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Finbar Lynch
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Finbar Lynch (born 28 August 1959) is an Irish actor.
Key Information
Early life
[edit]Lynch was born in Dublin and, at the age of 11, moved with his family to the village of Inverin, County Galway, where his father ran a clothing factory under a scheme to encourage business investment in Gaeltacht areas. Lynch has two brothers.[1]
Career
[edit]Back in Dublin at the age of 18, Lynch doorknocked local theatres seeking acting work but was turned down due to lack of experience. Working as a stagehand, he successfully auditioned for a minor role in the Tennessee Williams play A Streetcar Named Desire, which started off his acting career.[2] In 1999, Lynch was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play and Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play for his performance as Canary Jim in the Broadway run of the rediscovered Williams play Not About Nightingales.[3]
Lynch's television work includes recurring appearances in the soap opera Glenroe,[4] Proof, Breathless and the miniseries Small World; as Doctor Martin Wells in the Bourne spin-off television series Treadstone,[4] along with as minor appearances in Waking the Dead,[5] Dalziel and Pascoe, Inspector George Gently,[6] DCI Banks, Game of Thrones,[4] Foyle's War, and The Mallorca Files.[7]
In November 2025, it was announced that Lynch will star in the thriller film Banquet, directed by Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia, alongside Meghann Fahy, Alfie Williams, and Corey Mylchreest, and will be produced by David Yates.[8]
Personal life
[edit]Lynch is married to actress Niamh Cusack and they have a son, Calam Lynch, who is also an actor.[3]
Filmography
[edit]Film
[edit]| † | Denotes film or TV productions that have not yet been released |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | The Schooner | Joe | |
| 1986 | Rawhead Rex | Andy Johnson | |
| 1996 | A Midsummer Night's Dream | Puck / Philostrate | |
| 2003 | To Kill a King | Cousin Henry | [9] |
| 2004 | Mathilde | The Major | |
| 2013 | The Numbers Station | Michaels | |
| 2015 | Child 44 | Doctor Boris Zarubin | |
| Suffragette | Hugh Ellyn | ||
| Departure | Philip | ||
| 2016 | Property of the State | Heffernan | |
| 2018 | Black '47 | Brown | |
| 2020 | Adventures of a Mathematician | G. D. Birkhoff | |
| The World We Knew | Carpenter | [10] | |
| 2022 | York Witches' Society | Matthias | [11] |
| 2023 | Unwelcome | Father Brendan | |
| 2025 | Hedda | Professor Greenwood | [12] |
| The Governor | Klemens von Metternich | [13] | |
| TBA | Banquet † | TBA | Filming |
Television
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982–1983 | Les Poneys sauvages | George (aged 18) | 4 episodes |
| 1983–1987 | Glenroe | Matt Moran | |
| 1987 | Three Wishes for Jamie | Mattie (uncredited) | Television film |
| 1988 | Small World | Persse McGarrigle | 6 episodes |
| 1994 | Between the Lines | Danny McLaughlin | Episode: "Shoot to Kill" |
| 1998 | Performance | Edmund | Episode: "King Lear" |
| The Scold's Bridle | Dave Hughes | 2 episodes | |
| Riddler's Moon | Kevin Sanders | Television film | |
| 1999 | Holby City | Stranger | Episode: "Tidings of Comfort and Joy" |
| 2000 | Waking the Dead | Jimmy Marshall | 2 episodes[5] |
| Second Sight: Hide and Seek | Gavin Finn | Television film | |
| 2001 | Mind Games | DCI Chris Medwynter | Television film |
| The Lost Battalion | Pvt. Ferguson | Television film | |
| 2003 | Red Cap | Liam Young | Episode: "Cold War" |
| 2004–2005 | Proof | Terry Corcoran | Main role |
| 2005 | Dalziel and Pascoe | Dave Cashman | 2 episodes |
| Born with Two Mothers | Narrator (voice) | Television film | |
| 2007 | Richard Is My Boyfriend | Narrator (voice) | Television film |
| Comedy Showcase | Concrete O'Hara | Episode: "The Eejits" | |
| 2008 | Inspector George Gently | Ruairi O'Connell | Episode: "The Burning Man"[6] |
| 2012 | Silk | Jody Farr | 4 episodes[14] |
| The Hollow Crown | Lord Marshal | Episode: "Richard II" | |
| 2013 | Breathless | Monty Meecher | 5 episodes |
| 2014 | DCI Banks | Ian Bassett | 2 episodes |
| Game of Thrones | Farmer Hamlet | Episode: "Breaker of Chains" | |
| 2015 | Foyle's War | Avraham Greenfeld | Episode: "Trespass" |
| The Musketeers | Baltasar | Episode: "The Good Traitor" | |
| Antigone at the Barbican | Teiresias | Television film | |
| 2019 | Treadstone | Dr. Martin Wells | 3 episodes |
| The Feed | Aiden | Episode #1.8 | |
| The Mallorca Files | Paco | Episode: "The Oligarch's Icon"[7] | |
| 2020 | Devils | William Trevor | Episode #1.4 |
| 2022 | Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan | Vice President Robert Fleming | 3 episodes |
