Gabriel Byrne was born in Dublin, Ireland on May 12th, 1950. He was first of six born to a nurse and a Guinness barrel maker, and at the age of twelve he moved to England to become a priest. After four years of the Priesthood he was expelled and so returned to Ireland. Byrne studied Archaeology, Languages and Phonetics, at University College Dublin and didn't embark on his acting career until the tender age of 28. After being in the TV series 'The Riordans' and then staring in his own spin-off series called 'Bracken', he made his way to America. Soon after, he went to work playing a Spanish trapeze artist in Siesta, and fell in love with his co-star, Ellen Barkin, whom he married a year later. The couple divorced in 1993 and shared custody of their two children, Jack and Romey Marion. The ironic aspect of two of Byrne's biggest staring roles i.e. 'End of Days' and 'Stigmata', are that he plays Satan and a Priest respectively - an indication of the dark and light sides of his characters. from www.showbizireland.com
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