Top 40 Irish Actors
by Byron-James7 | created - 04 Oct 2013 | updated - 04 Oct 2013 | PublicList of the top Irish male screen actors. (In my humble opinion)
1. Gabriel Byrne
Actor | The Usual Suspects
Byrne was the eldest of six children born to a family in Dublin, Ireland. His father was a cooper and his mother a hospital worker. He was raised Catholic and educated by the Irish Christian Brothers. He spent five years of his childhood in a seminary training to be a Catholic priest. He later said...
2. Colin Farrell
Actor | The Lobster
Colin Farrell is one of Ireland's biggest stars in Hollywood and abroad. His film presence has been filled with memorable roles that range from an inwardly tortured hit man, to an adventurous explorer, a determined-but-failing writer, and the greatest military leader in history.
Farrell was born on ...
3. Brendan Gleeson
Actor | Calvary
Brendan Gleeson was born in Dublin, Ireland, to Pat and Frank Gleeson. From a very young age, he loved to learn, especially reading classical text in and outside the classroom. He took great attention to Irish play writers such as Samuel Beckett, which eventually led to him performing in his high ...
4. Jonathan Rhys Meyers
Actor | Den 12. mann
Jonathan Rhys Meyers was born Jonathan Michael Meyers on July 27, 1977, in Dublin, Ireland, to Mary Geraldine (Meyers) and John O'Keeffe, a musician. He and his family moved to County Cork, Ireland, when the actor was nearly a year old, and then, at the age of 3, his father left the family, leaving...
5. Cillian Murphy
Actor | 28 Days Later...
Striking Irish actor Cillian Murphy was born in Douglas, the oldest child of Brendan Murphy, who works for the Irish Department of Education, and a mother who is a teacher of French. He has three younger siblings. Murphy was educated at Presentation Brothers College, Cork. He went on to study law ...
6. Brían F. O'Byrne
Actor | Million Dollar Baby
Brían F. O'Byrne was born on May 16, 1967 in Mullagh, County Cavan, Ireland. He is an actor, known for Million Dollar Baby (2004), Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007) and Bug (2006). He is married to Heather Goldenhersh. They have two children.
7. Michael Fassbender
Actor | Shame
Michael Fassbender is an Irish actor who was born in Heidelberg, Germany, to a German father, Josef, and an Irish mother, Adele (originally from Larne, County Antrim, in Northern Ireland). Michael was raised in the town of Killarney, Co. Kerry, in south-west Ireland, where his family moved to when ...
8. Liam Neeson
Actor | Kinsey
Liam Neeson was born on June 7, 1952 in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, to Katherine (Brown), a cook, and Bernard Neeson, a school caretaker. He was raised in a Catholic household. During his early years, Liam worked as a forklift operator for Guinness, a truck driver, an assistant architect and an ...
9. Peter O'Toole
Actor | Lawrence of Arabia
A leading man of prodigious talents, Peter O'Toole was born and raised in Leeds, Yorkshire, England, the son of Constance Jane Eliot (Ferguson), a Scottish nurse, and Patrick Joseph O'Toole, an Irish metal plater, football player and racecourse bookmaker. Upon leaving school, he decided to become a...
10. Pierce Brosnan
Actor | The World Is Not Enough
Pierce Brendan Brosnan was born in Drogheda, County Louth, Ireland, to May (Smith), a nurse, and Thomas Brosnan, a carpenter. He lived in Navan, County Meath, until he moved to England, UK, at an early age (thus explaining his ability to play men from both backgrounds convincingly). His father left...
11. Colm Meaney
Actor | Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Colm Meaney was born on May 30, 1953 in Dublin, Ireland. He is an actor and producer, known for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993), Layer Cake (2004) and Under Siege (1992). He has been married to Ines Glorian since March 15, 2007. They have one child. He was previously married to Bairbre Dowling.
12. Ciarán Hinds
Actor | Belfast
Ciarán Hinds was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland on February 9, 1953. He was one of five children and the only son. His father was a doctor who hoped to have Ciarán follow in his footsteps, but that was not to be. It was his mother Moya, an amateur actress, who was the real influence behind his ...