| 2024 | The Regime | Joseph Vernham | Episode: "The Heroes' Banquet"[15] |
References
[edit]- ^ Toner, Niall (17 April 2011). "Time and place: Finbar Lynch". The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
- ^ "Q&A: Finbar Lynch". officiallondontheatre.com. Official London Theatre. 8 January 2013. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
- ^ a b O'Haire, Patricia (7 April 1999). "Irish Actor Makes It To B'way Via Tennessee Lynch Knocked About Before Landing 'Nightingales'". NY Daily News. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
- ^ a b c Brady, Tara (14 May 2022). "Calam Lynch, the Cusack acting dynasty's brightest new star". irishtimes.com. Irish Times. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
- ^ a b "Waking the Dead". bbc.co.uk. BBC One. 18 June 2015. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
- ^ a b "Inspector George Gently". bbc.co.uk. BBC One. 18 March 2011. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
- ^ a b "The Mallorca Files". bbc.co.uk. BBC One. 10 February 2021. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
- ^ Ritman, Alex (5 November 2025). "Corey Mylchreest and Alfie Williams Join Meghann Fahy in Supernatural Thriller 'Banquet' From 'May December' Producer Project Infinity and XYZ (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 5 November 2025.
- ^ Elley, Derek (12 May 2003). "To Kill a King". variety.com. Variety. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
- ^ Unsworth, Martin. "The World We Knew [FrightFest October 2020]". starburstmagazine.com. Starburst Magazine. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
- ^ "York Witches' Society". highfieldgrangestudios.co.uk. Highfield Grange Studios. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
- ^ Grobar, Matt (8 January 2024). "Orion Pictures' 'Hedda' Adds Imogen Poots & Five Others". deadline.com. Deadline. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
- ^ "Kapodistrias': Smaragdis' Cinematic Ode to Greece's First Governor". greekcitytimes.com. 28 July 2025.
- ^ "Silk". bbc.com. BBC Media Centre. 20 June 2012. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
- ^ Baldwin, Kristen (1 March 2024). "The Regime review: Kate Winslet's dictatorship dramedy falls flat". ew.com. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
External links
[edit]- Finbar Lynch at IMDb
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
Finbar Lynch
View on Grokipediafrom Grokipedia
Early years
Upbringing and family background
Finbar Lynch was born on 28 August 1959 in Dublin, Ireland.[12] Lynch grew up in Dublin during his early childhood, the eldest of five brothers including Aidan, David, Eddie, and Brian. His family placed a strong emphasis on education and cultural heritage, values that would later influence his artistic pursuits.[13] At the age of 11 in 1970, Lynch's family relocated to the village of Inverin in County Galway, near Spiddal in the Connemara region, as part of a broader move to the Gaeltacht area. This relocation was prompted by his father's decision to establish Connemara Fashions, a clothing factory in nearby Carraroe, supported by the Irish government's Gaeltarra Éireann initiative to promote economic development and preserve Irish-language communities in the Gaeltacht. The move immersed the family in a rural, Irish-speaking environment, contrasting sharply with urban Dublin life, and introduced Lynch to traditional Gaeltacht customs such as ceilidhs and set dancing during Irish college summers.[13] The family attended St Joseph's Patrician College in Galway, commuting daily by bus, where Lynch experienced a rigorous educational setting amid the challenges of adapting as an outsider in a close-knit community. His mother, meanwhile, faced isolation in the new surroundings due to his father's frequent business travels, highlighting the personal adjustments the family made during this formative period.[13]Entry into acting
Following a period living in Galway during his youth, Finbar Lynch returned to Dublin at the age of 18 and began proactively pursuing acting opportunities by knocking on doors at local theatres.[14] Despite his enthusiasm, he encountered initial rejections owing to his lack of professional experience, leading him to take on odd jobs such as stagehand work to gain a foothold in the industry.[15][16] This persistence paid off when, while employed as a stagehand at Dublin's Gate Theatre, he auditioned for and won the role of the Young Collector in the production of Tennessee Williams's A Streetcar Named Desire, marking his professional acting debut.[17][15] Throughout the 1980s, Lynch established himself in Dublin's vibrant theatre scene through a series of early stage roles.[18]Professional career
