50 Most Famous Irish Actors Of All Time: List of Celebrities

Irish people have made significant contributions to literature and the arts. Oscar Wilde, W.B. Yeats, James Joyce, Bram Stoker, and other great poets and authors people who call Ireland home. Great musicians, actors, and directors Famous artists like U2, The Cranberries, and Van Morrison are gladly Irish. Therefore, the following is a list of the fifty most well-known Irishmen in the film industry who are employed or have recently passed away. Try to be surprised that a few names you didn’t know were Irish.

1. Kenneth Branagh

Full Name	Kenneth Charles Branagh
Date of Birth	December 10, 1960
Place of Birth	Belfast, Northern Ireland
Occupation	Actor and filmmaker

Kenneth Charles Branagh is an Irish actor and filmmaker who was born on December 10, 1960. Branagh was up for Best Actor and Director for Henry V and Best Adapted Screenplay for Hamlet at the Academy Awards. Branagh also won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for his semi-autobiographical comedy-drama Belfast (2021), which was up for Best Picture and Director at the Academy Awards.

Branagh became the first individual to be nominated for seven Academy Awards categories, surpassing Walt Disney, George Clooney, and Alfonso Cuarón, who each received six nominations.

2. Daniel Day-Lewis

Full Name	Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis
Date of Birth	April 29, 1957
Place of Birth	London, England
Occupation	Actor

Born on 29 April 1957 in London, Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis is a retired British actor. Before attending the Bristol Old Vic Theater School, where he studied for three years, he performed brilliantly on stage at the National Youth Theatre. He is sometimes considered one of the best entertainers of his time.

In addition, during his 4 decades of work, he has won many prestigious awards. Day-Lewis became the third actor to win three acting Oscars with the award for Best Actor. He has also been nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award, a British Academy Film Award and a Golden Globe Award. In 2014, Day-Lewis was knighted for his contributions.

3. Colin Farrell

Full Name	Colin James Farrell
Date of Birth	May 31, 1976
Place of Birth	Castleknock, County Dublin, Ireland
Occupation	Actor

Irish actor Colin James Farrell was born on May 31, 1976. Since the 2000s, he has been the leading man in projects of all genres in both big-budget and independent films. Farrell has won many awards, including a Golden Globe Award. He was named Ireland’s fifth greatest film actor in 2020 by The Irish Times. Farrel made his acting debut in the 1998 BBC drama Ballykissangel and made his film debut in the 1999 drama The War Zone.

Additionally, he starred in the HBO thriller series True Detective’s second season in 2015. Farrell has also played Penguin in The Batman and Gellert Grindelwald in the fantasy film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016).

4. Cillian Murphy

Full Name	Cillian Murphy
Date of Birth	May 25, 1976
Place of Birth	Cork, Ireland
Occupation	Actor

Cillian Murphy is an Irish actor, was born on May 25, 1976. Murphy was the lead singer, lyricist, and guitarist of the band The Sons of Mr. Green Genes. Murphy is also well-known for his work with Christopher Nolan as a director. He played the Scarecrow in The Dark Knight Trilogy of superhero films, which ran from 2005 to 2012. He also appeared in the sci-fi action thriller Inception (2010) and the war drama Dunkirk (2017) and will play the physicist in the upcoming biopic Oppenheimer (2023).

He was named one of the best Irish movie actors by The Irish Times in 2020. Murphy and Yvonne McGuinness, an Irish visual artist, have two sons together.

5. Michael Fassbender

Full Name	Michael Fassbender
Date of Birth	April 2, 1977
Place of Birth	Heidelberg, West Germany
Occupation	Actor

On 2 April 1977, Michael Fassbender was born. He was born in the Irish town of Killarney. In the fantasy fighting epic 300 (2006), Fassbender’s feature film debut as a Spartan warrior. For his role as slave owner Edwin Epps in 12 Years a Slave (2013), he received an Academy Award nomination in the category.

Fassbender has won several important titles. Screen Actors Guild Awards, Critics’ Choice Film Awards, Academy Award nominations, British Academy Film Awards, and Golden Globe Awards are among them.

6. Brendan Gleeson

Full Name	Brendan Gleeson
Date of Birth	March 29, 1955
Place of Birth	Dublin, Ireland
Occupation	Actor, film director

Brendan Gleeson is an Irish actor. He is also a film director, born on March 29, 1955. On The Irish Times’ list of Ireland’s most significant film actors in 2020, he ranked number 18. He is the dad of entertainers Domhnall Gleeson and Brian Gleeson. He is best known for playing Alastor Moody in the Harry Potter films, which came out between 2005 and 2010.

