Sign up to The Irish Times Archive (1859 - 2008)My Account »

Sat 05 May 2007An exile defined by his othernessFrom his New York perspective, Gabriel Byrne warns that Irish-American culture is in danger of dying. He talks to Michael DwyerGabriel Byrne, who turned 57 last Saturday, had the distinction of being Ireland's first soap-opera heart-throb back in the 1970s, when he played farmer Pat Barry in the RTÉ series Bracken. Since he made his film debut in John Boorman's Excalibur (1981), Byrne has featured in more than 60 movies, including outstanding performances in Defence of the Realm (1985), Miller's Crossing (1990), Into the West (1992), The Usual Suspects and Dead Man (both 1995), Spider (2002), and most recently, Jindabyne.