Bryan Murray (actor)
{{Short description|Irish actor (born 1949)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2014}}
{{Use Hiberno-English|date=April 2014}}
{{BLP sources|date=December 2009}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Bryan Murray
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1949|07|13|df=y}}
| birth_place = Dublin, Ireland
| nationality = Irish
| other_names =
| occupation = actor
| years_active =
| known_for = Fair City, Brookside, The Irish R.M.
}}
Bryan Murray (born 13 July 1949) is an Irish actor. He is known for his extensive television work which includes Fitz in Strumpet City, Flurry Knox in The Irish R.M., Shifty in Bread (for which he won BBC TV Personality of the Year), Harry Cassidy in Perfect Scoundrels, Trevor Jordache in Brookside and Bob Charles in Fair City.
Early life and theatre career
Murray was born in Dublin, Ireland. As a stage actor, he began his career in Dublin at the Abbey Theatre where, as a member of The Abbey Company,{{Cite web|url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/arid-20242690.html|title=Bryan's heart is firmly in new role|date=12 September 2013|website=Irish Examiner}} he appeared in over 50 productions. In London, he has been a member of The Royal National Theatre, The Royal Shakespeare Company and has been in many productions in the West End. He has appeared many times at the Gate Theatre in Dublin,{{Cite web |url=https://www.independent.ie/woman/celeb-news/murrays-land-of-shadow-26419222.html |title=Murray's land of shadow |website=Independent.ie|date=3 December 2006 }} most recently in 2013 in My Cousin Rachel adapted for the stage by Joseph O'Connor.{{Cite web |url=http://itmarchive.ie/web/Reviews/Current/My-Cousin-Rachel.aspx.html |title=My Cousin Rachel |website=itmarchive.ie}} In the 2010 Dublin Fringe Festival, he appeared in the award-winning production of Medea at The Samuel Beckett theatre.{{Cite web |url=https://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/theatre-director-who-followed-her-heart-26680074.html |title=Theatre director who followed her heart |website=Independent.ie|date=12 September 2010 }}
Television
Murray is known for his extensive television work which includes Fitz in Strumpet City, Flurry Knox in The Irish R.M., Shifty in Bread (for which he won BBC TV Personality of the Year), Harry Cassidy in Perfect Scoundrels, Trevor Jordache in Brookside and Bob Charles in Fair City.
He appeared on the second season of Charity You're a Star where he sang duets with his Fair City co-star Una Crawford O'Brien. The duo were voted off the show after performing "Don't Go Breaking My Heart".{{cite news |url=http://www.rte.ie/ten/2006/0803/charityyoureastar.html|title=Una and Bryan voted off Charity You're A Star |date=3 August 2006|access-date=3 August 2006|work=RTÉ}} He played the role of Lynch in the film, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1977).
Murphy has presented the documentary for TV3 The Tenements, a four-part series charting the rise and fall of the Tenements in Dublin from the 1800s to the mid-1970s.
He fronted the BBC1 children's religious affairs programmes Knock Knock and Umbrella for three years. On RTÉ, he had his own prime time TV talk shows Encore and Caught in the Act and presented Saturday Night Live. His nine-part radio series The Sound of Movies was aired on RTÉ Radio 1 in 2008. He has also been a semi regular presenter of Late Date on RTÉ Radio 1.
In the US, he presented the 'Irish Spring' commercial on network TV for six years, the award-winning 'Pioneer Press' commercials for three years and hosted the St Patrick's Day Parade for PBS Television.
His series The Big House was shown on TV3 in the spring of 2013.
He co-created and co-devised the ITV series Perfect Scoundrels which ran for three years.
He has co-written two musicals performed at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, and Irish Theatre Company Dublin; A Happy Go Likeable Man, after Molière, and Thieves Carnival, after Anouilth.
Most recently Murray took part in the 'One City One Book' celebration Bread and Roses; Strumpet City Revisited reading extracts from the book with the RIAAM orchestra playing the theme music from the TV series conducted by the composer Proinnsias O'Duinn at Dublin Castle.{{cite web |title=Strumpet City Programme |url=https://www.dublinonecityonebook.ie/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/2013-Strumpet-City-Programme.pdf |website=DublinOneCityOneBook.ie |year=2013}}
Notable roles
- Trevor Jordache in Brookside
- Mr James Roberts in Casualty and Holby City
- Harry Fullerton in The Bill
- Shifty Boswell in Bread
- Flurry Knox in The Irish R.M.
