Brendan Gleeson

Brendan Gleeson (born 29 March 1955) is an Irish actor and film director. He is the recipient of three IFTA Awards, two British Independent Film Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award and has been nominated twice for a BAFTA Award and four times for a Golden Globe Award.

Brendan Gleeson
Gleeson at the 2014 British Independent Film Awards
Born	29 March 1955 Dublin, Ireland
Alma mater	University College Dublin
Occupation	Actor film director
Years active	1989–present
Spouse(s)	Mary Weldon ​ (m. 1982)​
Children	4, including Domhnall and Brian

He is best known for his performance as Alastor Moody in the Harry Potter films (2005–2010), as Pól in Cáca Milis (2001) and for his supporting roles in films such as Braveheart (1995), Michael Collins (1996), Gangs of New York (2002), Kingdom of Heaven (2005), Cold Mountain (2003), Troy (2004), The Smurfs 2 (2013), Suffragette (2015), Paddington 2 (2017), and The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018), as well as leading roles in films such as 28 Days Later (2002), In Bruges (2008), The Guard (2011), The Grand Seduction (2013), and Calvary (2014). He starred as detective Bill Hodges in the television adaptation of Stephen King's Mr. Mercedes, Finders Keepers and End of Watch. He also starred as US President Donald Trump in the miniseries The Comey Rule (2020).

He won an Emmy Award in 2009 for his portrayal of Winston Churchill in the television film Into the Storm. In 2020, he was listed at number 18 on The Irish Times list of Ireland's greatest film actors.[1]

He is the father of actors Domhnall Gleeson and Brian Gleeson.

Early life

Gleeson was born in Dublin, the son of Pat and Frank Gleeson.[2] Gleeson has described himself as having been an avid reader as a child.[3] He received his second-level education at St Joseph's CBS in Fairview, Dublin where he was a member of the school drama group. He received his Bachelor of Arts at University College Dublin, majoring in English and Irish. After training as an actor, he worked for several years as a secondary school teacher of Irish and English at the now defunct Catholic Belcamp College in North County Dublin, which closed in 2004.[4][5] He was working simultaneously as an actor while teaching, doing semi-professional and professional productions in Dublin and surrounding areas. He left the teaching profession to commit full-time to acting in 1991.

In an NPR interview to promote Calvary in 2014, Gleeson revealed that he was molested as a child by a Christian Brother in primary school.[6]

Career

As a member of the Dublin-based Passion Machine Theatre company, Gleeson appeared in several of the theatre company's early and highly successful plays such as Brownbread (1987), [written by Roddy Doyle, directed by Paul Mercier] Wasters (1985) and Home (1988) [written and directed by Paul Mercier.] He has also written three plays for Passion Machine: The Birdtable (1987) and Breaking Up (1988), both of which he directed, and Babies and Bathwater (1994) in which he acted.[7] Among his other Dublin theatre work are Patrick Süskind's one-man play The Double Bass and John B. Keane's The Year of the Hiker.

Gleeson started his film career at the age of 34.[8] He first came to prominence in Ireland for his role as Michael Collins in The Treaty, a television film broadcast on RTÉ One, and for which he won a Jacob's Award in 1992. He has acted in such films as Braveheart, I Went Down, Michael Collins, Gangs of New York, Cold Mountain, 28 Days Later, Troy, Kingdom of Heaven, Lake Placid, A.I. Artificial Intelligence, Mission: Impossible 2, and The Village. He won critical acclaim for his performance as Irish gangster Martin Cahill in John Boorman's 1998 film The General.

In 2003, Gleeson was the voice of Hugh the Miller in an episode of the Channel 4 animated series Wilde Stories.[9]

While Gleeson portrayed Irish statesman Michael Collins in The Treaty, he later portrayed Collins' close collaborator Liam Tobin in the film Michael Collins with Liam Neeson taking the role of Collins.[10] Gleeson later went on to portray Winston Churchill in Into the Storm. Gleeson won an Emmy Award for his performance. Gleeson played Hogwarts professor Mad-Eye Moody in the fourth, fifth and seventh Harry Potter films. His son Domhnall played Bill Weasley in the seventh and eighth films.

