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Michael Byrne, famed movie villain from ‘Indiana Jones’ and ‘Braveheart,’ dead at 82
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Michael Byrne, a prolific stage and screen star who famously portrayed movie villains in “Braveheart” and “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,” has died.
He was 82.
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Byrne died on June 20, multiple outlets report. His cause of death has not been released.
Byrne is best known for his villainous role in “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,” playing the imposing and ruthless Nazi officer Col. Ernst Vogel opposite Harrison Ford and Sean Connery.
He also played Smythe in “Braveheart,” the English soldier who attempts to assault William Wallace’s wife and helps spark Wallace’s quest for Scottish independence.
More recently, Byrne portrayed the elderly dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald in “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.”
The actor also appeared in blockbusters such as the Pierce Brosnan-starring James Bond film “Tomorrow Never Dies” and Martin Scorsese’s epic “Gangs of New York,” compiling more than 150 screen credits over the course of his lengthy career.
His career spanned several decades, beginning with guest TV roles in the 1960s. He was also a long-established stage actor, having joined the National Theatre in 1964.
He is survived by his wife, actress Carole Nimmons, and their two daughters and three grandchildren.
