
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 | Alien Overlords | Michael | 2018-11-14 |
Movie | The Last Witness | Coroner | 2018-05-11 |
Movie | Intrigo: Death of an Author | Keller | 2018-10-11 |
Series | The Living and the Dead | Ebenezer Alsop | 2016-06-28 |
Movie | The First Line | Richard | 2014-11-27 |
Movie | Diana | Christian Barnard | 2013-09-19 |
Movie | Outpost: Black Sun | Neurath | 2012-01-01 |
Movie | Quartet | Frank White | 2012-09-08 |
Movie | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 | Gellert Grindelwald | 2010-10-17 |
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 |
Movie | Beyond the Sea | Dr. Andretti | 2004-11-16 |
Movie | The Return of the Dancing Master | Emil Wetterstedt | 2004-04-08 |
Series | Double the Fist | Unknown | 2004-05-21 |
Movie | The Crooked Man | Archie Saunders | 2003-12-17 |
Movie | The Sum of All Fears | Anatoli Grushkov | 2002-05-31 |
Movie | Sunday | Lord Widgery | 2002-01-28 |
Series | Ultimate Force | Unknown | 2002-09-16 |
Movie | Gangs of New York | Horace Greeley | 2002-12-14 |
Series | The Mists of Avalon | Merlin | 2001-07-14 |
Movie | The Musketeer | Treville, Head of the Musketeers | 2001-09-07 |
Movie | Battlefield Earth | Parson Staffer | 2000-05-12 |
Series | Waking the Dead | Unknown | 2000-09-04 |
Movie | Proof of Life | Lord Luthan | 2000-12-08 |
Series | The Vice | Unknown | 1999-01-04 |
Movie | Mauá - O Imperador e o Rei | Mr. Carruthers | 1999-10-15 |
Series | Heat of the Sun | 1998-01-28 | |
Movie | Gunshy | Lange | 1998-03-06 |
Movie | Hornblower: The Even Chance | Captain Keene | 1998-10-07 |
Movie | Apt Pupil | Ben Kramer | 1998-10-23 |
Series | Hornblower | Unknown | 1998-10-07 |
Movie | The Fix | Sam Campbell | 1997-01-04 |
Series | The Practice | Unknown | 1997-03-04 |
Movie | The Saint | Vereshagin | 1997-04-03 |
Movie | Tomorrow Never Dies | Admiral Kelly - HMS Bedford | 1997-12-11 |
Movie | Agatha Christie's The Pale Horse | Venables | 1997-07-01 |
Movie | The Island on Bird Street | Bolek | 1997-04-11 |
Series | Silent Witness | Unknown | 1996-02-21 |
Series | No Bananas | Edward Grant | 1996-05-05 |
Movie | The Absence Of War | 1995-05-18 | |
Movie | Braveheart | Smythe | 1995-05-24 |
Movie | A Few Short Journeys Of The Heart | 1994-08-10 | |
Movie | Nostradamus | Inquisitor | 1994-01-01 |
Movie | Sharpe's Company | Nairn | 1994-05-25 |
Series | Sharpe | 1993-05-05 | |
Series | Between the Lines | Unknown | 1992-09-04 |
Series | A Touch of Frost | Unknown | 1992-12-06 |
Movie | Mörderische Entscheidung | 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 | Lord Mountbatten: The Last Viceroy | George Abell | 1986-01-26 |
Series | Yes, Prime Minister | Unknown | 1986-01-09 |
Movie | Theban Plays: Oedipus the King | Chorus | 1986-09-16 |
Series | A Sort of Innocence | 1986-12-01 | |
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 | Unknown | 1984-11-01 |
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 |
Series | The Enigma Files | Unknown | 1980-04-15 |
Series | Tales of the Unexpected | Unknown | 1979-03-24 |
Movie | Coming Out | Gunnar Wedelman | 1979-04-10 |
Movie | The Medusa Touch | Duff | 1978-04-13 |
Movie | Force 10 from Navarone | Schroeder | 1978-11-01 |
Series | BBC Television Shakespeare | Unknown | 1978-12-01 |
Movie | A Bridge Too Far | Lt. Col. Giles A.M. Vandeleur | 1977-06-15 |
Movie | The Omen | Monk (uncredited) | 1976-06-06 |
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 | Wednesday Love | Bruce | 1975-05-08 |
Movie | Vampyres | Playboy | 1974-01-01 |
Movie | Ms or Jill and Jack | 1974-01-02 | |
Series | Within These Walls | Unknown | 1974-01-04 |
Movie | Butley | Reg Nuttall | 1974-01-21 |
Movie | Headmaster | 1974-03-14 | |
Series | Thriller | Unknown | 1973-03-14 |
Movie | Henry VIII and His Six Wives | Edward Seymour | 1972-07-13 |
Series | Crown Court | Unknown | 1972-10-11 |
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 |