Theatre and stage work
Finbar Lynch established a prominent presence in British and international theatre during the 1990s, performing with leading institutions such as the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) and the National Theatre. His RSC tenure included the role of Puck in Adrian Noble's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream (1996), which transferred to Broadway at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre, showcasing his versatility in classical roles.[19][2] A career highlight came in 1998 with the world premiere of Tennessee Williams's long-lost play Not About Nightingales, directed by Trevor Nunn at the National Theatre, which transferred to the Apollo Theatre. Lynch portrayed the sensitive prison informant Jim Allison, known as "Canary Jim," a reluctant poet navigating brutality in a 1930s Pennsylvania workhouse.[20][21] The production transferred to Broadway's Circle in the Square Theatre in 1999, where Lynch's performance earned him a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Play and a Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play.[2][22] Lynch continued to collaborate with prestigious venues throughout the 2000s and beyond, including the National Theatre in Harold Pinter's The Hothouse (2007), where he played the menacing subordinate Gibbs under Ian Rickson's direction.[23] His work extended to the Donmar Warehouse in productions of Irish plays such as Brian Friel's Translations (2010) and Nick Whitby's To the Green Fields and Beyond (2000), affirming his affinity for Irish dramatic literature.[24] In the 2010s, Lynch ventured into musical theatre with the role of Reverend Marlowe in Conor McPherson's Girl from the North Country (2017), a Bob Dylan songbook musical that premiered at The Old Vic and later transferred to the West End's Gielgud Theatre in 2019, highlighting his adaptability across genres.[25][26] More recently, he appeared as the stage manager Lemml in Paula Vogel's Indecent (2021) at the Menier Chocolate Factory, a role that framed the historical persecution of a Yiddish play about lesbian love, earning praise for his empathetic narration.[16][27] Later stage roles include Iago in Othello at Shakespeare's Globe (2003), the Cardinal in The Duchess of Malfi at the Old Vic (2012, performed despite a broken leg), Claudius in Hamlet at the Bristol Old Vic (2022), and Mr. Miller in Terence Rattigan's The Deep Blue Sea at Theatre Royal Bath (2024). These performances underscore Lynch's enduring contributions to contemporary stage drama, blending classical precision with modern storytelling across London, Broadway, and regional Irish theatres.[28][29]Film and television roles
Finbar Lynch made his transition to screen acting in the early 2000s, debuting in the Irish crime drama television series Proof (2004–2005), where he portrayed the lead role of investigative journalist Terry Corcoran, uncovering corruption and crime in contemporary Ireland.[30] This role marked his entry into television, blending his stage-honed intensity with the demands of serialized storytelling. Over the subsequent decade, Lynch's screen career gained momentum through supporting parts in international films, reflecting his ability to embody complex, often morally ambiguous characters in historical and thriller contexts. His television roles also include Sir Piers of Exton in The Hollow Crown (2012), appearances in The Feed (2019) and The Devil's Hour (2022). In the mid-2010s, Lynch appeared in several high-profile productions that showcased his versatility in period dramas and suspense narratives. He played Doctor Boris Zarubin, a Soviet physician entangled in a web of Stalin-era intrigue, in the thriller Child 44 (2015), directed by Daniel Espinosa and starring Tom Hardy.[31] That same year, he portrayed Hugh Ellyn, a sympathetic factory owner navigating the British suffrage movement, in Suffragette, directed by Sarah Gavron, alongside Carey Mulligan and Helena Bonham Carter.[32] These roles highlighted Lynch's skill in delivering nuanced performances amid ensemble casts, contributing to the films' explorations of political oppression and social upheaval. Lynch continued to build his film presence with parts in Departure (2015), where he depicted the emotionally distant husband Philip in Andrew Steggall's intimate family drama set in rural France.