- Harry Cassidy in Perfect Scoundrels
- Bob Fitzpatrick in Strumpet City
- Officer Doyle in Mrs. Santa Claus
- Bob Charles in Fair City
Although Murray's mainstream work increased in the eighties due to his roles of Flurry Knox in The Irish R.M. and Shifty Boswell in the BBC sitcom Bread, his role in Brookside is perhaps the well known, despite the character appearing in the show for only eleven episodes. His character, was a wife beater and a child abuser Trevor Jordache, was stabbed and killed by his wife, Mandy (Sandra Maitland), she and daughter Beth (Anna Friel) later buried his body under the patio, where it was discovered in 1995.
He portrays Bob Charles, the once owner of McCoys pub but now the owner of The Hungry Pig restaurant, in the RTÉ soap opera Fair City.{{cite book |last = Gallagher |first = Brian |date = 3 October 2005 |title = Inside Fair City |publisher = Rooney Media Graphics |isbn = 978-0955090202}}
Filmography
=Film=
| class="wikitable"
! width="33"|Year ! width="225"|Film ! width="175"| Role ! width="175"| Director ! width="175"| Notes |
| 1971
|Here Are Ladies | |Short film |
| 1977
|A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man |Lynch | |
| 1998
|The Disturbance at Dinner |Narrator |Greg Akopyan | |
| 2000
|Wonderland...It Ain't |Dad |Lawrence Kane |Short film |
| 2005
|Mr. Frears | |
| 2010
|Love on the Line |Jack |Bernadette McCarthy | |
| 2011
|10 Arenas of Marwood |Dr. Goode | |
| 2012
|A Christmas Carol | |
| 2014
|Dinner For One | |Kevin McGee |Short film |
| 2017
|Torment |John |Jason Figgis | |
| 2018
|Doctor | |
| 2019
|Henry Liddell | |
=Television=
| class="wikitable" |
| Year
!Title !Role !Notes |
|---|
| 1978
|Betzi |Barry O'Meara |Television film |
| 1979
|Nelson |11.02 "I'm a Dreamer Montreal" |
| 1980
|Fitz |Television miniseries |
| 1980
|Premiere |Private Semple |4.01 "Rifleman" |
| 1981
|Bread or Blood |Pope |1.03 "Childhood" |
| 1981
|Terry |12.05 "Iris in the Traffic, Ruby in the Rain" |
| 1982
|1.02 "Episode Two" |
| 1982
|Harry Carpenter Never Said It Was Like This | |Television film |
| 1982
|Ferdy O'Donnell |1.06 "Episode Six" |
| 1983-1985
|Flurry Knox |18 episodes |
| 1983
|Play for Today |George McQuiston |13.10 "Gates of Gold" |
| 1985
|Oscar |1.01 "Gilded Youth" |
| 1986
|Chimney Sweep |2.01 "Brelca Goes Ballooning" |
| 1988
|Ten Great Writers of the Modern World |1.01 "James Joyce's 'Ulysses'" |
| 1988
|Final Run |Michael / Danny |4 episodes |
| 1988-1991
|Shifty Boswell |49 episodes |
| 1988
|The Franchise Affair |Kevin McDermott |1.06 "Episode Six" |
| 1990-1992
|Harry Cassidy |18 episodes |
| 1996
|Officer Doyle |Television film |
| 1997
|Special Officer Paul Wellsted |13.127 "Shades of Grey: Part One" |
| 1998-1999
|Mr. James Roberts |13.13 "One from the Heart" |
| 1999
|Mr. James Roberts |1.01 "Whose Heart Is It Anyway?" |
| 1999-2000
|Mike O'Shea |17.14 "Venetia Thinks It Over" |
| 2002
|The Bill |Harry Fullerton |13 episodes |
| 2004
|Miles Carrick |4 episodes |
| 2004
|David Kelman |8.01 "A Time to Heal: Part 1" |
| 2005
|The Baby War |Connor |Television film |
| 2005-2025
|211 episodes |
| 2007
|Jean De Bellay |1.07 "Message to the Emperor" |
| 2019
|Antiques Expert |4.05 "The Vase" |
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name}}
{{RTÉ Radio 1}}
{{Fair City}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, Bryan}}
Category:Irish male soap opera actors
Category:Irish male stage actors
Category:Irish male television actors
Category:Male actors from Dublin (city)
Category:RTÉ Radio 1 presenters
Category:RTÉ television presenters
Category:20th-century Irish male actors