A Look at Gabriel Byrne Trivia Quiz

Answer: Dublin

Gabriel was the eldest of six siblings, although one of his sisters died young. Neither of his parents had any link to the acting profession - his father was a cooper and his mother worked as a nurse. Byrne's family was Roman Catholic, as is common in the Republic of Ireland.

Gabriel studied archaeology at University College Dublin, along with linguistics and Spanish. He also took the chance to learn Gaelic, becoming fluent in the language.

Answer: Abbey Theatre

The Abbey Theatre was founded in 1903 by the National Irish Theatre Society - members included W B Yeats, J M Synge and Lady Gregory with financial backing from Annie Horniman, who invested much of her money into theatre productions.

Gabriel Byrne came to acting relatively late in life, having tried his hand at various careers, with his debut coming in 1979. He soon established himself and moved to London to the Royal Court Theatre. The Abbey and Gaiety are both in Dublin while the other two are London theatres.

Answer: Priest

Gabriel spent several years in a seminary, with the expectation that he would become a priest. He eventually realised that he had no vocation and, discovering how attractive girls were, made him decide it wasn't for him - priests in the Roman Catholic church have to take a vow of chastity.

He has disclosed that he suffered sexual abuse during his childhood from those entrusted with his education and training and has become a harsh critic of the church for its 'oppressive views', describing himself as an atheist.

Answer: Uther Pendragon

The film was directed by John Boorman, who also partly wrote the script. It featured Nigel Terry as Arthur, Nicol Williamson as Merlin and Liam Neeson as Gawain, one of Arthur's knights.

The story follows the legend of King Arthur with his father, Uther Pendragon (played by Byrne) seducing another man's wife, thanks to Merlin's wizardry, and fathering Arthur. The film was popular and was a starting point for many actors who were just starting out in the business - Helen Mirren and Patrick Stewart were among them, not to mention Gabriel himself.

Answer: Ellen Barkin

Ellen and Gabriel married in 1988 and he is the father of her children. The couple separated in 1993, although they did not divorce until 1999. The pair remained friendly to the extent that Byrne was a guest at Ellen's second wedding in 2000. This marriage, to Ronald Perelman, was her fourth and ended in divorce in 2006. Gabriel remarried in 2014.

The other actresses named have no connection (to the best of my knowledge) to Byrne and were chosen only because they are of a similar age to Ellen Barkin.

Answer: Christopher Columbus

This series was shown in four episodes, totalling six hours, and had a stellar cast. As well as Gabriel Byrne as Columbus, it featured Rossano Brazzi, Virna Lisi, Oliver Reed, Max von Sydow, Eli Wallach and Faye Dunaway.

The series was called 'Christopher Columbus' and covered his early life and then the struggle to obtain funding for his quest to find a route to the East Indies. Having been rejected by the King of Portugal (von Sydow), he had more success with the Spanish monarchs Ferdinand (Nicol Williamson) and Isabella (Dunaway). If you know your history, you undoubtedly know that Columbus actually discovered the New World - the West Indies and the Americas for the Europeans.

Answer: The Usual Suspects

This is probably the film for which Gabriel is best known. It was released in 1995 with the title originating from a line in the film 'Casablanca' (1942). Byrne's co-stars included Pete Postlethwaite, Benecio del Toro and Stephen Baldwin.

The film opens with a scene in which Dean Keaton is shot dead, before turning the clock back to show how matters got to that stage. The plot involves a gang of criminals working for the mysterious Keyser Söze, who provides a twist at the end of the film - even those of us who haven't seen it probably know this, but I won't mention it, just in case.

Answer: Saturday Night Live

Often known just as SNL, the show began in 1975 with George Carlin as the presenter and has given many performers their start in show business. Gabriel hosted the show with his opening monologue discussing his Irishness, with performers behind him dressed as a whiskey bottle and potato. A band member played a tin whistle to add to the atmosphere.

'Whose Line is it Anyway' began as a British show before a version began in the USA, but not until 1998. 'The Late Late Show' began in January 1995 but doesn't have guest presenters while 'Little Britain' is, as the name suggests, a British show. It didn't begin until 2003 (on television) either.

Answer: Two

Gabriel and his first wife had two children together. His daughter, Romy Byrne, was born in 1992 and his son, Jack, was born three years earlier, in 1989. Jack has made a career in music while Romy has followed in her parents' footsteps by turning to acting.

With his second wife, Gabriel has a daughter, Maisie, born in 2017.

Answer: Enzo Ferrari

This 2022 biography starred Frank Grillo as the title character, following his career from his early days building tractors and other farm machinery, to the establishment of the company which creates one of the best known sports car brands around. Enzo Ferrari had already established his reputation in creating sports cars and the two men became rivals after Lamborghini allegedly insulted Ferrari, stating that his farm vehicles had better clutches than Ferrari's sports cars. Both of them, and the other men listed as options, have left their mark on the luxury car market - way beyond the dreams of most of us.

The film had only a limited release but did cover the rivalry between the two men, although Byrne seems an unusual choice to display an Italian legend.