Most of you know I’m Northern Irish. I either told you or you guessed from my sexy accent and propensity for sudden acts of violence. So I thought I would introduce you to a few of my countrymen. Bear in mind Northern Ireland is a country with a population of 1.5 million people so there isn’t an abundance of famous actors. But the ones we did produce are some supercool sons of bitches! I’ve also provided a guide to common Northern Irish phrases with translations in the captions. Let’s begin.
5. Stephen Rea
Not the highest profile actor in the world but !a good character actor who’s been in some great films over the years. How could you forget his oscar nominated role in The Crying Game where he falls in love with a woman with a big secret. Or as a vampire in Interview with the Vampire. Probably the Belfast boy’s biggest role of late is as the detective tracking down V in V for Vendetta.
4. Kenneth Branagh
He might not have the trademark indecipherable accent but Kenneth Branagh is actually from Belfast. Famous for directing loads of Shakespeare plays and the first Thor film, Branagh is like the sensible son who left home and did well for himself with a truly respectable career. Well apart from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and casting Keanu Reeves in a Shakespeare movie.
3. Sam Neill
Neill is one of Australia’s best loved actors. Or he would be if he wasn’t technically Northern Irish. The star of Jurassic Park and the so bad its amazing Omen 3 was born in Omagh meaning we can claim him as one of ours. Neill’s family left Ulster when he was young managing to travel to the only country more backwards than Ireland. Give him back Aussies!
2. Ciaran Hinds
Big Ciaran is a character actor who has been slowly making a name for himself over the years. He’s acted in some absolutely huge film such as Munich, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, The Phantom of the Opera and There Will Be Blood among many more. Right now audience may recognise him as Manse Rayder, leader of the Wildlings, in Game of Thrones. Which is a great role for a Belfast boy as it’s an incredibly violent place with political backstabbing and a big wall to keep everyone apart.
1. Liam Neeson
Big Liam is the man. I don’t think anyone would dispute that. He’s from the cosmopolitan playground of the stars – Ballymena. What’s that? It’s a grim hellscape with two shopping centres? OK that’s more accurate. Liam is as comfortable playing Oscar Schindler as he is cracking eastern European skulls in the Taken films. Liam is the go to actor for playing a wise mentor as seen in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, Batman Begins and Kingdom of Heaven. Fun fact: Helen Mirren taught him to drive.
That’s my list. Are you fans of any of these guys? Have you been to Northern Ireland? Did you survive it? Let me know below. And if you’d like to take part in the SK Olympics and do a list like this for your home get in touch at michaelboyd185@gmail.com. I look forward to reading what you’ve all done.
Screenkicker! 
Great post, Neeson is such an excellent actor.
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Yeah I love him and I think he’s great when he does comedy. And he’s the only Actor I know with a similar accent to mine 🙂
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Michael – we’ve known each other for years. I always thought you were welsh! I don’t like you anymore.
Ps – you don’t sound like Neeson, you sound like Elmur Fudd.
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You sound like one of the Ned characters in River City
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Awesome list Mikey, Neeson is most definitely the man 😀 all badass and such!
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Yep! I was born in the same town as him!
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So THAT’S how you’re so familiar with the two shopping malls haha!
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Haha probably!
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Ciaran Hinds is my fave! Plus he’s been in an absolute ton of movies.
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Yeah he’s really cool. He always does a fantastic job and doesn’t overact
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I didn’t really know any of these guys were Irish… I’m so American sometimes! ; )
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To me, they are all some kind of Brits 🙂 (silly American me)
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Clearly Liam Neeson is a fucking god. We should all suck his dick together one day, you know, to pay tribute to his greatness. Great post!
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Well I probably wouldn’t go that far but I might shake his hand and do an impression of him from Batman Begins!
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hahaha, yeah you’re right. This might be the most overzealous comment on the internet.
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Very cool post. I learned a lot today! I thought Ken, Sam, and Neil were British. Thanks! 🙂
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I love it that everyone just knows Neeson for being an action movie star but he was nothing of the sort for, like 3/4 of his career was he. It’s only been since Taken that he has done that kind of stuff I think. Before that he was a ‘proper’ actor!
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I only know Neeson from here, but COOL LIST BRO!!! Helen Mirren taught Liam to drive? That’s awesome!
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Sorry to get to this late but…. I was killed when I was visiting there last week. You just can’t go anywhere around an Irishman these days/
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We’re a sneaky race. It’s not our fault we carry semtex and AR-15s while people from your state carry six-shooters and lassoos
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All are fantastic. No question.
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It’s a fantastic country! Well, it’s not but it produced me so it can’t be that bad 🙂
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Nice good list, it doesn’t get much better than having Liam Neeson and Kenneth Branagh representing your hometown. I have Mario Lopez, Jeremy London and RuPaul… Great just great.
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Mario Lopez?!! I’d trade all of these guys for Slater from Saved by the Bell!
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Hell yeah! One of my aunts actually went to high school with him lol. WOW yes he is so much better than Liam Neeson!
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Thanks for this fantastic post! I love all these guys, but I am especially a fan of Mr. Hinds. I’ve seen (almost) all his films and also two of his stage performances. Would love to visit Northern Ireland someday and see the Giants’ Causeway!
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Thank you so much! I never really noticed Hinds much but I think that’s because he’s a great character actor and fits each role so well. You should definitely visit here, its actually a really beautiful place 🙂
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He is indeed a great character actor. But if you watch HBO’s “Rome” you’ll definitely notice him!
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Great to see Ciaran Hinds on your list! He happens to be my favourite Mr Rochester (ITV’s Jane Eyre back in the 90s). Aways look forward to seeing his work.
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I didn’t realise how popular he is! I hadn’t seen him in much but I’m going to look out for him more
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Reblogged this on Screenkicker! and commented:
Hey littlekickers, yesterday was St Paddy’s Day so as a treat to you guys I’m recycling old material of mine. This post focuses on my home country Northern Ireland – the place where Patrick is buried. Here are my favourite actors from Ulster.
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Awesome list! I had no idea Sam Neill’s Irish! Love that you highlighted some underrated actors here, esp Ciaran Hinds. I made a top 10 list of Irish actors for last year’s St Paddy’s Day too 🙂
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Nice picks – you’ve got me thinking about the Top 5 Canadian Actors!
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Go for it! It’s probably mostly comedy actors though
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Stephen Rea knows where I live!? 😮
Naturally, I’ve been in Norn Iron a few times. Some of my favourite raver “memories” are from NI in the early-mid naughties. You guys did shit like that much better than we did.
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Yeah i told him where you live but he’s going to have to find his own spying place, i’m keeping the sweet one i’ve got.
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You’re my favourite stalker.
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Who’s Liam Neeson?
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Liam Neeson’s sketch with Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant about comedy is gold. I love that guy. The accent is also so beautiful that I want someone from NI to talk to me from the corner of a dark room while I sleep. Weirdly specific. Almost like I’ve thought of this before. Ahem.
Also, I now can’t get the image of Stephen Rea’s grisly death in Michael Collins out of my head.
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