John Lynch Biography

John Lynch (born 26 December 1961) is an Irish actor and novelist.

Biography

John Lynch was born in Corrinshego, County Armagh, Ireland, near Newry, County Down. He attended St Colman's College, Newry. He began acting in Irish language-medium plays at school during the early years of the conflict in Northern Ireland. He is the eldest of five children of an Irish father and an Italian mother from Trivento (Campobasso). His younger sister Susan is also an actress.

Lynch is also a novelist. His first novel, Torn Water, was published in November 2005 by the Fourth Estate, a literary imprint of Harper and Collins, and his second, Falling Out of Heaven, was published on 13 May 2010 by the same publisher. He separated from Mary McGuckian, in 2008 and the marriage was annulled mid-2012.

Acting career

Lynch has appeared in numerous films related to Northern Ireland's problems, among others, such as Cal (1984) with Helen Mirren, In the Name of the Father (1993), with Daniel Day-Lewis, The Railway Station Man (1992), with Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland, Nothing Personal and Some Mother's Son (1996), also with Mirren, as well as the Irish-themed film Evelyn (2002).

He starred as a supporting actor in Derek Jarman's Edward II (1991), as Lord Craven in Agnieska Holland's film of The Secret Garden (1993), as Tadhg in The Secret of Roan Inish (1994), and as "Gerry" in Sliding Doors (1998).

Lynch played the part of football legend George Best in the 2000 film Best. He played the lead in the Australian feature Angel Baby, winning the Australian Film Institute award for best leading actor and the Australian Film Critics award for best actor of 1995. He was nominated for a Satellite Film Award for the film Moll Flanders in 1996. He worked with acclaimed Belgian director Marion Hansel on her adaptation of Booker-nominated author Damon Galgut's novel, The Quarry (also known as La Faille; 1998), which won Best Film at the Montreal Film Festival. He won Best Actor for the lead role in Best at the Fort Lauderdale Film Festival in 2000. He wrote and co-produced the film.

He was nominated for a BAFTA for Cal as well as for an Irish Film and Television Award for his role in The Baby War. He starred in Five Day Shelter as Stephen; the film won a European Film Award and was in competition at the Rome Film Festival. More recently, he played the lead in Craig Vivieros' first feature film, the prison drama Ghosted. He played the role of Wollfstan in Black Death, and appeared in the 2012 film version of Michael Morpurgo's novel, Private Peaceful.

Selected filmography

• Cal (1984) as Cal
• Hardware (1990) as Shades
• 1871 (1990) as O'Brien
• Making Out (1990; TV episode, as Gavin)
• Chimera (1991; TV) as Peter Carson
• Edward II (1991) as Spencer
• The Railway Station Man (1992) as Damian Sweeney
• The Secret Garden (1993) as Lord Craven
• Peak Practice (1993) TV episode "Impulsive Behavior" as Father Davey
• In the Name of the Father (1993) as Paul Hill
• Words Upon the Window Pane (1994) as John Corbet
• The Secret of Roan Inish (1994) as Tadgh
• Princess Caraboo (1994) as Amon McCarthy
• Angel Baby (1995) as Harry
• Nothing Personal (1995) as Liam
• Some Mother's Son (1996) as Bobby Sands
• Moll Flanders (1996; nominated Best Supporting Actor - Satellite Awards) as Jonathan (the Artist)
• This Is the Sea (1997) as Padhar McAliskey
• Sliding Doors (1998) as Gerry
• Best (1999) as "George Best"
• Boston Public (2002; TV episode "Chapter Thirty-One") as Jerry
• Puckoon (2002) as O'Brien
• Evelyn (2002) as Senior Counsel Mr. Wolfe
• Conspiracy of Silence (2003) as Father Matthew Francis
• Alien Hunter (2003) as Dr. Michael Straub
• The Bridge of San Luis Rey (2004) as Captain Alvarado
• Isolation (2005) as Dan
• Bleak House (2005; TV) as Nemo
• Lassie (2005) as Sam Carraclough
• The Yellow House (2007; TV) as Paul Gauguin
• In Tranzit (2007) as Yakov
• The Passion (2008; TV series) as Sagan
• Merlin (2009, 2012) as Balinor
• Silent Witness (2009; TV series) as Tom Flannery
• Holy Water (2009)
• Black Death (2010) as Wolfstan
• The Nativity as The Archangel Gabriel
• The Jury (2011; TV series) as Alan Lane
• The Hot Potato (2011) as Bill and Ben
• Labyrinth (2012; TV miniseries) as Simon de Montfort
• Private Peaceful (film) as Sergeant Hanley
• Mbius (2012) as Joshua
• The Fall (2013-present) as Assistant Chief Constable Jim Burns
• The Musketeers (2014) as Luca Sestini
• The Hybrid (2014) as Powell