7. Michael Gambon

Full Name	Michael John Gambon
Date of Birth	October 19, 1940
Place of Birth	Dublin, Ireland
Occupation	Actor

Irish actor Sir Michael John Gambon CBE was born on October 19, 1940. He is known for his work on stage and screen and is regarded as one of the most prominent actors in Britain and Ireland. Gambon began his career in acting alongside Laurence Olivier as one of the founding members of the Royal National Theatre. He has won four BAFTA Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and three Olivier Awards in his six-decade career.

Queen Elizabeth II knighted Gambon in 1999 for his contributions to drama. He took over for the late Richard Harris in the Harry Potter films from 2004 through 2011, playing the part of Albus Dumbledore.

8. Jamie Dornan

Full Name	James Peter Maxwell Dornan
Date of Birth	May 1, 1982
Place of Birth	Holywood, County Down, Northern Ireland
Occupation	Acto, rmodel, musician

James Peter Maxwell Dornan (born on 1 May 1982) is a Northern Irish actor, model, and musician. The New York Times dubbed him “the Golden Torso,” and Vogue named him one of the “25 Biggest Male Models of All Time” in 2015. Dornan gained international acclaim for his roles as Sheriff Graham Humbert in Once Upon a Time (2011–2013) and serial murderer Paul Spector in The Fall (2013–2016). He was honored with the Irish Film & Television Academy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017.

9. Peter O’Toole

Full Name	Peter Seamus O’Toole
Date of Birth	August 2, 1932
Place of Birth	Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, England
Occupation	Actor, author

Peter Seamus O’Toole was a British theatre and screen actor who died on December 14, 2013. In 1959, O’Toole made his West End debut in the play “The Long and the Short and the Tall,” and in the National Theatre’s first production of Hamlet in 1963, he portrayed the title role. Off the London stage, O’Toole was renowned for his “hellraiser” lifestyle. O’Toole made his film debut in 1959 and rose to international prominence as T. E. Lawrence in Lawrence of Arabia (1962), for which he got his first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.

For his professional achievements, he received the Academy Honorary Award in 2002. O’Toole received four Golden Globe nominations, one BAFTA nomination for Best British Actor, and one Primetime Emmy nomination.

10. Barry Keoghan

Full Name	Barry Keoghan
Date of Birth	October 18, 1992
Place of Birth	Summerhill, Dublin, Ireland
Occupation	Actor

Irish actor Barry Keoghan was born on October 18, 1992. He is well-known for his roles on stage and in films, both independent and mainstream. On The Irish Times’ list of Ireland’s most important film actors in 2020, he ranked number 27. Barry Keoghan was nominated for a Golden Globe for his role in Martin McDonagh’s The Banshees of Inisherin in 2022. He is a Dior and Barretstown brand ambassador.

11. Liam Neeson

Full Name	William John Neeson
Date of Birth	June 7, 1952
Place of Birth	Ballymena, Northern Ireland
Occupation	Actor

The actor William John Neeson was born in Northern Ireland on June 7, 1952. Two Tony Awards, a British Academy Film Award, and an Academy Award nomination are just a few of the honors bestowed upon him.

He was ranked No. 7 on The Irish Times’ list of Ireland’s 50 Greatest Film Actors in 2020. Neeson received the title of Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2000. (OBE). In 1976, Neeson worked at Belfast’s Lyric Players’ Theatre for two years.

12. Pierce Brosnan

Full Name	Puncture Brendan Brosnan
Date of Birth	May 16, 1953
Place of Birth	Drogheda, Louth, Ireland
Occupation	Actor, film producer

Puncture Brendan Brosnan OBE (born 16 May 1953) is an Irish entertainer and filmmaker. For the dark comedy The Matador and the miniseries Nancy Astor, Brosnan was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards. He founded the production company Irish DreamTime, based in Los Angeles, in 1996 with Beau St. Clair. Brosnan is also known for his environmental activism and philanthropic work. Puncture Brendan Brosnan received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1997 for his contributions to the film industry. He was ranked number 15 on the list of the best Irish actors made by The Irish Times.

