GABRIEL BYRNE - CATHOLIC BACKGROUND GAVE BYRNE AN EDGE AS TV THERAPIST

CATHOLIC BACKGROUND GAVE BYRNE AN EDGE AS TV THERAPIST

Actor GABRIEL BYRNE called on his Catholic upbringing in Ireland to research his new TV role as a therapist - because it taught him how to listen. The Usual Suspects star boasts he is one actor who has never been in therapy, and he wasn't about to start to research his new role in US drama In Therapy. He says, "The thing about therapy is that what it involves is listening and not judging, and, being raised Catholic, I realised the Catholic Church was there 2000 years before (Sigmund) Freud. "They (Catholic leaders) understood that humans need to be listened to and to be forgiven. "So, for me, it wasn't that huge a jump. The most difficult part of that role for me was listening; it's very hard to listen onscreen and not look like you're bored to death. You have to listen actively and in an engaged way."