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.
Movie | The Last Witness | Coroner | 2018-05-11 |
Movie | Intrigo: Death of an Author | Keller | 2018-10-11 |
Movie | Alien Overlords | Michael | 2018-11-14 |
Series | The Living and the Dead | Ebenezer Alsop | 2016-06-28 |
Movie | Mortdecai | The Duke | 2015-01-21 |
Movie | Harry Price: Ghost Hunter | Sir Charles Harwood | 2015-12-27 |
Movie | The First Line | Richard | 2014-11-27 |
Movie | Diana | Christiaan Barnard | 2013-09-19 |
Movie | Outpost: Black Sun | Neurath | 2012-04-25 |
Movie | Quartet | Frank White | 2012-12-26 |
Movie | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 | Gellert Grindelwald | 2010-11-17 |
Movie | Blood: The Last Vampire | Elder | 2009-04-02 |
Movie | The Mark of Cain | Lieut General Strathairn | 2007-10-18 |
Series | Empire | Cicero | 2005-06-28 |
Series | Double the Fist | Unknown | 2004-05-21 |
Movie | The Return of the Dancing Master | Emil Wetterstedt | 2004-04-08 |
Movie | Beyond the Sea | Dr. Andretti | 2004-11-16 |
Movie | The Crooked Man | Archie Saunders | 2003-12-17 |
Movie | Sunday | Lord Widgery | 2002-01-28 |
Movie | The Sum of All Fears | Anatoli Grushkov | 2002-05-31 |
Movie | Gangs of New York | Horace Greeley | 2002-12-14 |
Series | Ultimate Force | Unknown | 2002-09-16 |
Series | Waking the Dead | Unknown | 2001-06-18 |
Movie | The Musketeer | Treville, Head of the Musketeers | 2001-09-07 |
Series | The Mists of Avalon | Merlin | 2001-07-14 |
Movie | Battlefield Earth | Parson Staffer | 2000-05-12 |
Movie | Proof of Life | Lord Luthan | 2000-12-08 |
Movie | This Is My Father | Michael Finnegan | 1999-05-07 |
Series | The Vice | Unknown | 1999-01-04 |
Movie | Mauá - O Imperador e o Rei | Mr. Carruthers | 1999-10-15 |
Movie | Gunshy | Lange | 1998-03-06 |
Series | Heat of the Sun | 1998-01-28 | |
Series | Hornblower | Captain Keene | 1998-10-07 |
Movie | Hornblower: The Even Chance | Captain Keene | 1998-10-07 |
Movie | 30 Years to Life | Oliver Mather | 1998-10-15 |
Movie | Apt Pupil | Ben Kramer | 1998-10-23 |
Movie | The Saint | Vereshagin | 1997-04-03 |
Movie | The Fix | Sam Campbell | 1997-01-04 |
Series | The Practice | Unknown | 1997-03-04 |
Movie | The Island on Bird Street | Bolek | 1997-04-11 |
Movie | Agatha Christie's The Pale Horse | Venables | 1997-07-01 |
Movie | Tomorrow Never Dies | Admiral Kelly - HMS Bedford | 1997-12-11 |
Movie | Sharpe: The Legend | Nairn | 1997-10-13 |
Series | Silent Witness | Unknown | 1996-02-21 |
Series | No Bananas | Edward Grant | 1996-05-05 |
Movie | Braveheart | Smythe | 1995-05-24 |
Movie | The Absence of War | Bryden Thomas | 1995-05-18 |
Series | Oliver's Travels | Moody | 1995-06-11 |
Movie | The Infiltrator | Dieter Creutz | 1995-06-24 |
Movie | Sharpe's Company | Major Nairn | 1994-05-25 |
Movie | Sharpe's Enemy | Major Nairn | 1994-06-01 |
Movie | A Few Short Journeys of the Heart | Blank/German/Old Geezer | 1994-08-10 |
Movie | Nostradamus | Inquisitor | 1994-08-18 |
Movie | Sharpe's Honour | Major Nairn | 1994-06-08 |