13. Sam Neill

Full Name	Nigel John Dermot Neill
Date of Birth	September 14, 1947
Place of Birth	Omagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland
Occupation	Actor

On September 14, 1947, Nigel John Dermot “Sam” Neill KNZM OBE, a New Zealand actor, was born. In his nearly 50-year career, Neill has played leading roles in blockbuster films and dramas. Neill has won the Logie Award for Most Outstanding Actor, the Longford Lyell Award, the New Zealand Film Award, and the AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. Additionally, he is up for three Golden Globe Awards and two Primetime Emmy Awards.

14. Gabriel Byrne

Full Name	Gabriel James Byrne
Date of Birth	May 12, 1950
Place of Birth	Dublin, Ireland
Occupation	Actor, film director, film producer, screenwriter

Gabriel James Byrne is an Irish actor, director, producer, screenwriter, audiobook narrator, and author born on 12 May 1950. He has appeared in more than 70 films by famous filmmakers. Byrne has received three Emmy Award nominations for her work in television. For her contributions to Irish cinema, Byrne received the Irish Academy of Film and Television Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018. In The Irish Times’ list of the greatest Irish film actors of 2020, he ranked 17th. The Guardian listed Gabriel as one of the best actors who have never been nominated for an Oscar.

15. Stephen Rea

Full Name	Stephen Rea
Date of Birth	October 31, 1946
Place of Birth	Belfast, Northern Ireland
Occupation	Actor

Belfast is where Stephen Rea was born; His mother was a housewife, while his father was a bus driver. He studied at the Abbey Theatre School in Dublin and English at Queen’s University Belfast. He performed alongside Gabriel Byrne and Colm Meaney in the late 1970s at the Focus Company in Dublin.

When Rea was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for the movie The Crying Game, he attracted notice on a global scale. He had performed on stage, on television, and in film for several years in Ireland and England. He frequently works with Neil Jordan, an Irish filmmaker. Rea has been associated with some of Ireland’s most significant authors for a long time.

16. Domhnall Gleeson

Full Name	Domhnall Gleeson
Date of Birth	May 12, 1983
Place of Birth	Dublin, Ireland
Occupation	Actor, screenwriter

On May 12, 1983, Domhnall Gleeson was born in Dublin, Ireland. His dad is actor Brendan Gleeson. He has appeared in several films and theater projects.

Gleeson played Bill Weasley in the last two entries of the Harry Potter film series (2010–2011), Tim Lake in About Time (2013), and Russell Allen Phillips in the fact-based war drama Unbroken (2014). Gleeson has won three IFTA Awards for his performances in When Harvey Met Bob (2010), Anna Karenina (2012), and Frank (2014).

17. Andrew Scott

Full Name	Andrew Scot
Date of Birth	October 21, 1976
Place of Birth	Dublin, Ireland
Occupation	Actor

Andrew Scott, an Irish actor, was born on October 21, 1976. Scott was nominated for a BAFTA Television Award for Best Supporting Actor for Jim Moriarty in the BBC series Sherlock.

For his work as the priest in Fleabag’s second season, Scott received a Golden Globe. He was also named Critics’ Choice Television’s Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.

For his portrayal of Garry Essendine in The Old Vic’s 2019 stage production of Present Laughter, Scott received the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor.

18. Jonathan Rhys Meyers

Full Name	Jonathan Michael Francis O’Keeffe
Date of Birth	July 27, 1977
Place of Birth	Dublin, Ireland
Occupation	Actor, singer, musician, model

Jonathan Michael Francis O’Keeffe, an Irish actor, model, and singer, was given the name Jonathan Rhys Meyers on July 27, 1977. Impossible III (2006), King Henry VIII in The Tudors (2007–10), for which he was nominated for Golden Globe Awards and the title role in the NBC drama series Dracula.

He also starred as Elvis Presley in the biographical miniseries Elvis (2005), for which Meyers was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award. He also won a Golden Globe Award (2013–14). Meyers has a son with his wife, Mara Lane.

19. Aidan Turner

Full Name	Aidan Turner
Date of Birth	June 19, 1983
Place of Birth	Clondalkin, Dublin, Ireland
Occupation	Actor

Aidan Turner, an Irish actor, was born on June 19, 1983. After graduation, Turner performances in several plays, such as Romeo and Juliet, A Cry from Heaven, and The Plough and the Stars.

Turner played John Mitchell, a vampire, in the first three seasons of the supernatural drama series Being Human from 2009 to 2011. His cinematic career began with the short films The Sound of People and Matterhorn, released in 2007.