13. Stephen Rea
Actor | The Crying Game
Stephen Rea was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He attended Belfast High School and the Queen's University, where he studied English. He later trained at the Abbey Theatre School in Dublin. In 1970s, he acted in the Focus Company in Dublin with the talented Gabriel Byrne and Colm Meaney. After ...
14. Tom Vaughan-Lawlor
Actor | Avengers: Infinity War
Tom Vaughan-Lawlor was born on November 4, 1977 in Dublin, Ireland. He is an actor, known for Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Avengers: Endgame (2019) and The Infiltrator (2016). He has been married to Claire Cox since September 5, 2010. They have one child.
15. Aidan Gillen
Actor | Game of Thrones
Aidan Gillen is an Irish actor. He is best known for portraying Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish in the HBO series Game of Thrones (2011), CIA operative Bill Wilson in The Dark Knight Rises (2012), Stuart Alan Jones in the Channel 4 series Queer as Folk (1999), John Boy in the RTÉ Television series ...
16. David Kelly
Actor | Waking Ned
Born Dublin, Ireland on July 11 1929. Educated at Synge Street Catholic boys school. Started acting aged 8 in the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin. Playing everything from Beckett to Shakespeare, he has appeared in theatre, TV and film constantly since 1959. Awards include: Helen Hayes Award, Outstanding ...
17. Ray Stevenson
Actor | The Three Musketeers
An imposing figure (standing at 6'3") with intense, penetrating eyes and possessed of a larger-than-life personality, the actor George Raymond Stevenson began life as one of three sons, born in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, to a British pilot in the Royal Air Force. Raised near Newcastle in ...
18. Sam Neill
Actor | Jurassic Park
Sam Neill was born in Omagh, Co. Tyrone, Northern Ireland, to army parents, an English-born mother, Priscilla Beatrice (Ingham), and a New Zealand-born father, Dermot Neill. His family moved to the South Island of New Zealand in 1954. He went to boarding schools and then attended the universities ...
19. Michael Gambon
Actor | Gosford Park
Sir Michael Gambon was born in Cabra, Dublin, Ireland, to Mary (Hoare), a seamstress, and Edward Gambon, an engineer. After joining the National Theatre, under the Artistic Directorship of Sir Laurence Olivier, Gambon went on to appear in a number of leading roles in plays written by Alan Ayckbourn...
20. Michael McElhatton
Actor | Game of Thrones
Michael McElhatton was born on September 12, 1963 in Terenure, Dublin, Ireland. He is an actor and writer, known for Game of Thrones (2011), Jack Ryan (2018) and Chernobyl (2019).
21. Jason O'Mara
Actor | The Man in the High Castle
Jason O'Mara was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland. Soon after graduating from Trinity College Dublin with a BA in Drama and Theatre he moved to London, England, to further pursue his acting career. Time spent in British repertory theater led to leading roles in acclaimed productions at some of ...
22. David Wilmot
Actor | Anna Karenina
David Wilmot is known for Anna Karenina (2012), Intermission (2003) and The Guard (2011).
23. Peter McDonald
Actor | The Batman
Peter McDonald was born on January 28, 1972 in Dublin, Ireland. He is an actor and writer, known for The Batman (2022), The Bachelor Weekend (2013) and The Damned United (2009).
24. Stuart Townsend
Actor | The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
Stuart Townsend was born in Howth, County Dublin in 1972. Although his father, Peter Townsend was a professional golfer, Stuart was determined to be an actor and began his career by appearing in a number of student films, while attending the Gaiety School of Acting in Dublin. He supported himself ...
25. Robert Sheehan
Actor | The Umbrella Academy
Irish actor Robert Sheehan was born in Portlaoise, County Laois, the son of Joseph and Maria Sheehan. His father was a member of the Garda Síochána, the police force of the Republic of Ireland. As a child, Sheehan was interested in performing music. He learned how to play the banjo, the bodhrán, ...
26. Peter Coonan
Actor | Love/Hate
Peter Coonan was born in 1984. He is an actor, known for Love/Hate (2010), Doineann (2021) and Hidden Assets (2021).
