Early life

Patrick Bergin grew up with a working class upbringing in the Drimnagh district of Dublin, Ireland. Bergin learned social responsibility from his father Paddy Bergin, a Labour Party politician who had once studied to be a priest with the Holy Ghost Fathers in Blackrock, Ireland. He is one of five sons (Pearse, Emmet, Patrick, Connolly and James Bergin). Bergin left Dublin for London in 1973; and by the time he was 17 he was in London running a theatre group. Bergin worked on building sites and at a library. He studied at night and completed a degree in education from North London Polytechnic. Bergin worked as an English teacher for several years before forming his own theatrical company because no one else would have him.

In 1980, Bergin decided to pursue acting full-time and he found work in repertory theatre. For much of the Nineties it seemed like no one in Hollywood would have him. So he made his own way; he worked in diverse films such as a trilogy of Yeats plays; Morphine and Dolly Mixtures, for which he won a Welsh Best Actor Award and Durango, based on John B Keane's novel; hosting TnaG's Silín Draíochta; and narrating Patrick Cassidy's Famine Concert. After Sleeping with the Enemy (1991), his reputation grew and he was offered the role of Robin Hood with Uma Thurman. He describes 1996 as the lowest point in his career, a time when he rarely received any phone calls for movie roles.

Acting

He may be best-known internationally for playing the menacing husband of Julia Roberts' character in the thriller Sleeping with the Enemy and is also known for his role as Irish terrorist Kevin O'Donnell in the film adaption of Patriot Games. Bergin also appeared as Robin Hood in a 1991 TV film. In 2013 he played notorious Glasgow gangster Arthur 'The Godfather' Thompson in The Wee Man.

Music

Currently, he leads Patrick Bergin and the Spirit Merchants. Bergin had a top 10 hit in Ireland with the song "The Knacker", which tells the story of a person who recycles horse carcasses and turns them into glue. He also appeared in the video of DJ Steve Mac's song "Paddy's Revenge".

Charity work

In 1993, Bergin bought an old church in Tipperary and converted it into a poetry centre. Bergin 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 boy, Ben Smyth, Bergin participated in setting up a special fund to sponsor young kids from Tallaght.

Personal life

In the early 1980s, at a wedding, he met his future wife, Paula Frazier, a British woman of Afro-Caribbean descent. Bergin and Frazier married in Trinidad and Tobago in 1992. They have a daughter named Tatiana (called Tea). Bergin and his wife are currently separated.

Filmography

• Taffin (1988) as Mo Taffin
• Act of Betrayal (1988) as Michael McGurk
• Mountains of the Moon (1990) as Richard Francis Burton
• Sleeping with the Enemy (1991) as Martin Burney
• Robin Hood (1991) as Robin Hood
• Highway to Hell (1991) as Beezle
• Patriot Games (1992) as Kevin O'Donnell
• Frankenstein (1992) as Dr. Victor Frankenstein
• The Hummingbird Tree (1992) as Stephen Holmes
• Map of the Human Heart (1993) as Walter Russell
• They (1993) as Mark Samuels
• The Lawnmower Man 2: Beyond Cyberspace (1996) as Dr. Benjamin Trace
• The Ripper (1997) as Inspector Jim Hansen
• The Island on Bird Street (1997) as Stefan
• The Lost World (1998) as George Challenger
• Eye of the Beholder (1999) as Alexander Leonard
• Durango (1999) as Fergus Mullaney
• Treasure Island (1999) as Billy Bones
• Promise Her Anything (1999) as Vernon Fry
• When the Sky Falls (2000) as Mackey
• St. Patrick: The Irish Legend (2000) as Patrick
• Amazons and Gladiators (2001) as Crassius
• Devil's Prey (2001) as Minister Seth
• Jewel (2001) as Leston Hilbur
• Beneath Loch Ness (2001) as Blay
• High Explosive (2001) as Jack Randall
• Dracula (2002) as Dracula
• King of Texas (2002) as Mr. Highsmith
• Bloom (2003) as the Citizen
• The Boys from County Clare (2003) as Padjo
• Ella Enchanted (2004) as Sir Peter
• Icon (2005) as Igor Komarov
• Johnny Was (2006) as Flynn
• Played (2006) as Riley
• Secret of the Cave (2006) as Patrick Wallace
• Ghostwood (2007) as Friar Paul
• Eva (2010) as Oswald
• Perfect Day (2011) as Rick's Father
• Gallowwalkers (2012) as Marshall Gaza
• Songs for Amy (2012) as Patrick Flynn
• The Wee Man (2013) as Arthur Thompson
• Age of Kill (2015) as Sir Alistair Montcrief

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Result	Work
1992	BAFTA Cymru	Best Actor (Yr Actor Gorau)	Won	Screen Two
1992	Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films	Best Actor in a Supporting Role in Television	Nominated	Sleeping with the Enemy

[ Source: Wikipedia ]