20. Chris O’Dowd

Full Name	Christopher O’Dowd
Date of Birth	October 9, 1979
Place of Birth	Boyle, County Roscommon, Ireland
Occupation	Actor, comedian

Christopher O’Dowd is an Irish comedian and actor born on October 9, 1979. O’Dowd played Roy Trenneman in the comedy The IT Crowd, which aired on Channel 4 for four seasons from 2006 to 2010. From 2012 to 2015, O’Dowd created and starred in the Sky 1 television series Moone Boy.

O’Dowd won a Primetime Emmy for his work in State of the Union. On The Irish Times’ list of Ireland’s most significant film actors in 2020, he ranked number 39.

21. Ciarán Hinds

Full Name	Ciarán Hinds
Date of Birth	February 9, 1953
Place of Birth	Belfast, Northern Ireland
Occupation	Actor

An actor from Northern Ireland by the name of Ciarán Hinds was born on February 9, 1953. Hinds has appeared in a variety of roles on stage and in movies. For the most recent of these, he was up for a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Hinds is also well-known for his role as Grand Pabbie, the Troll King, in the animated films Frozen (2013) and Frozen II (2019), both of which were based on his character. In the film Red Sparrow (2018), he played General Zakharow.

His roles on television include Mance Rayder in Game of Thrones, DCI James Langton in Above Suspicion, and Julius Caesar in the series Rome. He ranked 31 on The Irish Times’ list of Ireland’s greatest film actors in 2020.

22. James Nesbitt

Full Name	William James Nesbitt
Date of Birth	January 15, 1965
Place of Birth	Broughshane, County Antrim, Northern Ireland
Occupation	Actor

William James Nesbitt OBE is an actor from Northern Ireland. He made his acting debut as talented agent Fintan O’Donnell in Hear My Song (1991).

He had his television break when he played Adam Williams in the romantic comedy-drama Cold Feet (1997–2003, 2016–present). Nesbitt also played Tony Hughes in the hit BBC One drama series The Missing in 2014.

23. Liam Cunningham

Full Name	Liam Cunningham
Date of Birth	June 2, 1961
Place of Birth	East Wall, Dublin, Ireland
Occupation	Actor

Liam Cunningham is an Irish actor born on June 2, 1961. He is best known for playing Davos Seaworth on Game of Thrones. On The Irish Times’ list of Ireland’s most significant film actors in 2020, he ranked 36th. A Little Princess (1995), Jude (1996), Dog Soldiers (2002), The Crooked Man (2003), and Hunger (2008) are among his roles in movies.

Cunningham resides in Dublin with his wife Colette, with whom he has three children: a daughter, Ellen, and sons, Liam Jr., and Sean.

24. Colm Meaney

Full Name	Colm J. Meaney
Date of Birth	May 30, 1953
Place of Birth	Dublin, Ireland
Occupation	Actor

The role of Miles O’Brien in the television programs Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987–1994) and Star Trek Deep Space Nine made Irish actor Colm Meaney famous (1993–1999). He has additionally been in Hell on Wheels and Law & Order. For his depiction of Irish politician Martin McGuinness in the movie The Journey, he earned the Best Actor IFTA award in 2017. He was ranked number 24 on The Irish Times’ list of the country’s top actors in movies in 2020.

25. Jason O’Mara

Full Name	Jason O’Mara
Date of Birth	August 6, 1972
Place of Birth	Sandycove, Dublin, Ireland
Occupation	Actor

Actor Jason O’Mara was born in Ireland on August 6, 1972. He has starred in the American television network dramas In Justice, Life on Mars, Terra Nova, Vegas, and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. In September 2003, he wed American actress Paige Turco in an Old Saybrook, Connecticut, Roman Catholic wedding.

O’Mara acquired American citizenship in 2009. Paige filed for divorce in June 2017 after the couple’s separation in May of that year. He also asked for spousal maintenance and joint legal custody of their son David.

26. Aidan Gillen

Full Name	Aidan Gillen
Date of Birth	April 24, 1968
Place of Birth	Dublin, Ireland
Occupation	Actor

Aidan Gillen, born on April 24, 1968, is an Irish actor who has appeared in many television and film roles. He played Stuart Alan Jones in the Channel 4 series Queer as Folk (1999–2000), Tommy Carcetti in The Wire (2004–2008), John Boy in the RTÉ series Love/Hate (2010–2011), Petyr “Littlefinger” Baelish in the HBO series Game of Thrones (2011–2017), and Dr. Allen Hynek in The History Channel’s Project Blue Book (2019–2020). His film roles include Miles Jackson in 12 Rounds (2009), CIA operative Bill Wilson in The Dark Knight Rises (2012), Janson in Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015) and Maze runner: The Death Cure (2018), Robert in The Lovers (2017).

