British actor Michael Byrne dies at 82

Michael Byrne, a veteran British actor whose career spanned more than six decades across stage, television, and film, has died. He was 82. Byrne passed away on June 20, according to reports. No cause of death has been made public.

Byrne was best known to international audiences for memorable villainous roles in major Hollywood franchises. He played the ruthless Nazi Colonel Vogel in "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" (1989) and portrayed the elderly dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1" (2010). His filmography also included the Oscar-winning "Braveheart" (1995), where he played a nationalist soldier, and the James Bond film "Tomorrow Never Dies" (1997). Other notable credits included "The Good Father," "Apt Pupil," "Gangs of New York," and "The Eagle Has Landed."

Born in London on November 7, 1943, Byrne's professional roots were firmly in the theatre. He began his career in the early 1960s as a member of Laurence Olivier's inaugural National Theatre Company at London's Old Vic. He performed on celebrated stages including the Royal Court, the West End, and the Bristol Old Vic, appearing in productions of works by Shakespeare,...