Series | Sharpe | 1993-05-05 | |
Series | A Touch of Frost | Unknown | 1992-12-06 |
Series | Between the Lines | Unknown | 1992-09-04 |
Movie | Running Late | Clitheroe | 1992-10-11 |
Movie | Murderous Decisions | Octave | 1991-12-15 |
Movie | The Plot to Kill Hitler | Friedrich Olbricht | 1990-01-30 |
Movie | Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade | Vogel | 1989-05-24 |
Series | Saracen | Col. Patrick Ansell | 1989-09-02 |
Movie | Buster | Poyser | 1988-09-16 |
Series | The Ruth Rendell Mysteries | Unknown | 1987-08-02 |
Movie | The Happy Valley | John Carberry | 1987-09-06 |
Series | Yes, Prime Minister | Unknown | 1986-01-09 |
Series | Lord Mountbatten: The Last Viceroy | George Abell | 1986-01-26 |
Movie | Theban Plays: Oedipus the King | Chorus | 1986-09-16 |
Series | A Sort of Innocence | 1986-12-01 | |
Movie | In the Secret State | Guy Preger | 1985-03-10 |
Movie | The Good Father | Leonard Scruby | 1985-11-01 |
Series | The Bill | Unknown | 1984-10-16 |
Movie | Champions | Richard Hussey | 1984-04-20 |
Series | Ellis Island | Dr. Carl Travers | 1984-11-11 |
Movie | Henry VI Part 2 | John Hume / Lieutenant | 1983-01-09 |
Movie | Henry VI Part 1 | Duke of Alencon | 1983-01-02 |
Movie | Henry VI Part 3 | Marquess of Montague / Father that killed his son | 1983-01-16 |
Movie | The Tragedy of Richard III | Duke of Buckingham | 1983-01-23 |
Movie | The Two Gentlemen of Verona | Antonio | 1983-12-27 |
Movie | The Scarlet and the Black | Reinhard Beck | 1983-02-02 |
Series | Smiley's People | Peter Guillam | 1982-09-20 |
Movie | Man and Superman | Henry Straker | 1982-12-31 |
Movie | The Search for Alexander the Great | Demosthenes | 1981-05-06 |
Series | The Enigma Files | Unknown | 1980-04-15 |
Movie | Coming Out | Gunnar Wedelman | 1979-04-10 |
Series | Tales of the Unexpected | Unknown | 1979-03-24 |
Movie | The Medusa Touch | Duff | 1978-04-13 |
Movie | Force 10 from Navarone | Schroeder | 1978-08-16 |
Series | BBC Television Shakespeare | Unknown | 1978-12-03 |
Movie | A Bridge Too Far | Lt. Col. Giles A.M. Vandeleur | 1977-06-15 |
Movie | The Omen | Monk (uncredited) | 1976-06-25 |
Movie | The Eagle Has Landed | Karl | 1976-12-24 |
Movie | Rogue Male | Interrogator | 1976-09-22 |
Movie | Conduct Unbecoming | 2nd Lt. Toby Strang | 1975-01-01 |
Movie | If It's a Man – Hang Up! | Richard Lovell | 1975-04-11 |
Movie | Wednesday Love | Bruce | 1975-05-08 |
Movie | Ms or Jill and Jack | 1974-01-02 | |
Series | Within These Walls | Unknown | 1974-01-04 |
Movie | Headmaster | 1974-03-14 | |
Movie | Vampyres | Playboy | 1974-07-06 |
Movie | Butley | Reg Nuttall | 1974-01-21 |
Series | Thriller | Unknown | 1973-04-14 |
Series | Crown Court | Unknown | 1972-10-11 |
Movie | Henry VIII and His Six Wives | Edward Seymour | 1972-07-13 |
Series | Play for Today | Unknown | 1970-10-15 |
Movie | The Image | The Artist | 1969-01-01 |
Movie | Much Ado About Nothing | Claudio | 1967-01-01 |
Movie | The Scarlet Blade | Lt. Hawke | 1963-09-01 |
Movie | The Silent Playground | Roger | 1963-12-31 |