27. Richard Harris

Full Name	Richard St John Francis Harris
Date of Birth	October 25, 2002
Place of Birth	Limerick, Ireland
Occupation	Actor, singer

Richard St John Francis Harris was an Irish actor and singer who died on October 25, 2002. He featured on stage and in several films, most notably as Corrado Zeller in Michelangelo Antonioni’s Red Desert, Frank Machin in This Sporting Life, for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor, and King Arthur in the 1967 film Camelot, as well as the stage musical’s 1981 revival.

With his 1968 rendition of Jimmy Webb’s song “MacArthur Park,” Harris had a number-one singing success in Australia, Jamaica, and Canada, as well as a top-ten hit in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the United States. He was ranked third on The Irish Times’ list of Ireland’s finest cinema performers in 2020.

28. Tom Vaughan-Lawlor

Full Name	Tom Vaughan-Lawlor
Date of Birth	November 4, 1977
Place of Birth	Dundrum, Dublin, Ireland
Occupation	Actor

Tom Vaughan-Lawlor is an established Irish actor who was born on November 4, 1977. He is best known in Ireland for his roles as Ebony Maw in Avengers: Infinity War and Nigel ‘Nidge’ Delaney in the RTÉ One series Love/Hate (2010-2014). Avengers: Infinity War and its sequel: Endgame.

Vaughan-Lawlor was born in Dundrum, a Dublin suburb. He currently lives in Whitstable with his daughter and actress wife, Claire Cox.

29. Robert Sheehan

Full Name	Robert Sheehan
Date of Birth	January 7, 1988
Place of Birth	Portlaoise, Laois, Ireland
Occupation	Actor

Robert Sheehan (born on January 7, 1988) is an Irish performer. He has received multiple nominations for Irish Film and Television Awards, as well as one British Academy Television Award. Sheehan was placed 41st on The Irish Times’ list of Ireland’s finest cinema performers in 2020.

From March 2014 through October 2018, Sheehan was in a relationship with actress Sofia Boutella. However, he is heterosexual. He had spoken frankly about his sexual experimentation when he was younger. Sheehan also spent time in Los Angeles.

30. Brían F. O’Byrne

Full Name	Brían Francis O’Byrne
Date of Birth	May 16, 1967
Place of Birth	Mullagh, County Cavan, Ireland
Occupation	Actor

Brían Francis O’Byrne (born May 16, 1967) is an Irish actor who works and resides in America. O’Byrne received a Primetime Emmy nomination for his performance in the miniseries Mildred Pierce (2011) and a BAFTA TV Award for his performance in the drama series Little Boy Blue (2017).

For his portrayal in the 2004 production of Frozen, O’Byrne garnered five Tony Award nominations and won Best Featured Actor in a Play. O’Byrne is married to Heather Goldenhersh, an American actress with whom he co-starred in the Broadway play Doubt: A Parable. The couple is the parents of two girls.

31. Patrick Bergin

Full Name	Patrick Connolly Bergin
Date of Birth	February 4, 1951
Place of Birth	Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland
Occupation	Actor, singer

Irish actor and musician Patrick Connolly Bergin was born on February 4, 1951. He is arguably best known for his major part with Julia Roberts in the 1991 film Sleeping with the Enemy, his title role in the same year’s Robin Hood, his performance as terrorist Kevin O’Donnell in Patriot Games, and his 2017–2018 stint as Aidan Maguire in the BBC serial opera EastEnders.

Midway through the 1980s, during a wedding, he met Paula Frazier, an Englishwoman with Afro-Caribbean descent who would become his wife. They exchanged vows in Trinidad & Tobago in 1992. Their daughter, Tatiana, also goes by the name Tia. Soon after their breakup, Bergin began dating Helen Goldin.

32. Allen Leech

Full Name	Allen Leech
Date of Birth	May 18, 1981
Place of Birth	Killiney, County Dublin, Ireland
Occupation	Actor

Allen Leech is an Irish actor who was born on May 18, 1981 and he is best known for his roles as Tom Branson on the historical drama show Downton Abbey and Paul Prenter in the biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, which came out in 2018. Leech appeared in the HBO historical drama series Rome as Marcus Agrippa.

