Michael Byrne, actor in Indiana Jones and Harry Potter, dies at 82
British character actor Michael Byrne, whose six-decade career spanned stage and screen with memorable villain roles in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and Harry Potter, has died aged 82.
Death announced
British actor Michael Byrne died on 20 June 2026 at the age of 82, according to a report in The Guardian published on 30 June. No cause of death was given. Byrne's career lasted more than sixty years, with roles in some of the most commercially successful film franchises of the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
Early life and theatre training
Born in Hampstead, north London, on 7 November 1943, Byrne was the son of an Irish cook who raised him alone. He attended the Anna Freud Nursery School and later trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama, supported by the Freud Institute. In 1963 he joined the first company of the National Theatre under Laurence Olivier at the Old Vic, an experience he later described as formative. There he performed in productions such as The Recruiting Officer, The Royal Hunt of the Sun and Trelawny of the Wells, sharing the stage with Olivier, Maggie Smith and Robert Stephens.
Film career and villainous roles
Byrne became a familiar face in war films during the 1970s, appearing in The Eagle Has Landed, A Bridge Too Far and The Guns of Navarone. His most widely recognised role came in 1989 as the Nazi colonel Ernst Vogel in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, opposite Harrison Ford and Sean Connery. He later played the soldier Smythe in Braveheart (1995), Admiral Kelly in the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), and the elderly dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010). Other credits included The Omen, Apt Pupil and Gangs of New York.
Television and later work
On television, Byrne appeared in long-running British series such as Coronation Street (2008–2010) and Casualty, as well as the 2013 miniseries Lightfields. His final screen role was in the 2023 miniseries The Phoebus Files.
- Born in Hampstead, London
- Joins National Theatre company under Laurence Olivier
- Plays Colonel Vogel in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
- Appears as Smythe in Braveheart
- Plays Admiral Kelly in Tomorrow Never Dies
- Portrays elderly Grindelwald in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
- Final screen role in miniseries The Phoebus Files
- Dies at age 82
Personal life
Byrne is survived by his ex-wife, the actress Carole Nimmons, whom he married in 1965.
He also leaves two daughters, Tara and Bryony, and three grandchildren, Tom, Chloe and Jasmine.cared for him towards the end of his life.
