John Lynch is an Irish actor and novelist. He won the AFI (AACTA) Award for Best Actor for the 1995 film '' Angel Baby''. His other film and television appearances include ''

Cal Cal or CAL may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Cal'' (novel), a 1983 novel by Bernard MacLaverty * "Cal" (short story), a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov * ''Cal'' (1984 film), an Irish drama starring John Lynch and Helen Mir ...

'' (1984), ''

The Secret Garden ''The Secret Garden'' is a children's novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett first published in book form in 1911, after serialisation in ''The American Magazine'' (November 1910 – August 1911). Set in England, it is seen as a classic of English c ...

'' (1993), '' In the Name of the Father'' (1993), '' Sliding Doors'' (1998), '' The Fall'' (2013–2016), ''

Medici The House of Medici ( , ; ) was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first consolidated power in the Republic of Florence under Cosimo de' Medici and his grandson Lorenzo "the Magnificent" during the first half of the 15th ...

'' (2019), '' The Head'' (2020–2024), '' The Banishing'' (2021), and '' Blue Lights'' (2023). Lynch has also written two novels, ''Torn Water'' (2005) and ''Falling Out of Heaven'' (2010).

Early life

Lynch was born in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

to an Irish father, Fin Lynch, and an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

mother, Rosina Pavone, better known as Rose. His mother was from Trivento, a town in the

Province of Campobasso The province of Campobasso (; ) is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Molise region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Campobasso. It covers an area of and has a total population of 223,871 (2017). There are 84 ''comuni'' (: ''comune'') in ...

Molise Molise ( , ; ; , ) is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. Until 1963, it formed part of the region of Abruzzi e Molise together with Abruzzo. The split, which did not become effective until 1970, makes Molise the newest region in Ital ...

Southern Italy Southern Italy (, , or , ; ; ), also known as () or (; ; ; ), is a macroregion of Italy consisting of its southern Regions of Italy, regions. The term "" today mostly refers to the regions that are associated with the people, lands or cultu ...

. His parents met in London, where his mother was a teacher. He is the eldest of five children, and was raised as a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. In 1968, when he was seven years old, his family moved to the

townland A townland (; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a traditional small land division used in Ireland and in the Western Isles of Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of medieval Gaelic origin, predating the Norman invasion, and mo ...

of Corrinshego, where his father was from, in

County Armagh County Armagh ( ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It is located in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and adjoins the southern shore of Lough Neagh. It borders t ...

. Corrinshego, where he spent the rest of his childhood and teenage years, is on the western outskirts of

Newry Newry (; ) is a City status in Ireland, city in Northern Ireland, standing on the Newry River, Clanrye river in counties County Down, Down and County Armagh, Armagh. It is near Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border, the border with the ...

.''Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television'', vol 52 (2003), Gale, Detroit Lynch later attended St. Colman's College in Newry. He began acting in

Irish language Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous ...

plays at school during the early years of

The Troubles The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...

in Northern Ireland. His sister

Susan Lynch Susan Lynch (born 1971) is an actress from Northern Ireland. She is known for her role in the 2003 film '' 16 Years of Alcohol''. Her other film appearances include '' Waking Ned Devine'' (1998), '' Nora'' (2000), '' Beautiful Creatures'' (200 ...

and his nephew Thomas Finnegan are also actors.

Career

Lynch has appeared in numerous films related to Northern Ireland's problems. These include ''

'' (1984) with

Helen Mirren Dame Helen Mirren (; born Ilyena Lydia Vasilievna Mironov; 26 July 1945) is an English actor. With a career spanning over six decades of Helen Mirren on screen and stage, screen and stage, List of awards and nominations received by Helen Mirre ...

, for which he was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles, '' The Railway Station Man'' (1992) with Julie Christie and

Donald Sutherland Donald McNichol Sutherland (17 July 1935 – 20 June 2024) was a Canadian actor. With a career spanning six decades, he received List of awards and nominations received by Donald Sutherland, numerous accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award ...

, '' In the Name of the Father'' (1993) with

Daniel Day-Lewis Sir Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis (born 29 April 1957) is an English actor. Often described as one of the greatest actors in the history of cinema, he is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Daniel Day-Lewis, numerous a ...