Allen Leech announced his engagement to actress Jessica Blair Herman in February 2018. On January 5, 2019, they wed in an outdoor ceremony at the Alisal Ranch and Resort in Solvang, California.

33. Patrick McGoohan

Full Name	Patrick Joseph McGoohan
Date of Birth	March 19, 1928
Place of Birth	New York City, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Actor, writer, producer, director

Patrick Joseph McGoohan (born March 19, 1928 – died January 13, 2009) was an Irish-American film and television actor, director, screenwriter, and producer. He became well-known for his role as John Drake, a secret agent, in the ITC espionage show Danger Man, which ran from 1960 to 1968. His notable roles in films include King Edward I in Braveheart and Dr. Paul Ruth in Scanners (1981). He was a BAFTA Grant and double cross Early evening Emmy Grant victor.

34. Dylan Moran

Full Name	Dylan William Moran
Date of Birth	November 3, 1971
Place of Birth	Navan, County Meath, Ireland
Occupation	Comedian, actor, writer, artist, and poet

Dylan William Moran is an Irish comedian, actor, writer, artist, and poet who was born on November 3, 1971. His observational comedy, the comedy series Black Books, for which he co-wrote and starred, and his collaborations with Simon Pegg in films like Shaun of the Dead and Run Fatboy Run are his most well-known works. Channel 4 named him the 17th best stand-up comedian in 2007.

35. Adrian Dunbar

Full Name	Adrian Dunbar
Date of Birth	August 1, 1958
Place of Birth	Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland
Occupation	Actor, director, and singer

Adrian Dunbar is a Northern Irish actor, director, and singer who was born on August 1, 1958. He has worked in both theater and television. The eldest of seven siblings, Dunbar was born and raised in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. He is likewise known for playing ‘Ted Hastings’ in the BBC show Line Of Obligation. Beginning around 2012, he has played Administrator Ted Hastings in each of the six series of BBC TV’s Line of Obligation.

He has played Father Flaherty in Broken, Alan Cox in The Jump, Martin Summers in Ashes to Ashes, and Richard Plantagenet in The Hollow Crown. In the 2022 police procedural crime series Ridley, which Dunbar also co-produced, he plays DI Ridley in the lead role.

36. Brian Gleeson

Full Name	Brian Gleeson
Date of Birth	November 14, 1987
Place of Birth	Dublin, Ireland
Occupation	Actor

Actor Brian Gleeson was born in Dublin, Ireland on November 14, 1987. Gleeson is the son of the actresses Mary Weldon and Brendan Gleeson. Three brothers are his: Rory, Domhnall, who is also an actor. Gleeson performed in school plays as a youngster before joining Gaiety’s Youth Theater Company. For the drama Love/Hate, he received an Irish Film and Television Award nomination.

37. Stuart Townsend

Full Name	Stuart Townsend
Date of Birth	December 15, 1972
Place of Birth	Howth, County Dublin, Ireland
Occupation	Actor

Stuart Townsend is an Irish actor who was born on December 15, 1972. In the film adaptation of Anne Rice’s Queen of the Damned (2002), Townsend played Lestat de Lioncourt, and in Alan Moore’s The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, he played Dorian Gray. He was the director of the 2007 movie Battle in Seattle.

Townsend had a brother named Dylan Townsend and a sister named Chloe Townsend from his first marriage to Lorna Townsend, who passed away in 1994 from a brain hemorrhage. Hugo and Ella are Townsend’s half-siblings from his father’s second marriage to Swedish-born Sofia. After meeting her on the Trapped set in 2002, he began a relationship with Charlize Theron.

38. Kristian Nairn

Full Name	Kristian Nairn
Date of Birth	November 25, 1975
Place of Birth	Lisburn, Northern Ireland
Occupation	Actor, DJ, musician

Kristian Nairn is an actor. He is also a DJ from Lisburn, Northern Ireland. He was born on November 25, 1975. He is best known for playing Hodor on HBO’s fantasy series Game of Thrones. More recently, he played Wee John Feeney on HBO Max’s Our Flag Means Death.

In a March 2014 interview with a Game of Thrones fan site, Nairn made the following remarks about his gay identity: When you refer to “the gay community,” you’re referring to MY community. In a 2015 interview with Chicago Go Pride, Nairn stated that it was actually his “second coming out.”

