Early life

He was born in Omagh, County Tyrone, and after attending a Christian Brothers school in his hometown he attended St. Columb's College in Derry. He then attended Queen's University, Belfast, where he was taught by Seamus Heaney. He currently resides in Gweedore, County Donegal. He is a descendant of John McSorley, who opened McSorley's Old Ale House, the oldest operating pub in New York.

Career

He spent much of his early career working in theatre, notably at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin. After playing Michael Evans in the original West End and Broadway productions of Brian Friel's play Dancing at Lughnasa in the early 1990s, McSorley started to attract more TV and movie roles. He has appeared in many Hollywood movies including Braveheart (in which his character "Cheltham" was decapitated by William Wallace at the battle of Stirling) and In the Name of the Father. One of his most celebrated performances was his lead role in Omagh, a feature-length television drama depicting the effect of the Omagh bombing on the residents of the town. He is also known for playing "Father Todd Unctious" in the Christmas special episode ("A Christmassy Ted") of the Channel 4 sitcom Father Ted. His film credits include The Constant Gardener, and he was also cast as Queenan in The Departed but had to pull out (Martin Sheen took over the role). McSorley most recently played the role of Robert Aske in the Showtime historical drama The Tudors. He appeared in the 2010 movie Robin Hood, directed by Ridley Scott and starring Russell Crowe.

Filmography

• SOS Titanic (1979)
• Angel (1982)
• Withdrawal (1982)
• Taffin (1988)
• In the Name of the Father (1993)
• Widows' Peak (1994)
• Words Upon the Window Pane (1994)
• Nothing Personal (1995)
• Braveheart (1995)
• An Awfully Big Adventure (1995)
• Moondance (1995)
• Michael Collins (1996)
• Some Mother's Son (1996)
• The Boxer (1997)
• The Butcher Boy (1997)
• The Serpent's Kiss (1997)
• Felicia's Journey (1997)
• Dancing at Lughnasa (1998)
• Angela's Ashes (1999)
• Agnes Browne (1999)
• Ordinary Decent Criminal (2000)
• On The Edge (2001)
• Do Armed Robbers Have Love Affairs? (2001)
• Bloody Sunday (2002)
• Dead Bodies (2003)
• Veronica Guerin (2003)- Nominated for a 2003 Irish Film and Television Award for Best Supporting Actor
• The Wayfarer (2003)
• The Constant Gardener (2004)
• Inside I'm Dancing (2004)
• The Halo Effect (2004)
• Omagh (2004)- Won an 2004 Irish Film and Television Award for Best Actor
• The Front Line (2006)
• Middletown (2006) - Nominated for a 2007 Irish Film and Television Award for Best Supporting Actor
• Tell It To The Fishes (2006)
• Hesitation (2007)
• Rip & the Preacher (2008)
• Mr Crocodile in the Cupboard (2008)
• Anton (2008) - Nominated for a 2009 Irish Film and Television Award for Best Supporting Actor
• Swansong: Story of Occi Byrne (2009)
• Wide Open Spaces (2009)
• Town Creek (2009)
• Robin Hood (2010 film) (2010)
• War Horse (2011)
• Bayonet (2012)

TV roles

• Play for Tomorrow (1982)
• The Irish R.M. (1984)
• Bergerac (1985)
• Lapsed Catholics (1987)
• The Rockingham Shoot (1987)
• Act of Betrayal (1988)
• The Investigation: Inside a Terrorist Bombing (1990)
• Shakespeare: The Animated Tales (1994)
• The Hanging Gale (1995)
• Runway One (1995)
• Kidnapped (1995)
• The Governor (1995)
• A Christmassy Ted (1996)
• Making The Cut (1998)
• Vicious Circle (1999)
• Teenage Cics (2006)
• Damage (2007)
• Striapacha (2008)
• The Tudors (2009)
• The Savage Eye (2009)

[ Source: Wikipedia ]