In the arts, the Emerald Isle has spawned a plethora of talented individuals! Ireland has produced some of the greatest films and tv series ever made, whether you love their accents, talents, or workmanship. We bet some of these actors are among your favorites or appear in some of your favorite films. With that in mind, here are our ‘7 Greatest Male Irish Actors of all time’ ranked.
7. Michael Fassbender
Although he was born on April 2, 1977, in West Germany. His mother is Irish and his father is German. In order to raise their children in the countryside, Fassbender’s parents moved to Ireland in 2001. The actor is best known for his role in ‘Band of Brothers’. His first feature film was the fantasy war epic ‘300’, released in 2007. Marvel Comics antihero Magneto is one of his most famous film roles. He is also known for movies such as ’12 Years a Slave’, ‘Shame’, ‘Steve Jobs’, ‘Macbeth’, and ‘The Counselor’.
May 25, 1976 was Cillian Murphy’s birthday. Originally a musician, he turned his talent to acting after starting out as a rock musician. The Cork-born Irish actor has dominated the world stage since he entered the acting world in the late 1990s. Among the top credits are 28 Days Later (2002), Red Eye (2005), and The Dark Knight Trilogy (2005–2012). In addition to his role in Peaky Blinders (2013-present) and Dunkirk (2017), Cillian Murphy is perhaps best known for his leading role in the BBC period drama Peaky Blinders.
5. Colin Farrell
One of Ireland’s best-known actors, Colin Farrell has gained international recognition. A Dublin native born in 1976, Colin Farrell shot to fame with his role in the Irish television series ‘Ballykissangel’. He is an Irish household name, and certainly one of the best actors ever to come from our little island nation. In addition to working with Hollywood heavyweights like Steven Spielberg and Woody Allen, he has two Golden Globe nominations under his belt. But more importantly, do you remember when he shifted Britney Spears?
Liam Neeson is one of the country’s most recognizable actors and he hails from County Antrim in Northern Ireland. After joining the Lyric Players’ Theatre in Belfast in 1976, he began his career on stage. In 1981, he was cast in the film “Excalibur”. Among his top film credits are The Bounty (1984), The Mission (1986), Schindler’s List (1993), Batman Begins (2005), and the action thriller series Taken (2008–2014). He now lives with his two children in New York.
3. Peter O’Toole
Peter O’Toole’s birthdate and place of birth are the subject of some controversy. O’Toole has two birth certificates; an Irish birth certificate and an English birth certificate. His birth date is given as August 2, 1932, in Leeds, England. According to the other, he was born in June in County Galway, Ireland. Although O’Toole preferred to believe he was Irish, he celebrated his birthday according to his English birth certificate.
His career spanned seven decades, beginning in 1954. In addition to Lawrence of Arabia, ‘My Favorite Year’, ‘Goodbye, Mr. Chips’, ‘Becket’, ‘The Lion in the Winter’, ‘Venus’, and ‘The Stunt Man’ are some of his most well-known films. Each of these eight films earned him an Academy Award nomination. As a result, he holds the record as being the actor with the most nominations without winning an Academy Award.
During a career that spanned six decades, Richard Harris enjoyed a prolific acting career. Having begun his professional acting career in 1958, he was born in Limerick on October 1, 1930. He was also a singer and actor. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as King Arthur in Camelot (1967). Other notable roles include Unforgiven (1992) and his role as Hogwarts’ headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, in the first two Harry Potter films. As a result of his work, he has received numerous awards, including a Golden Globe, a Cannes Award, a Grammy Award, and an award from the Moscow Film Festival.
1. Daniel Day-Lewis
Daniel Day-Lewis is both an Irish and a British citizen as he was born and raised in London. His father was born and raised in County Wicklow, Ireland, where he now lives. As a performer, Day-Lewis was accepted to the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School after being a member of the National Youth Theatre. His method acting was well known in industry circles, and he was also known for his discerning taste in films he appeared in. He appeared in only five films between 1998 and 2017. As a result of his performance in the 1989 Oscar-winning film ‘My Left Foot,’ he is one of the most famous actors of all time. In addition to ‘There Will Be Blood,’ he also won an Academy Award for ‘Lincoln,’ released in 2012.
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[…] a moral compass, the story follows the journey of a cold-blooded assassin. The film’s lead actor, Michael Fassbender, plays an assassin who is haunted by the repercussions of his […]