39. Colin Morgan

Full Name	Colin Morgan
Date of Birth	January 1, 1986
Place of Birth	Armagh, Northern Ireland
Occupation	Actor

Colin Morgan was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on January 1, 1986. He is best known for playing Billy Clanton in Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast (2021), Leo Elster in Humans (2015–2018), and the title character in the BBC fantasy series Merlin (2008–2012). In July 2008, Screen Global named Morgan a “Star of Tomorrow.”

Morgan does not use social media, stating that: There are no social media or self-search options. You can learn never to do it again by doing it once.

40. Colin O’Donoghue

Full Name	Colin Arthur O’Donoghue
Date of Birth	January 26, 198
Place of Birth	Drogheda, County Louth, Ireland
Occupation	Actor, musician

Irish actor and musician Colin Arthur O’Donoghue was born on January 26, 1981. O’Donoghue appeared as Michael Kovak, a wary new clergyman, in the 2011 horror-thriller movie The Ceremony. He played Douxie Casperan in the Guillermo del Toro–directed Netflix animated series Tales of Arcadia. He played J.J. Sneed in Cart Parton’s Heartstrings. In 2009, shortly after making an appearance on The Tudors, O’Donoghue married Helen, a teacher. The pair has been together since they were 18 years old and has two kids: a boy and a daughter.

41. Jack Gleeson

Full Name	Jack Gleeson
Date of Birth	May 20, 1992
Place of Birth	Cork, Ireland
Occupation	Actor

Jack Gleeson, an Irish actor who was born on May 20, 1992, portrayed Joffrey Baratheon on HBO’s Game of Thrones from 2011 to 2014. Gleeson took a break from acting after this role, but he has since appeared in independent theater and the BBC miniseries Out of Her Mind in 2020.

Dublin is where Gleeson resides; He had formerly resided in London. Gleeson made it public in May 2018 that he supported the effort to get rid of Ireland’s Eighth Amendment.

42. Anthony Boyle

Full Name	Anthony Boyle
Date of Birth	June 8, 1994
Place of Birth	Belfast, Northern Ireland
Occupation	Actor

Anthony Boyle (born on 8 June 1994) is a Northern Irish actor. Boyle grew up in West Belfast and attended De La Salle College until the age of 17. He attended St. Comprehensive College. Louise before enrolling in Cardiff’s Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in 2013. He graduated with a BA (Hons) in acting in 2016.

Boyle, an alumnus of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama from Cardiff, began his performing career in London and became known for his portrayal of Scorpius Malfoy in Broadway and West stage performances. End of the British TV series Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (2016); Boyle was nominated for a Tony Award and received a Laurence Olivier Award for this role.

43. Devon Murray

Full Name	Devon Michael Murray
Date of Birth	October 28, 1988
Place of Birth	Celbridge, County Kildare, Ireland
Occupation	Actor

Devon Michael Murray was born in County Kildare, Ireland, on October 28th, 1988. When Murray was six years old, his parents, Michael and Fidelma Murray, sent him to the Billie Barry. Within two weeks, he was featured in a television commercial for Tesco.

He appeared in his first movie in just six months, starring alongside Aidan Quinn in 1998’s This Is My Father. After that, he enrolled in the National Performing Arts School and got his big break in Angela’s Ashes. Additionally, he appeared in Yesterday’s Children (2000) alongside Jane Seymour.

Murray and Shannon McCaffrey Quinn have been together since late 2018. Cooper Michael Murray, the couple’s son, was born on January 2, 2021.

44. Graham Norton

Full Name	Graham William Walker
Date of Birth	April 4, 1963
Place of Birth	Clondalkin, Dublin, Ireland
Occupation	Actor, author, comedian, commentator, broad, caster, writer

Irish actor, author, commentator, comedian, and presenter Graham William Walker, also known by his stage name Graham Norton. He was born on April 4, 1963. For his comedy talk show The Graham Norton Show, which aired from 2007 to the present, Norton has won five BAFTA TV Awards, and he has won eight awards altogether. Norton hosted BBC Radio 2’s Saturday morning show from 2010 to 2020 and was appointed a judge on RuPaul’s Drag Race UK in 2019.

Norton is gay. Kristian Seeber, who plays the drag queen Tina Burner, was his girlfriend. In 2013, he divorced Trevor Patterson, his partner of two years. Norton and his new partner Jonathan McLeod hosted a wedding blessing party at Bantry House in West Cork on July 10, 2022.