, '' Nothing Personal'' (1995) and '' Some Mother's Son'' (1996), also with Mirren, as well as the Irish-themed film '' Evelyn'' (2002). In ''Some Mother's Son'', he played the role of

Irish Republican Irish republicanism () is the political movement for an Irish republic, void of any British rule. Throughout its centuries of existence, it has encompassed various tactics and identities, simultaneously elective and militant and has been both w ...

hunger strike leader Bobby Sands. He was a supporting actor in Derek Jarman's '' Edward II'' (1991), as Lord Craven in Agnieska Holland's film ''

'' (1993), as Tadhg in '' The Secret of Roan Inish'' (1994), and as Gerry in '' Sliding Doors'' (1998). Lynch played the lead in the Australian feature '' Angel Baby'', winning the

Australian Film Institute The Australian Film Institute (AFI) was founded in 1958 as a non-profit organisation devoted to developing an active film culture in Australia and fostering engagement between the general public and the Cinema of Australia, Australian film indu ...

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 ''Moll Flanders'' is a novel by Daniel Defoe, first published in 1722. It purports to be the true account of the life of the eponymous Moll, detailing her exploits from birth until old age. By 1721, Defoe had become a recognised novelist, wit ...

'' in 1996. He worked with acclaimed Belgian director Marion Hänsel on her adaptation of

Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a prestigious literary award conferred each year for the best single work of sustained fiction written in the English language, wh ...

-nominated author Damon Galgut's novel, ''The Quarry'' (also known as ''La Faille''; 1998), which won Best Film at the

Montreal World Film Festival The Montreal World Film Festival (), commonly abbreviated MWFF in English or FFM in French, was an annual film festival in Montreal, Quebec, Canada from 1977 to 2019.George Best George Best (22 May 1946 – 25 November 2005) was a Northern Irish professional association football, footballer who played as a winger (association football), winger, spending most of his club career at Manchester United F.C., Manchester Un ...

in the 2000 film ''

Best Best or The Best may refer to: People * Best (surname), people with the surname Best * Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer Companies and organizations * Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain * Best Lock Corporatio ...

''. He won Best Actor for his role in ''Best'' at the Fort Lauderdale Film Festival in 2000. He wrote and co-produced the film. In 2005, Lynch was nominated for an IFTA for his role in ''The Baby War''. He starred in ''Five Day Shelter'' as Stephen, which won a European Film Award and was in competition at the

Rome Film Festival International Rome Film Fest is a film festival that takes place in Rome during the month of October. The name in Italian is Festa del Cinema di Roma. From 2022, the festival was officially recognized as a competitive festival by the Internation ...

. In 2011, he played the lead in Craig Vivieros' first feature film, the prison drama '' Ghosted''. He played the role of Wollfstan in ''

Black Death The Black Death was a bubonic plague pandemic that occurred in Europe from 1346 to 1353. It was one of the list of epidemics, most fatal pandemics in human history; as many as people perished, perhaps 50% of Europe's 14th century population. ...

'', and appeared in the 2012 film version of

Michael Morpurgo Sir Michael Andrew Bridge Morpurgo ('' né'' Bridge; 5 October 1943) is an English book author, poet, playwright, and librettist who is known best for children's novels such as '' War Horse'' (1982). His work is noted for its "magical storytelli ...

's novel, '' Private Peaceful''. Lynch is also a novelist. His first novel, ''Torn Water'', was published in November 2005 by 4th Estate, a literary imprint of

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...

. His second, ''Falling Out of Heaven'', was released on May 2010 by the same publisher.

Personal life

Lynch married film-maker Mary McGuckian in 1997, having met her on the set of '' Words Upon the Window Pane'' a few years earlier. They separated in 2008 and later divorced.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lynch, John 20th-century male actors from Northern Ireland 21st-century male actors from Northern Ireland Living people Male film actors from Northern Ireland Male stage actors from Northern Ireland Male television actors from Northern Ireland Male novelists from Northern Ireland People educated at St Colman's College, Newry People from Newry People from Northern Ireland of Italian descent People of Molisan descent Best Actor AACTA Award winners Actors from County Armagh Year of birth missing (living people)