Patrick Bergin

Patrick Connolly Bergin (born 4 February 1951)^[2] is an Irish actor and singer. In 1991, he starred opposite Julia Roberts in Sleeping with the Enemy and played the title character in Robin Hood. His other roles include terrorist Kevin O'Donnell in Patriot Games (1992) and the villainous Aidan Maguire in the BBC soap opera EastEnders (2017–2018).

Bergin was born in Dublin, where he grew up in Drimnagh. His father, Paddy Bergin, was a Labour Party politician^[3][4] who once studied to be a priest with the Holy Ghost Fathers in Blackrock, Ireland.^[4] Patrick was one of four sons and one daughter (Pearse, Emmet, Patrick, Allen and Siobhan Bergin).^[4][5] He left Dublin for London in 1973,^[4] and by the time he was 17 he was in London running a theatre company.^[3] He worked on building sites and at a library.^[3][4] He studied at night and completed an education degree from North London Polytechnic (later the University of North London).^[3] He was an English teacher for several years, then formed his own theatrical company because "no one else would have him".^[4][5] His brother Emmet Bergin also became an actor, best known for playing Dick Moran in the soap opera Glenroe for its full 1983–2001 run.^[6]

In 1980, Bergin decided to pursue acting full-time and found work in repertory theatre.^[7] He played the explorer Sir Richard Francis Burton in Mountains of the Moon (1990) and followed this with diverse acting roles, including a trilogy of Yeats plays; Morphine and Dolly Mixtures, for which he won a BAFTA Cymru Award for Best Actor; Durango, based on John B Keane's novel; hosting TnaG's Suilín Draíochta; and narrating Patrick Cassidy's Famine Remembrance.^[4] Bergin played the menacing husband of Julia Roberts' character in the thriller Sleeping with the Enemy (1991). In the same year he portrayed the title character in Robin Hood, opposite Uma Thurman as Maid Marian.^[8]

Bergin is also known for his role as Irish terrorist Kevin O'Donnell in the film adaptation of Tom Clancy's Patriot Games (1992). He described 1996 as the lowest point in his career, a time when he rarely received any calls for film roles.^[4] In 2013 he appeared in the Scottish film The Wee Man playing notorious Glasgow gangster Arthur 'The Godfather' Thompson. He joined the BBC soap opera EastEnders towards the end of 2017,^[9] departing in March 2018.

Bergin leads the band Patrick Bergin and the Spirit Merchants. They had a top 10 hit in Ireland with their song "The Knacker", released in 2003, which tells the story of a person who recycles horse carcasses and turns them into glue. As a singer, Bergin collaborated with Vlad DeBriansky and appeared on his album Jacks Last Dollar. He also appeared in the video of DJ Steve Mac's song "Paddy's Revenge".^[10]

Bergin was onstage singing the Leonard Cohen song "Anthem" as Pope Francis, on his visit to Ireland, arrived in Croke Park for the Festival of Families as part of the World Meeting of Families 2018.^[11]

In 1993, Bergin bought an old church in County Tipperary and converted it into a poetry centre. He explained: "I've recently come to feel I can encourage children and teenagers with their writing.^[7] 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."^[7] In 1998, in response to the murder of a 14-year-old Tallaght boy, Ben Smyth, Bergin helped to establish a special fund to sponsor young children from Tallaght.^[4]

At a wedding in the early 1980s, Bergin met his future wife, Paula Frazier. They married in Trinidad and Tobago in 1992. They have a daughter.^[4] After their divorce, Bergin began dating Helen Goldin.^[12]

• Patrick Bergin at IMDb