45. Sean McGinley

Full Name	Seán McGinley
Date of Birth	1956
Place of Birth	Pettigo, Ireland
Occupation	Actor

Seán McGinley was raised in nearby Ballyshannon after being born in Pettigo, County Donegal, Ulster, Ireland, where his dad was a customs officer. McGinley attended University College, Galway, from 1977 to 1989. He was a member of the Druid Theatre Company. After that, McGinley appeared in several films.

The General, Braveheart, The Butcher Boy, Gangs of New York, Freeze Frame, and Man About Dog are just a few of McGinley’s roles. Additionally, he has appeared in numerous television series. From 2010 to 2014, McGinley portrayed Malachy in The Republic of Doyle. McGinley played a horse whisperer in a Midsomer Murders episode.

46. Michael McElhatton

Full Name	Michael McElhatton
Date of Birth	September 12, 1963
Place of Birth	Dublin, Ireland
Occupation	Actor, writer

Michael McElhatton is a writer and actor from Ireland who was born on September 12, 1963. McElhatton is most recognized for his portrayal of Roose Bolton in HBO’s Game of Thrones, where McElhatton also appeared as a guest star in the second season. He remained in this position until the sixth season, when he was promoted to a regular cast member.

McElhatton rose to prominence between 2000 and 2002 by appearing in the situation comedies Ways to Opportunity and Fergus’ Wedding. In addition to his acting job, he also penned the screenplays for the episodes. He created and performed in the Paths to Freedom character Rats, which was so successful that it was turned into a full-length feature picture in 2003. McElhatton appeared as Tam’s author in the Amazon Prime Video adaption of The Wheel of Time in 2021.

47. Patrick Gibson

Full Name	Patrick Leo Kenny-Gibson
Date of Birth	April 19, 1995
Place of Birth	Westminster, London, England
Occupation	Actor

Patrick Leo Kenny-Gibson (born on April 19, 1995) is an Irish entertainer known for his parts in The Tudors, The Passing Chimes, and The OA. At the 2017 IFTAs, he received the Rising Star award. In central London, Gibson was born. His mother works in marketing, and his father is also an actor.

Gibson attended Gonzaga College. He began his studies in philosophy at Trinity College Dublin, but he left halfway through his degree in 2016 when he was cast in The OA. The family lived in Greystones, Stillorgan, and Donnybrook after returning to Ireland.

48. Richard Flood

Full Name	Richard Flood
Date of Birth	July 29, 1982
Place of Birth	Dublin, Ireland
Occupation	Actor

Richard Flood is an Irish actor born on July 29, 1982. Flood is best known for his roles as Tommy McConnel in Crossing Lines, James McKay in Red Rock, Ford in Shameless, and Dr. Cormac Hayes in Grey’s Anatomy. Flood started dating Gabriella Passion, an Italian actress, in 2012, and they got engaged in 2014. They announced shortly after that that they were expecting their first child, Giulio Flood, born in the same year. Flood wed Passion in an intimate ceremony in Italy on September 3, 2016.

49. Jonas Armstrong

Full Name	William Jonas Armstrong
Date of Birth	January 1, 1981
Place of Birth	Dublin, Ireland
Occupation	Actor

Irish actor William Jonas Armstrong is best known for playing Robin Hood in the BBC One drama series. Armstrong appeared in the two-part ITV crime dramatization Losing Gemma in December 2006.

Armstrong shattered a metatarsal bone in his foot during the filming of the second season (which was televised in 2007). Armstrong portrayed Sean Meredith in the 2019 season of the ITV drama series The Bay.

50. Fra Fee

Full Name	Francis Martin
Date of Birth	May 20, 1987
Place of Birth	Killyman, Northern Ireland
Occupation	Actor and singer

Francis Martin (nicknamed “Fra Fee”) is an Irish actor and singer. Fee was born on May 20, 1987. Fee is well-known for playing Courfeyrac in Tom Hooper’s Les Miserables movie. Fee played Michael Carney in Sam Mendes’s The Ferryman, directed by Jez Butterworth, at the Royal Court Theatre, the West End, and Broadway. He was elevated to Associate status with the Royal Academy of Music in 2014.

Fee is homosexual. He resides in a remote area of Oxfordshire with actor and singer Declan Bennett, with whom he is in a love relationship.