St. Patrick’s Day is almost upon us – the second St. Paddy’s we’ll be spending completely solo (and hopefully the last). While we can still dress up in green and pour ourselves limitless whiskey, our March 17 festivities just aren’t the same without friends. That’s why we turn to Irish actors for comfort.
We don’t know any Celtic celebs personally, but we feel like we do thanks to their emotional, intense performances on the silver screen. So instead of real humans, who could very well still be shedding Covid, we’ll be sharing the Irish-heritage holiday with actors from the Emerald Isle. To that end, we’ve ranked 10 such entertainers and provided you with a short-list of each of their best films. Happy bingeing, everybody, and here’s hoping we can all get drunk on green beer together on St. Paddy’s Day next year.
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Irish Actors
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10. Jonathan Rhys Meyers
Birthplace: Drimnagh, Dublin, Ireland
Recommended Movies: Bend it Like Beckham, Match Point, Mission Impossible: III, Prozac Nation, Velvet Goldmine
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9. Evanna Lynch
Birthplace: Termonfeckin, Ireland
Recommended Movies: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, My Name Is Emily
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8. Chris O'Dowd
Birthplace: Boyle, Ireland
Recommended Movies: This Is 40, The Sapphires, Bridesmaids, Molly’s Game, Juliet, Naked
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7. Cillian Murphy
Birthplace: Douglas, Ireland
Recommended Movies: The Dark Knight, Dunkirk, Red Eye, Inception, 28 Days Later
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6. Kenneth Branagh
Birthplace: Belfast, Northern Ireland
Recommended Movies: Hamlet, Much Ado About Nothing, Henry V, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Murder on the Orient Express
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5. Pierce Brosnan
Birthplace: Drogheda, Ireland
Recommended Movies: Goldeneye, Ghost Writer, Mister Johnson, The Matador, The Thomas Crown Affair
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4. Liam Neeson
Birthplace: Ballymena, Northern Ireland
Recommended Movies: Schindler’s List, Kinsey, The Grey, Michael Collins, Rob Roy
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3. Saoirse Ronan
Birthplace: The Bronx, New York, NY (but both parents are from Dublin)
Recommended Movies: Brooklyn, Lady Bird, Little Women, Ammonite, Mary Queen of Scots
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2. Gabriel Byrne
Birthplace: Walkinstown, Dublin, Ireland
Recommended Movies: The Usual Suspects, Miller’s Crossing, Into the West, Excalibur, Frankie Starlight
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1. Colin Farrell
Birthplace: Castleknock, Ireland
Recommended Movies: In Bruges, The Lobster, Phone Booth, The New World, Tigerland
