch who marries an ordinary mortal man and vows to lead the life of a typic ...

'' and '' Because I Said So''. He also had guest roles on television series such as '' ER'', ''

The West Wing ''The West Wing'' is an American serial (radio and television), serial political drama television series created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 14, 2006. The series is set primarily in the ...

'', ''

Reno 911! ''Reno 911!'' is an American comedy television series airing on Comedy Central. It is a mockumentary-style parody of law enforcement documentary shows, specifically '' Cops'', with comic actors playing the police officers. Thomas Lennon, Rober ...

'' and '' NCIS'' before getting a recurring role on '' The Game''. Byrne went on to have more prominent roles in films such as ''

Dinner for Schmucks ''Dinner for Schmucks'' is a 2010 American comedy film directed by Jay Roach and based on Francis Veber's 1998 French film ''Le Dîner de Cons''. Starring Steve Carell and Paul Rudd, with Jemaine Clement, Jeff Dunham, Bruce Greenwood, and Ron Li ...

'', ''

Extraordinary Measures ''Extraordinary Measures'' is a 2010 American medical drama film starring Brendan Fraser, Harrison Ford, and Keri Russell. It was the first film produced by CBS Films, the film division of CBS Corporation, who released the film on January 22, ...

'', '' The Campaign'' and ''

Horrible Bosses ''Horrible Bosses'' is a 2011 American black comedy film directed by Seth Gordon, written by Michael Markowitz, John Francis Daley, and Jonathan Goldstein, from a story by Markowitz. It stars Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, Jason Sudeikis, Jennifer ...

''. He was cast in one of the main roles in ''

Final Destination 5 ''Final Destination 5'' is a 2011 American 3D supernatural horror film directed by Steven Quale and written by Eric Heisserer. It is the fifth installment in the ''Final Destination'' film series and a prequel to the first film. ''Final Dest ...

'', which received generally positive reviews and was a commercial success. In addition to his on-screen roles, Byrne provided the voice of Bolin, one of the lead roles in the Nickelodeon series ''

'', from the show's beginning in 2012 to its end in 2014. In 2013, he appeared in the

directed film '' The Wolf of Wall Street'', which received critical acclaim and was nominated for numerous awards. The next year he starred in the television series ''

Intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. More generally, it can b ...

''. He joined

Dwayne Johnson Dwayne Douglas Johnson (born May 2, 1972), also known by his ring name The Rock, is an American actor and former professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, he was integral to the developm ...

in the 2018 action film '' Rampage''.

Personal life

He resides in Los Angeles with his wife, Jaime, who was the executive director in Los Angeles and Beverly Hills for health care services and fund-raising for the Muscular Dystrophy Association and now president of Jaime Byrne Events, LLC. Byrne and his wife have two daughters and one son.

Filmography

Film

Television

Music videos

Video game

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Byrne, P.J. 21st-century American male actors 1974 births American male film actors American male television actors American male voice actors Boston College alumni DePaul University alumni Living people Male actors from New Jersey Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan alumni People from Maplewood, New Jersey People from Old Tappan, New Jersey