Born in West Germany to an Irish mother and a German father; moved with his parents at age 2 to Killarney, Ireland.
Acted in a Killarney theater group, and directed his own stage adaptation of Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs in a nightclub before leaving for drama school in London at age 18.
Worked in bars and in a London warehouse before being cast in the 2001 HBO miniseries Band of Brothers.