Mary Rose Byrne was first seen in the 1994 Australian black comedy-drama film ‘Dallas Doll’ directed by Ann Turner. Following her debut, she went on to star in films like ‘Two Hands’ (1999), ‘My Mother Frank’ (2000), and ‘The Goddess of 1967’ (2000). In 2002, she portrayed ‘Dormé’ in the American epic space opera film ‘Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones’ directed by George Lucas. The film opened to a mixed reception but was a major commercial success, grossing over $653.8 million on a budget of $115 million. She next starred in films like ‘City of Ghosts’ (2002), ‘I Capture the Castle’ (2003), ‘The Night We Called It a Day’ (2003), ‘The Rage in Placid Lake’ (2003), and ‘Take Away’ (2003). In 2004, she played the role of ‘Briseis’ in the Wolfgang Petersen-directed American epic historical war film ‘Troy.’ Even though the film received a mixed response from critics, it managed to gross over $497.4 million on a budget of $175–185 million. She went on to star in films like ‘Wicker Park’ (2004), ‘The Tenants’ (2005), ‘Marie Antoinette’ (2006), ‘The Dead Girl’ (2006), ‘Sunshine’ (2007), and ‘28 Weeks Later’ (2007). In 2007, she joined the main cast of the American legal thriller television series ‘Damages’ as ‘Ellen Parsons.’ The series ran for 5 seasons and aired its final episode in 2012. Byrne also received several award nominations, including 2 ‘Primetime Emmy Award’ nominations, for her performance in the show.
She was next seen in films like ‘Just Buried’ (2008), ‘The Tender Hook’ (2008), ‘Knowing’ (2009), ‘Adam’ (2009), ‘Get Him to the Greek’ (2010), ‘Insidious’ (2010), and ‘Bridesmaids’ (2011). In 2011, she starred as ‘Moira MacTaggert’ in the American superhero film ‘X-Men: First Class’ directed by Matthew Vaughn. The film opened to a positive reception and was a financial success, grossing over $140–160 million on a budget of $353.6 million. She next appeared in films such as ‘The Place Beyond the Pines’ (2012), ‘The Internship’ (2013), ‘Insidious: Chapter 2’ (2013), ‘Neighbors’ (2014), ‘This Is Where I Leave You’ (2014), ‘Annie’ (2014), ‘Spy’ (2015), ‘The Meddler’ (2015), ‘Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising’ (2016), ‘X-Men: Apocalypse’ (2016), ‘I Love You, Daddy’ (2017), ‘Juliet, Naked’ (2018), ‘Peter Rabbit’ (2018), ‘I Am Mother’ (2019), ‘Irresistible’ (2020), and ‘Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway’ (2021). In 2021, she starred as ‘Sheila Rubin’ in the American comedy-drama television series ‘Physical’ created by Annie Weisman. The show was renewed for a third season in August 2022. Byrne last appeared in the limited documentary series ‘The Last Movie Stars’ in 2022.