Gabriel Byrne recalls his first experience of cinema in Crumlin and time working as a teacher in Dublin.
Gabriel Byrne returns to The Star Cinema in Crumlin, now a snooker hall, where as a boy he got his introduction to film. He shares some memories with Michael Dwyer and recalls how he got into acting in the first place.
The Irish actor has become one of the best and the busiest in international cinema of the 1980s.
As a boy in this Crumlin cinema Gabriel Byrne never dreamt of becoming an actor. He left school at the age of 15 and became a plumber's mate. He subsequently returned to education and attended University College Dublin where he earned a degree in Archaeology and Celtic Studies. On reflection, he still does not know why he studied those subjects. He found his time at UCD found uninspiring.
It was an experience which I would not repeat if I had the chance to do it again.
While working as a teacher, he found that the Irish education system beat any curiosity or sense of wonder out of you. Despite a continuing love of movies and the theatre, he never thought it possible to earn a living as an actor. As a teacher he saw the possibility of teaching language through drama and the idea of becoming an actor dawned on him. He set up a drama class after school and the students wrote and put on their own plays. Against the advice of colleagues, Gabriel Byrne quit the teaching job to pursue a career as an actor.
You're going to really regret this. This is going to be one of the biggest mistakes of your life.
This episode of 'Freeze Frame' was broadcast on 11 January 1988. The presenter was Michael Dwyer.
'Freeze Frame' was a Bridgetown production for RTÉ.
