Patrick Connolly Bergin (born 4 February 1951) is an Irish actor and singer. In 1991, he starred opposite
Julia Roberts
Julia Fiona Roberts (born October 28, 1967) is an American actress. Known for her leading roles across various genres, she has received multiple accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and three Golden Globe Award ...
in ''
Sleeping with the Enemy'' and played the title character in ''
Robin Hood
Robin Hood is a legendary noble outlaw, heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature, theatre, and cinema. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions o ...
''. His other roles include terrorist Kevin O'Donnell in ''
Patriot Games'' (1992) and the villainous
Aidan Maguire in the BBC soap opera ''
EastEnders
''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the ...
'' (2017–2018).
Early life
Bergin was born in
Dublin
Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
, where he grew up in
Drimnagh. His father,
Paddy Bergin, was a
Labour Party politician
who once studied to be a priest with the
Holy Ghost Fathers in
Blackrock
BlackRock, Inc. is an American Multinational corporation, multinational investment company. Founded in 1988, initially as an enterprise risk management and fixed income institutional asset manager, BlackRock is the world's largest asset manager ...
, Ireland.
Patrick was one of four sons and one daughter (Pearse, Emmet, Patrick, Allen and Siobhan Bergin).
He left Dublin for London in 1973,
and by the time he was 17 he was in London running a theatre company.
He worked on building sites and at a library.
He studied at night and completed an education degree from North London Polytechnic (later the
University of North London
The University of North London (UNL) was a university in London, England, formed from the Polytechnic of North London (PNL) in 1992 when that institution was granted university status. PNL, in turn, had been formed by the amalgamation of the No ...
).
He was an English teacher for several years, then formed his own theatrical company because "no one else would have him".
His brother
Emmet Bergin also became an actor, best known for playing Dick Moran in the soap opera ''
Glenroe'' for its full 1983–2001 run.
Career
In 1980, Bergin decided to pursue acting full-time and found work in
repertory theatre
A repertory theatre, also called repertory, rep, true rep or stock, which are also called producing theatres, is a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation.
United Kingdom ...
.
He played the explorer Sir Richard Francis Burton in ''
Mountains of the Moon'' (1990) and followed this with diverse acting roles, including a trilogy of
Yeats plays; ''
Morphine and Dolly Mixtures'', for which he won a BAFTA Cymru Award for Best Actor; ''
Durango
Durango, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Durango, is one of the 31 states which make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in the northwest portion of the country. With a population of 1,832,650 ...
'', based on
John B Keane's novel; hosting
TnaG's ''Suilín Draíochta''; and narrating
Patrick Cassidy's ''Famine Remembrance''.
Bergin played the menacing husband of
Julia Roberts
Julia Fiona Roberts (born October 28, 1967) is an American actress. Known for her leading roles across various genres, she has received multiple accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and three Golden Globe Award ...
' character in the thriller ''
Sleeping with the Enemy'' (1991). In the same year he portrayed the
title character
The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piëce. The title o ...
in ''
Robin Hood
Robin Hood is a legendary noble outlaw, heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature, theatre, and cinema. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions o ...
'', opposite
Uma Thurman
Uma Karuna Thurman (born April 29, 1970) is an American actress. She has performed in a variety of films, from romantic comedies and dramas to science fiction and action films. Following her appearances on the December 1985 and May 1986 cover ...
as
Maid Marian
Maid Marian is the heroine of the Robin Hood legend in English folklore, often taken to be his lover. She is not mentioned in the early, medieval versions of the legend, but was the subject of at least two plays by 1600. Her history and circums ...
.
Bergin is also known for his role as Irish terrorist Kevin O'Donnell in the film adaptation of
Tom Clancy
Thomas Leo Clancy Jr. (April 12, 1947 – October 1, 2013) was an American novelist. He is best known for his technically detailed espionage and military science, military-science storylines set during and after the Cold War. Seventeen of ...
's ''
Patriot Games'' (1992). He described 1996 as the lowest point in his career, a time when he rarely received any calls for film roles.
In 2013 he appeared in the Scottish film ''
The Wee Man'' playing notorious Glasgow gangster Arthur 'The Godfather' Thompson. He joined the BBC soap opera ''
EastEnders
''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the ...
'' towards the end of 2017, departing in March 2018.
Music
Bergin leads the band Patrick Bergin and the Spirit Merchants. They had a top 10 hit in Ireland with their song "The Knacker", released in 2003, which tells the story of a person who recycles horse
carcasses and turns them into
glue
Adhesive, also known as glue, cement, mucilage, or paste, is any non-metallic substance applied to one or both surfaces of two separate items that binds them together and resists their separation.
The use of adhesives offers certain advantage ...
. As a singer, Bergin collaborated with
Vlad DeBriansky and appeared on his album ''Jacks Last Dollar''.
He also appeared in the video of DJ
Steve Mac
Steve McCutcheon (born 15 January 1972), known professionally as Steve Mac, is a British record producer, songwriter and musician. A multi-award-winning producer, he is one of the most prolific songwriters and record producers in modern Briti ...
's song "Paddy's Revenge".
Bergin was onstage singing the
Leonard Cohen
Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian songwriter, singer, poet, and novelist. Themes commonly explored throughout his work include faith and mortality, isolation and depression, betrayal and redemption, soc ...
song "
Anthem
An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to sho ...
" as
Pope Francis
Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...
, on
his visit to Ireland, arrived in
Croke Park
Croke Park (, ) is a Gaelic games stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Named after Archbishop Thomas Croke, it is referred to as Croker by GAA fans and locals. It serves as both the principal national stadium of Ireland and headquarters of the Gaelic At ...
for the Festival of Families as part of the
World Meeting of Families 2018.
Charity work
In 1993, Bergin bought an old church in
County Tipperary
County Tipperary () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary (tow ...
and converted it into a poetry centre. He explained: "I've recently come to feel I can encourage children and teenagers with their writing.
I'm continually giving groups money to make videos, but I insist that they have a good script. I do it because it makes the difference between them doing a video or not. It doesn't cost a lot, and it gives kids an incredible boost of confidence."
In 1998, in response to the murder of a 14-year-old
Tallaght
Tallaght ( ; , ) is a southwestern outer suburb of Dublin, Ireland. The central village area was the site of a monastic settlement from at least the 8th century, which became one of medieval Ireland's more important monastic centres.
Up to th ...
boy, Ben Smyth, Bergin helped to establish a special fund to sponsor young children from Tallaght.
Personal life
At a wedding in the early 1980s, Bergin met his future wife, Paula Frazier. They married in
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...
in 1992. They have a daughter.
After their divorce, Bergin began dating Helen Goldin.
Filmography
Film
Television
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bergin, Patrick
1951 births
Living people
20th-century Irish male actors
21st-century Irish male actors
Alumni of the University of North London
Irish male film actors
Irish male stage actors
Irish male television actors
Male actors from Dublin (city)
People from Cloughjordan
Teachers of English