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The actor of film and television, who grew up in Old Tappan, turns 42 today.
Paul Jeffrey "P. J." Byrne was born on Dec. 15, 1974.
He is best known for his roles as Nicky "Rugrat" Koskoff in the Martin Scorsese film, "The Wolf of Wall Street" and "Bolin" on Nickelodeon's animated series, "The Legend of Korra".
Byrne was born in Maplewood and was raised in Old Tappan, where he graduated from Northern Valley Regional High School in 1992.
A graduate of Boston College with a double major in finance and theater and an M.F.A. from the Theatre School at DePaul University, Byrne was on his way to becoming an investment banker out of college when a drama teacher at BC convinced him to follow his passion for acting.
Byrne started his career in small roles in such films as "Bruce Almighty", "Fun with Dick and Jane", "Bewitched" and "Because I Said So". He also had guest roles on television series such as "ER", "West Wing", "Reno 911!" and "NCIS" before getting a recurring role on "The Game".
Byrne went on to have more prominent roles in films such as "Dinner for Schmucks", "Extraordinary Measures", "The Campaign" and "Horrible Bosses". He was cast in one of the main roles in "Final Destination 5".
In 2013, he appeared in the Martin Scorsese-directed film, "The Wolf of Wall Street", which received critical acclaim and was nominated for numerous awards. The next year he starred in the television series, "Intelligence".
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