[33] In the Irish historical action film Black '47 (2018), he took on the role of Brown, a British officer during the Great Famine, adding depth to the story's themes of colonial violence and rebellion. His television work during this period included a brief but memorable appearance as a farmer in season 4 of Game of Thrones (2014), capturing the quiet despair of Westerosi smallfolk amid escalating wars. By the late 2010s and into the 2020s, Lynch's roles evolved toward more prominent supporting characters in genre-spanning projects. He portrayed Dr. Martin Wells, a key figure in the Treadstone program's psychological experiments, in the action thriller series Treadstone (2019), expanding on the Bourne universe with his portrayal of institutional complicity. In the horror film Unwelcome (2022), directed by Mark Jenkin, Lynch played Father Brendan, a local priest whose enigmatic presence heightens the rural terror faced by newcomers. More recently, he appeared as Joseph Vernham, a high-ranking aide in a satirical dictatorship, in the HBO series The Regime (2024), opposite Kate Winslet, demonstrating his command of dark political comedy.[34] Lynch appeared as Professor Greenwood in the 2025 film adaptation of Henrik Ibsen's Hedda, directed by Nia DaCosta and starring Tessa Thompson, where his character influences the protagonist's academic and personal turmoil.[35] Upcoming projects include the supernatural thriller Banquet (2025).[9] This progression from early television leads to recurring film and series roles underscores Lynch's growing prominence in screen media, often leveraging his theatre background for authentic, layered characterizations without overshadowing lead narratives.[36]Personal life
Marriage and immediate family
Finbar Lynch is married to Irish actress Niamh Cusack, with their union ongoing as of 2025.[37][38] The couple has one son, Calam Lynch, born on November 7, 1994, in Warwickshire, England.[39][40] Calam Lynch has pursued a career in acting, with notable credits including the title role in the Disney adaptation of Black Beauty (2020) and a part in Terence Davies' Benediction (2021).[38] Lynch and Cusack both maintain active careers in the performing arts, sharing a professional background in theatre, film, and television.[41][42]Extended family connections
Finbar Lynch is connected to the renowned Cusack acting dynasty through his marriage to Niamh Cusack, the daughter of legendary Irish actors Cyril Cusack and Maureen Cusack (née Kiely).[43][44] Niamh is the sister of acclaimed actresses Sinéad Cusack and Sorcha Cusack, as well as half-sister to Catherine Cusack, forming a multi-generational lineage of performers who have significantly contributed to stage and screen.[45][46] Cyril Cusack, the patriarch of this family, established a lasting legacy in Irish and international theatre through his extensive work with institutions like the Abbey Theatre and Gate Theatre in Dublin, where he performed, directed, and produced numerous productions spanning over seven decades.[47] His film career further amplified the family's influence, with roles in British and Hollywood productions that bridged Irish storytelling to global audiences.[48] The Cusack daughters, including Niamh, have carried forward this heritage, appearing in prominent theatre revivals and international films, thereby expanding the family's network across Anglo-Irish and worldwide entertainment circles.[45] Although Lynch shares no direct blood relation to the Cusacks, his marriage integrates him into their professional and personal spheres, providing indirect access to a vast network shaped by decades of theatrical innovation and familial collaboration in the arts.[44] This connection underscores the interconnected world of Irish acting dynasties, where personal ties foster broader opportunities within the industry.[46]Filmography
Film
Finbar Lynch's film career spans several decades, beginning with early roles in Irish and international productions. His credits include a mix of leading supporting roles in genre films, historical dramas, and independent features.| Year | Title | Role | Director | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | The Schooner | Joe | Bill Miskelly | [49] |
| 1986 | Rawhead Rex | Andy Johnson | George Pavlou | |
| 1996 | A Midsummer Night's Dream | Philostrate / Puck | Adrian Noble | [50] |
| 2003 | To Kill a King | Cousin Henry | Mike Barker | [51] |
| 2004 | Mathilde | The Major | Nina Mimica | [52] |
| 2013 | The Numbers Station | Michaels | Kasper Barfoed | [53] |
| 2015 | Child 44 | Doctor Boris Zarubin | Daniel Espinosa | |
| 2015 | Departure | Philip | Andrew Steggall | |
| 2015 | Suffragette | Hugh Ellyn | Sarah Gavron | [32] |
| 2016 | Property of the State | Heffernan | Kit Ryan | [54] |
| 2018 | Black '47 | Brown | Lance Daly | |
| 2022 | Unwelcome | Father Brendan | Jon Wright | [55] |
| 2025 | Hedda | Professor Greenwood | Nia DaCosta | [35] |
| 2025 | Banquet | [9] |