Michael Byrne
Born: 1943-11-07 in London, England, UK
Known For: Acting
Biography
Byrne was born in London, England. He has sometimes been cast in Nazimilitary roles such as Colonel Vogel in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Major Schroeder in Force 10 from Navarone, Reinhard Beck in The Scarlet and the Black, General Olbricht in The Plot to Kill Hitler and Obergruppenführer Odilo Globocnik in the BBC radio dramatisation of the novel Fatherland by Robert Harris. Also seen as the aged but fanatical SS General Neurath in "Outpost 2 - Black Sun", former concentration camp commandant and involved in the Nazis's sinister reality-shifting experiments. Byrne appeared as a Jewish concentration camp survivor who is instrumental in the capture of a Nazi war criminal (played by Ian McKellen) in the film Apt Pupil. He is also familiar to audiences as Smythe, a soldier who attempts to rape William Wallace's wife and first inspires Wallace to seek independence from England in the film Braveheart. His other film credits include The Eagle Has Landed, A Bridge Too Far, The Medusa Touch, The Saint, Tomorrow Never Dies, The Good Father, The Sum of All Fears, Gangs of New York and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. On television, he has appeared in Z-Cars, Secret Army, Tales of the Unexpected, The Professionals, The Devil's Crown,Smiley's People, Yes, Prime Minister, Lord Mountbatten - the Last Viceroy, Between The Lines, Sharpe, The Mists of Avalon, Waking the Dead, The Body Farm, Honest, Hamish Macbeth, and Casualty. From April 2008 to January 2010, Michael starred in Coronation Street, as Ted Page, Gail Platt's long lost father and the ex-lover of Audrey Roberts. It is not known whether he will return to the show. Byrne appeared in State of Play at the Edinburgh Festival written by Zia Trench. He played Romeo to Siân Phillips' Juliet at the Bristol Old Vic. Father of actress Allie Byrne.
Filmography
2023
- Bodies as Old Mullins
2022
- The Gold Machine as Andrew Norton
2019
- Intrigo: Samaria as Commissioner Keller
2018
- The Last Witness as Coroner
- Intrigo: Death of an Author as Keller
- Alien Overlords as Michael
2017
- Strike as Roy Phipps
2016
- Agatha Raisin as Bishop Parsons
- The Living and the Dead as Ebenezer Alsop
2015
- Mortdecai as The Duke
- Harry Price: Ghost Hunter as Sir Charles Harwood
- Rom - Schlacht der Gladiatoren
2014
- The First Line as Richard
2013
- Crossing Lines as Edward Baxendale
- Diana as Christiaan Barnard
2012
- Quartet as Frank White
- Outpost: Black Sun as Neurath
2010
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 as Gellert Grindelwald
2009
- Blood: The Last Vampire as Elder
2007
- The Mark of Cain as Lieut General Strathairn
2005
- Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith ... (Stunt Double)
- Empire as Cicero
2004
- Beyond the Sea as Dr. Andretti
- Double the Fist
- The Return of the Dancing Master as Emil Wetterstedt
2003
- The Crooked Man as Archie Saunders
2002
- Gangs of New York as Horace Greeley
- The Sum of All Fears as Anatoli Grushkov
- Ultimate Force
- Sunday as Lord Widgery
2001
- Waking the Dead as Joe Brackley
- The Musketeer as Treville, Head of the Musketeers
- The Mists of Avalon as Merlin
2000
- Battlefield Earth as Parson Staffer
- Proof of Life as Lord Luthan
1999
- Mauá - O Imperador e o Rei as Mr. Carruthers