27. Liam Cunningham
Actor | Hunger
Irish actor Liam Cunningham was an electrician in the mid-'80s. He saw an ad for an acting school and he decided to give it a try. His first film role was as a policeman in "Into the West." Since then, he has been involved in many films and theater productions on both sides of the Atlantic.
28. Sean McGinley
Actor | On a Clear Day
Sean McGinley was born on March 1, 1956 in Gaoth Dobhair, Donegal, Ireland. He is an actor and writer, known for On a Clear Day (2005), Braveheart (1995) and Michael Collins (1996). He has been married to Marie Mullen since 1990. They have two children.
29. James Nesbitt
Actor | The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
James Nesbitt was born in Ballymena, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, to May, a civil servant, and James Nesbitt, a primary school headmaster. He was educated at Coleraine Academical Institution (also the school of Brian Campbell & Brian McAlister). He originally planned to be a French teacher. It ...
30. Gerard McSorley
Actor | Michael Collins
Gerard McSorley was born in 1950 in Omagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, UK. He is an actor, known for Michael Collins (1996), Bloody Sunday (2002) and The Constant Gardener (2005).
31. Aidan Turner
Actor | The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Aidan Turner was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1983. After graduating from the Gaiety School of Acting in 2004, Aidan appeared in a number of stage productions, many with Ireland's national theatre, The Abbey. Such productions included The Plough & The Stars, Romeo & Juliet and A Cry from Heaven. In ...
32. Dylan Moran
Actor | Black Books
Irish comedian Dylan Moran was born in Navan, County Meath in 1971. Leaving school without any qualifications at age 16, Moran quickly became attracted to stand-up comedy and debuted, in 1992, at a comedy club in Dublin, The Comedy Cellar. A year later, he won the Channel Four comedy newcomer's "So...
33. Devon Murray
Actor | Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Devon Murray was born in County Kildare, Ireland in October 1988. His parents Michael and Fidelma Murray sent him to the Billie Barry when he was six, and within two weeks he landed a Tesco television ad. Within six months he was in his first movie, acting alongside Aidan Quinn in This Is My Father...
34. Richie Stephens
Actor | Mayor of Kingstown
Richie Stephens is an Irish actor and writer who lives in Los Angeles, California. He is best known for playing cops and villains on TV and movies plus his ability to do a broad range of accents.
He has appeared in over 100 stage and screen productions.
Richie is a member of Bobby Moresco's Actor's ...
35. Eamonn Owens
Actor | The Butcher Boy
Eamonn Owens is an Irish actor born in Killeshandra, Ireland. His breakthrough role was as the antisocial and rebel Francie Brady in Neil Jordan's acclaimed film The Butcher Boy (1997) for his which Owens won and was nominated for several awards.
After this well criticized debut, he went to appear ...
36. Martin McCann
Actor | The Survivalist
Martin McCann grew up with a brother and sister in the Falls Road, Divis Flats area of Belfast, Northern Ireland.
In 2006 Lord Richard Attenborough cast McCann in his film, "Closing the Ring" (2007) after seeing him play Alex in a stage production of A Clockwork Orange. He was invited to LA to ...
37. Killian Scott
Actor | '71
Killian Scott was born on July 6, 1985 in Sandymount, Dublin, Ireland. He is an actor and writer, known for '71 (2014), Calvary (2014) and Damnation (2017).
38. Ciaran Owens
Actor | Angela's Ashes
Ciaran Owens was born in 1985 in Co. Cavan, Ireland. He is an actor, known for Angela's Ashes (1999), The Magdalene Sisters (2002) and Ballykissangel (1996).
39. Allen Leech
Actor | The Imitation Game
Allen Leech was born on May 18, 1981 in Killiney, County Dublin, Ireland. He is an actor and producer, known for The Imitation Game (2014), Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) and Downton Abbey (2010). He has been married to Jessica Blair Herman since January 5, 2019.
40. Mark Dunne
Stunts | The Lodgers
Mark Dunne is known for The Lodgers (2017), Accelerator (2000) and Love/Hate (2010).
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