Antony Byrne

Antony Byrne (born 19 June 1969) is an English actor, best known for his extensive stage work with the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC). On television, he is known for his roles in the Disney+ series Rivals, the Netflix series The Witcher (2019), the Starz series Outlander (2014). Since 2009, Byrne has provided the voice and motion capture for numerous video game characters, including Victor Gideon in Resident Evil: Requiem (2026).

Early life and education Antony Byrne was born on June 19, 1969, in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. There was no theatrical background to his family, but Byrne always wanted to perform on stage. After graduating from Whitley Bay High School, he successfully auditioned and did three years’ training at the Central School of Speech and Drama. After a season at the Crucible, Byrne performed with the Royal National Theatre and Bolton Octagon. In 1995, Byrne joined Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) and did two plays in that season: he worked with Peter Hall on Julius Caesar, and he worked with Katie Mitchell on The Phoenician Women.

Byrne has played a wide range of Shakespearean roles, including Cinna and Lucilius in Julius Caesar, Aria and Oedipus in The Phoenician Women, Agrippa and Antony in Antony and Cleopatra, Sebastian in The Tempest, Duke of Montfort and King David in Edward III, Malvolio in Twelfth Night, King Henry VIII in Henry VIII, Macduff and Macbeth in Macbeth, Mowbray in Richard II, Worcester and Pistol in Henry IV, Pistol in Henry V, Earl of Kent in King Lear, Duke Senior and Duke Frederick in As You Like It, Duke of Vienna in Measure for Measure. Kate Kellaway of The Guardian praised his performance, stating: "Byrne’s Antony is an ordinary, erring, henpecked bloke, but when he leaves Cleopatra, promising to be a “man of steel”, he sounds, movingly, like a man of flesh, and I have seldom witnessed a more horribly realistic death on stage."

Byrne's major theatre credits also include Bassanio in The Merchant Of Venice, Parthenius in The Roman Actor, Piniero in The Island Princess, Dad in Skellig, Jerry in Betrayal, Martin in Rutherford and Son, Dr. Treves in The Elephant Man, Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights, Charley Malloy in On the Waterfront, Agamemnon in After Troy, John Bailey and Dr Gibbons in Bracken Moor.

Television In 1992, Byrne made his debut on television as Duncan in the ITV series Heartbeat. In 1994, he played Ginger Slater in the miniseries The Cinder Path, based on the novel of the same name by Catherine Cookson.

Byrne has appeared in numerous British television series, including The Inspector Alleyn Mysteries, Spender, Prime Suspect, Touching Evil, The Bill, Casualty, Playing the Field, 55 Degrees North, Doctors, The Royal, Timewatch, Midsomer Murders, Single-Handed, Emmerdale Farm, Silent Witness,The Suspicions of Mr Whicher, Coronation Street, Vera, Law & Order: UK, Jericho, Grace, Trigger Point. Back in 2011, Byrne voiced King Foltest in The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings.

In 2022, Byrne took the role of Hiram Crombie in the Starz series Outlander. In the Outlander novel, A Breath of Snow and Ashes, Hiram acts as an unofficial spokesperson for the families from Thurso.

In 2023, Byrne was cast as an unscrupulous enforcer Ginger Baines in the Disney+ series Rivals (2024), based on the 1988 novel Rivals by Jilly Cooper, alongside a cast that included David Tennant, Alex Hassell and Nafessa Williams. In June 2026, Rivals was renewed for a third season.

Film In film, Byrne's roles have tended to be smaller supporting parts. In 2006, he played the chilling role of a British interrogator in The Wind That Shakes the Barley. and King Oswald in Ryse: Son of Rome. His other notable voice acting roles include King Foltest in The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, Vaudin in A Plague Tale: Requiem, Officer Bradley in Call of Cthulhu, Calhoun in Vampyr, Biggs in Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward and Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers. 1993 Macbeth First Murderer Richard Eyre Royal National Theatre National Theatre, Olivier Theatre, London 1994 Time And The Conways Gerald Thornton Lawrence Till Octagon Theatre Octagon Theatre, Bolton 1994 Blood Wedding Leonardo Lawrence Till Octagon Theatre Octagon Theatre, Bolton 1995 Macbeth Witch/Seyton Lawrence Till Octagon Theatre Octagon Theatre, Bolton 1995-1996 The Phoenician Women Aria / Oedipus Katie Mitchell Royal Shakespeare Company The Pit, London; Gulbenkian Studio, Newcastle upon Tyne 1997 Jane Eyre Brocklehurst / Lord Ingram / Pilot the Dog / St. John Rivers Polly Teale Shared Experience Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich; Cambridge Arts Theatre, and touring 1998 The Alchemical Wedding Edward Kelly Jonathan Church Salisbury Arts Theatre Ltd Salisbury Playhouse 1999-2000 Antony and Cleopatra Agrippa Steven Pimlott Royal Shakespeare Company Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon; Barbican Theatre, London; Theatre Royal, Newcastle upon Tyne; Theatre Royal, Plymouth 2005 Rutherford and Son Martin Sarah Frankcom Royal Exchange, Manchester Royal Exchange, Manchester 2007 Macbeth Macduff Ian Brown Leeds Playhouse Leeds Playhouse 2007 Macbeth Macbeth Edward Kemp New Shakespeare Company Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, London 2008 The Elephant Man Dr Treves Ellie Jones Sheffield Theatres Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield, and touring 2008 Wuthering Heights Heathcliff Indhu Rubasingham Birmingham Repertory Company and The Touring Consortium Birmingham Repertory Theatre 2009 On the Waterfront Charley Malloy Steven Berkoff Nottingham Playhouse and East Productions Theatre Royal Haymarket, London 2015-2016 Henry V Pistol Gregory Doran Royal Shakespeare Company Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon; Barbican Theatre, London 2017-2018 Antony and Cleopatra Antony Iqbal Khan Royal Shakespeare Company Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon; Barbican Theatre, London 2019-2020 Measure for Measure Duke of Vienna Gregory Doran Royal Shakespeare Company Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon; Barbican Theatre, London Other