- The Vice
1998
- Apt Pupil as Ben Kramer
- Hornblower as Captain Keene
- Gunshy as Lange
- 30 Years to Life as Oliver Mather
- Imogen's Face as Patrick
- Hornblower: The Even Chance as Captain Keene
- Heat of the Sun
1997
- Midsomer Murders as Keith Grundy
- The Practice as Officer (uncredited)
- Tomorrow Never Dies as HMS Bedford Admiral Kelly
- The Saint as Vereshagin
- The Island on Bird Street as Bolek
- The Fix as Sam Campbell
- Sharpe: The Legend as Nairn
- Agatha Christie's The Pale Horse as Venables
1996
- Silent Witness
- No Bananas as Edward Grant
1995
- Braveheart as Smythe
- Hamish Macbeth as Duncan Scott
- Oliver's Travels as Moody
- The Infiltrator as Dieter Creutz
1994
- Hildegard as Volmar
- Sharpe's Enemy as Major Nairn
- Nostradamus as Inquisitor
- Sharpe's Honour as Major Nairn
- Sharpe's Company as Major Nairn
- A Few Short Journeys of the Heart as Blank/German/Old Geezer
1993
- Sharpe as Major Nairn
1992
- A Touch of Frost as Alex Ormrod
- Running Late as Clitheroe
- Between the Lines
1991
- Murderous Decisions as Octave
1990
- The Chief as Sir Robert Eaton
- The Plot to Kill Hitler as Friedrich Olbricht
1989
- Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade as Vogel
- Saracen as Col. Patrick Ansell
1988
- Buster as Poyser
1987
- The Ruth Rendell Mysteries as DCC Charles Griswold
- The Happy Valley as John Carberry
1986
- Yes, Prime Minister
- Theban Plays: Oedipus the King as Chorus
- Lord Mountbatten: The Last Viceroy as George Abell
- A Sort of Innocence
1985
- The Good Father as Leonard Scruby
- In the Secret State as Guy Preger
1984
- The Bill
- Champions as Richard Hussey
- Ellis Island as Dr. Carl Travers
1983
- The Scarlet and the Black as Reinhard Beck
- Henry VI Part 1 as Duke of Alencon
- The Tragedy of Richard III as Duke of Buckingham
- The Two Gentlemen of Verona as Antonio
- Henry VI Part 2 as John Hume / Lieutenant
- Henry VI Part 3 as Marquess of Montague / Father that killed his son
1982
- Smiley's People as Peter Guillam
- Man and Superman as Henry Straker
1981
- The Search for Alexander the Great as Demosthenes
1980
- Lady Killers as Edward Marshall-Hall KC
- The Silence of the Sea as Werner Von Ebrennac
- The Enigma Files as David Stanley
1979
- Tales of the Unexpected as Patrick Marney
- Coming Out as Gunnar Wedelman
- Tales of the Unexpected: Lamb to the Slaughter as Ratrick Marney
1978
- The Medusa Touch as Duff
- Force 10 from Navarone as Schroeder
- Accident as Ian Shaw
- The Devil's Crown as Richard Lionheart
1977
- The Professionals as Werner Dreisinger
- Secret Army as Paul Vercors
- A Bridge Too Far as Lt. Col. Giles A.M. Vandeleur
1976
- Rogue Male as Interrogator
- The Eagle Has Landed as Karl
- The Omen as Monk (uncredited)
1975
- Wednesday Love as Bruce
- Conduct Unbecoming as 2nd Lt. Toby Strang
- If It's a Man – Hang Up! as Richard Lovell
- Edward the Seventh as Fritz
- Shades of Greene as Trevor's Father
- Break In as Clarke
1974
- Vampyres as Playboy
- Butley as Reg Nuttall
- Headmaster
- Ms or Jill and Jack
1973
- Thriller as Richard Lovell
1972
- Crown Court
- Henry VIII and His Six Wives as Edward Seymour
1970
1969
- The Image as The Artist
1967
- Much Ado About Nothing as Claudio
1965
- BBC Play of the Month as Viskovsky
1963
- The Scarlet Blade as Lt. Hawke
- The Silent Playground as Roger
1960
- Coronation Street as Ted Page