Barry McGovern
{{short description|Irish stage, film and television actor (born 1948)}}
{{BLP sources|date=March 2023}}{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name =
| image =
| alt =
| caption = Portrait head by Imogen Stuart
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{year of birth and age|1948}}
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| nationality = Irish
| other_names =
| occupation = Actor
| years_active = 1978–present
|alma_mater=Castleknock College
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}}
Barry McGovern (born 1948) is an Irish stage, film and television actor.
Background
He was educated at Castleknock College, Dublin. McGovern is a former member of the RTÉ Players and the Abbey Theatre Company. He has worked in theatre, film, radio and television, as well as written music for many shows, and co-written two musicals and directed plays and operas. He is known internationally for his award-winning one-man Beckett shows I'll Go On and Watt which the Gate Theatre presented at the 1985 and 2010 Dublin Theatre Festival respectively. {{Citation needed|date=August 2011}} McGovern revived "I'll Go On" for a run at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City for L.A.'s Center Theatre Group in 2014.
Filmography
| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;"
! colspan="4" style="background: LightSteelBlue;" | Film | |||
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Riders to the Sea | Bartley | |
| 1990 | Joe Versus the Volcano | Luggage Salesman | |
| 1991 | Billy Bathgate | Father McInerny | |
| 1992 | Far and Away | McGuire | |
| 1995 | Braveheart | King's Advisor | |
| 1996 | The Disappearance of Finbar | Action Committee Chairman | |
| 1997 | Driftwood | McTavish | |
| 1997 | The Informant | Courtroom Judge | TV movie |
| 1998 | The General | IRA Man 1 | |
| 1999 | Felicia's Journey | Gatherer | |
| 2001 | Waiting for Godot | Vladimir | |
| 2015 | My Name Is Emily | Dr. Golding | |
| 2018 | Penance | The Commandant (Old Antaine) | Irish language |
| 2024 | Blue Fiddle | Irish language | |
| colspan="4" style="background: LightSteelBlue;" | Television | |||
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Notes | |||
| 1979 | Play for Today | Sean | 1 episode |
| 1984 | Caught in a Free State | Eamon de Valera | 4 episodes |
| 1987 | Foreign Bodies | Dermot #1 | TV movie |
| 1990 | Dear Sarah | Giuseppe Conlon | TV movie |
| 1991 | The Treaty | Eamon de Valera | TV movie |
| 1995 | The Governor | Solicitor | 1 episode |
| 1995–96 | Finbarr's Class | Mannix Beatty | 24 episodes |
| 1998 | Ballykissangel | Con Casey | 1 episode |
| 1998 | Miracle at Midnight | Rabbi Ben Abrams | 1 episode |
| 2007 | The Tudors | Bishop Bonnivet | 2 episodes |
| 2008 | School Run | Padraig Ó Cinnéide | 2 episodes |
| 2010 | Na Cloigne | Ceannfort Ó Sé | 3 episodes |
| 2010 | An Crisis | Piaras De Barra | Irish language; 1 episode |
| 2014 | Game of Thrones | Dying Man | Episode: "Mockingbird" |
| 2016 | Vikings | French Archbishop | 1 episode |
| 2021 | Foundation | Orlio | 1 episode |
| 2024 | Crá | Art Ó Súilleabháin | Irish language; All 6 episodes |
Reviews
- (on his one man show "I'll Go On")[http://www.gate-theatre.ie/tour.html Dublin: The Gate]
- "McGovern illuminates the accessibility of the novels, their Irishness and their brilliant, bitter humour...brilliant" - The New York Times
- "Barry McGovern's dazzling one-man performance…makes for wicked, compulsive fun" - The Irish Times
- "An outright triumph…arrestingly funny" - Time
- "90 minutes of laughter, bitterness, compassion and verbal music to leave you rapt" - New York
- "Superb one-man show…. Without doubt one of the best interpreters of Samuel Beckett's work, McGovern's performance is masterful" - Sunday Business
- “Barry McGovern’s astounding performance was not only the best of the festival, but also among the best I’ve ever seen… genius, no other word for it." - Sun Herald
Awards and nominations
- 2012: Nominated for Lead Actor in a Play for the role of Vladimir in the Center Theatre Group production of "Waiting For Godot"{{cite news|title=2012 Ovation Award Nominees Announced.|url=http://www.lastagetimes.com/2012/09/2012-ovation-award-nominees-announced/|date=11 September 2012|access-date=29 January 2013|archive-date=17 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117092933/http://www.lastagetimes.com/2012/09/2012-ovation-award-nominees-announced/|url-status=dead}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category|Barry McGovern}}
- {{IMDb name|569547}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:McGovern, Barry}}
Category:Irish male film actors
Category:Irish male stage actors
Category:Irish male television actors