Gabriel Byrne Fans are the best.
Creative, intuitive, appreciative, playful, clever, and did I say creative?
Here’s a great example:
In her words “Marie, a French-American fan of Gabriel from San Francisco, California” contacted me recently with kind words about this website and news of a video she was working on. I am always happy to hear that Gabriel has inspired someone to create something new! And today, I am happy to share that “something new” with you!
An Introduction to Marie, by Marie
I “discovered” Gabriel in the movie Just A Sigh a couple months ago, and was so deeply touched by his interpretation, his character and the story. (By the way, Emmanuelle Devos did an amazing job as well, and so did Jérôme Bonnell, the director. Make sure to read Stella’s essay about this movie!). I went on to watch Gabriel in In Treatment and again, I got really hooked. There are tons of extremely talented actors out there, but for some reason, there is something that connects better with Gabriel Byrne. Is it his amazing acting skills? His charming looks? The fact that he interpreted so many fascinating and wildly different characters throughout his career? That he so courageously speaks up about issues nobody dares talking about? That he’s seen in his field and by his fans as a good, caring, generous person? Probably a mix of all of that, and a little spark of magic that makes him just who he is. I feel deeply inspired by his work, and I like that his movies make me feel so many emotions, and also invite me to reflect about my life. That’s what we all aspire to do as artists, whatever medium we use: it’s about creating expressions of our Truth, and sharing it with others, hoping to inspire them to find their own.
I hope you’ll enjoy Fifty Shades of Gabriel. I’ve seen a number of movies with Gabriel, but I haven’t seen them all – there are so many of them! I wanted to thank Stella and the amazing documentation work she does on Byrneholics.com. The extensive photo Gallery really helped me put this video together!
Fifty Shades of Gabriel
From the video description:
50 Nuances de Gabriel (Fifty Shades of Gabriel) is a French poem I wrote dedicated to actor Gabriel Byrne. In a wider perspective, I wanted to write about the feeling of inspiration we can sometimes get from actors in movies or other artists who are not directly part of our life, but still play some role in helping us connect deeply to ourselves.
The English subtitles in the video are here to give an idea of the original meaning, although most of the musicality and poetry get lost in translation.
Fifty Shades of Gabriel
English Translation
When I saw your face appear on the screen
Your faded blue eyes sparkling like diamonds
Time froze and in an instant
Eternity settled in between me and the screen
I like the way you squint
The way you smoke, the way you get angry
Even when you make love, it feels real
A perfect cocktail of humor, charm and mystery
We’ll most likely never meet in this lifetime
And yet, there is so much you passed on to me
All those different roles, gentle or violent
With all your magic, you breathed life into them
And a few sparks that you gave off revived me as well
Your presence on screen, your most subtle moves
Your evocative silences, your smile, your accent
Your secret scars, your moments of glory
Invite us on a journey, outside and in
Beyond the limits of space and time
Pope or Satan, Vampire, Viking, or D’Artagnan
Therapist, Madman, Gangster, Cop, Husband or Lover
The whole spectrum of life takes form in your features
Then suddenly, opposites fade away
And what appears is… Fifty Shades of Truth
Your color palette has an infinite number of shades
All these little touches soothe our brave wounded hearts
You show us the art, from the mirror’s far side
To drop our masks in the Theater of Life.
Original French Version
Quand j’ai vu ton visage apparaître à l’écran
Tes yeux bleus délavés qui brillent comme des diamants
Le temps s’est arrêté et l’espace d’un instant
L’éternité s’est invitée entre moi et l’écran
J’aime ta manière de plisser les paupières
De fumer des cigarettes, de te mettre en colère
Même quand tu fais l’amour on sent que c’est sincère
Parfait cocktail d’humour, de charme et de mystère
On n’se rencontrera sans doute jamais dans cette vie
Et pourtant y’a tant de choses que tu m’as transmis
Tous ces rôles différents, délicats ou violents
Avec toute ta magie, t’as su leur donner vie
…Et quelques étincelles m’ont ranimée aussi
Ta présence à l’écran, tes plus subtils mouvements
Tes silences éloquents, ton sourire, ton accent
Tes secrètes brûlures, tes instants triomphants
Nous invitent au voyage, au-dehors, au-dedans
Au-delà des limites de l’espace et du temps
Pape ou satan, vampire, viking ou D’Artagnan
Psy, fou, gangster, policier, mari ou amant
Tout l’éventail de la vie s’incarne sous tes traits
Et soudain, les extrêmes s’effacent
Pour laisser apparaître… cinquante nuances de vrai
Ta palette de couleurs se décline à l’infini
Toutes ces p’tites touches apaisent nos vaillants coeurs meurtris
Tu nous montres l’art, depuis l’autre côté du miroir
De faire tomber nos masques au Théâtre de la Vie.
Thank you, Marie, for sharing your art and inspiration with us! heart
Nice and profound. WORTHY OF GABRIEL.
Beautiful…eloquent…powerful words. Wonderful selection of images.
Merci Marie. Ton poème et vidéo est de toute beauté!
Thanks, Marie, for this wonderful video of our dear Gabriel. Very special, all your words. I am sure that all of us have the same feeling, in each of his roles. Our admiration grows for him, day by day. The Man of our Dreams, certainly. Thanks again. Thanks Stella for all of this. Take care all of you. All my feelings, friends.
That was a beautiful poem Marie. There’s so much going on there in Gabriel’s mind he is deep on so many levels.
Wonderful video with words that are very beautiful and true.
Thank you for writing it and sharing it!
Nora from
Norway