Gabriel Byrne is the Imelda Marcos of socks, he owns 47 pairs, lavishes his friends with the things and is considering dipping his toe into the sock business. Not the sort of fashionable fetish one might expect from a man known for playing tough guys in such dark movies as Miller's Crossing and the Usual Suspects. But it's just one of the many surprising facts about the 50-year-old Irishman with the ruggedly handsome face and seductive brogue. Take, for example, his pre thespian resume: He had stints as a seminary student, teddy bear-factory worker, archaeologist, schoolteacher, short-order cook and bullfighter before becoming an actor at the relatively old age of 29. Of course his favorite job to date is that of father, to son Jack, 11, and daughter Romey, 8, by former wife Ellen Barkin. When his children and their mom moved from L.A. to New York, Byrne switched coasts as well. The change of venue brought unforeseen professional rewards: a Tony Award nomination for his performance in the Broadway revival of Eugene O'Neill's A Moon For the Misbegotten and the lead in the new Big Apple-based ABC sitcom Madigan Men as a divorced Irishman looking for love in the big city. And all that quality time with his kids has another bonus: free, unlimited fashion advice.

Instyle: Why do you trust your kids' style advice?

Gabriel: I think my daughter came fully fashion conscious from the womb, and I would not be surprised if she picked out her own swaddling clothes. My son [recently] brought me at finger point to a store and make me get what he termed "really cool shoes." He was absolutely right. Everybody complimented me on the shoes [Nike's new Air Presto]. They're extremely comfortable and hip.

Instyle: Let's talk about the socks.

Gabriel: Men's socks are predominately boring, predictable and without any personality whatsoever. I believe that socks should have a personality. Today I happened to wear these socks [which are navy] with three yellow roses on them. When I wear these, people always notice. I know a shop owner in Paris, and every year I go there and we discuss new motifs for socks. I'd like to design them. When I grew up, our mother would darn our socks if we tore a hole in the toe. To me, the definition of luxury is shoes and socks.

Instyle: What does style mean to you?

Gabriel: I am tempted to paraphrase my countryman Oscar Wilder: Style is what one wears oneself. What is unstylish is what other people wear.

Instyle: Do you remember the first suit you ever brought?

Gabriel: Yes. I was 15 years old, and I saved up for a year to get it. I remember the special feeling of self-worth that coursed through my veins when I put on this suit that I had saved up for to buy. I bought a pair of desert boots to wear with it. The first night I wore it out was a Friday, and it rained and completely soaked my boots.

Instyle: What about after you had money?

Gabriel: The time [that] I think was the most disastrous time for fashion corresponded with the first time I had money. [It was] the early seventies, when men were coerced into wearing bell bottoms and lacy shirts. I was in London. To look back on pictures of myself at that time is to behold something like in a bad horror movie that gets up out of the grave and walks toward you. It was a clash of too much money and bad sense.

Instyle: Who is the most stylish character you've played?

Gabriel: Well, I played the devil [in End of Days], and you couldn't have a devil that didn't dress well. The devil would know exactly where to go. I am not saying he would got to Hugo Boss, but he chose Armani because he wanted to look subdued but classic. It fits the image that the devil would want to project.

Instyle: What's the most foolish thing you've ever done to be hip?

Gabriel: I put on self-tanner. I was in Ireland, where the sun never shines, and I thought it would be really hip to look like someone from America. I got this really bad fake tan. It came up to my chin, and I was completely white down [my neck]. I tried to get it off because I realized people were not believing it, so I scraped my face with a Brillo pad. There were streaks [across my face]; I was mortified.

Instyle: You rented a convertible in L.A. this week for the first time. Why?

Gabriel: I don't live in L.A. anymore, and I just thought, in L.A. the sun shines. And I always had this vision of myself with one arm out the window and mandolin music playing, for some reason. Most of what I feel or think comes from delusions anyway.

-Robin Sayers

(With thanks to Sonja Marie from Gabriel Byrnes Update List for transcribing this article)