Brendan Gleeson, September 2005

Gleeson provided the voice of Abbot Cellach in The Secret of Kells, an animated film co-directed by Tomm Moore and Nora Twomey of Cartoon Saloon which premiered in February 2009 at the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival.[11]

Gleeson starred in the short film Six Shooter in 2006, which won an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film. This film was written and directed by Martin McDonagh. In 2008, Gleeson starred in the comedy crime film In Bruges, also written and directed by McDonagh. The film, and Gleeson's performance, enjoyed huge critical acclaim, earning Gleeson several award nominations, including his first Golden Globe nomination. In the movie, Gleeson plays a mentor-like figure for Colin Farrell's hitman. In his review of In Bruges, Roger Ebert described the elder Gleeson as having a "noble shambles of a face and the heft of a boxer gone to seed."[12]

In July 2012, he started filming The Grand Seduction, with Taylor Kitsch, a remake of Jean-François Pouliot's French-Canadian La Grande Séduction (2003) directed by Don McKellar; the film was released in 2013.[13] In 2016, he appeared in the video game adaptation Assassin's Creed and Ben Affleck's crime drama Live by Night. In 2017 he finished Psychic, a short he directed and starred in.[14]

Musical talent

Gleeson is a fiddle and mandolin player, with an interest in Irish folklore.[3] He played the fiddle during his role in Cold Mountain, Michael Collins and also The Grand Seduction, and also features on Altan's 2009 live album.[15] In the Coen brothers' The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018), Gleeson sings "The Unfortunate Rake". He has also made a contribution in 2019 to the new album by Irish folk group 'Dervish' with a version of 'The Rocky Road To Dublin'.

Personal life

Brendan with his son Domhnall Gleeson at the Toronto Film Festival

He has been married to Mary Weldon since 1982. He has four sons; Domhnall, Fergus, Brían, and Rory. Domhnall and Brían are also actors.[16] Gleeson speaks fluent Irish and is an advocate of the promotion of the Irish language. Gleeson is a fan of English football club Aston Villa, as is his son Domhnall.[17]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1990	The Field	Quarryman
1992	The Bargain Shop	Jim Kennedy
	M.A.N.: Matrix Adjusted Normal	Dr. Abraham	Short film
	Far and Away	Social Club Policeman
	Conneely's Choice	Josie Conneely	Short film
	Into the West	Inspector Bolger
1995	The Life of Reilly	Patient	Short film
	Braveheart	Hamish Campbell
1996	Angela Mooney Dies Again	Barney Mooney
	Michael Collins	Liam Tobin
	Trojan Eddie	Ginger
1997	Spaghetti Slow	Frank Ferguson
	Turbulence	Stubbs
	The Butcher Boy	Father Bubbles
	A Further Gesture	Richard
	I Went Down	Bunny Kelly	Nominated—National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor
	Before I Sleep	John Harte	Short film
1998	The General	Martin Cahill	Nominated—National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
	The Tale of Sweety Barrett	Sweet Barrett
1999	Lake Placid	Sheriff Hank Keough
	My Life So Far	Jim Menries
2000	Mission: Impossible 2	John C. McCloy
	Harrison's Flowers	Marc Stevenson
	Saltwater	Simple Simon
	Wild About Harry	Harry McKee
2001	J.J. Biker
	Cáca Milis	Pól	Short film Irish-language English: Cake
	The Tailor of Panama	Michelangelo 'Mickie' Abraxas
	A.I. Artificial Intelligence	Lord Johnson-Johnson
2002	28 Days Later	Frank
	Gangs of New York	Walter 'Monk' McGinn
	Dark Blue	Jack Van Meter
2003	Cold Mountain	Stobrod Thewes
2004	In My Country	De Jager
	Troy	Menelaus
	The Village	August Nicholson
	Six Shooter	Donnelly	Short film
2005	Kingdom of Heaven	Raynald of Châtillon
	Breakfast on Pluto	John Joe Kenny
	Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire	Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody
2006	Studs	Walter Keegan	Nominated—IFTA Award for Best Actor in a Lead Role – Film
	The Tiger's Tail	Liam O'Leary
2007	Black Irish	Desmond
	Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix	Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody
	Beowulf	Wiglaf	Motion-capture
2008	In Bruges	Ken	Nominated—IFTA Award for Best Actor in a Lead Role – Film Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role Nominated—British Independent Film Award for Best Actor Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
2009	The Secret of Kells	Abbot Cellach	Voice
	Perrier's Bounty	Darren Perrier	Nominated—IFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Film
2010	Green Zone	Martin Brown
	Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1	Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody
	Noreen	Con Keogh	Short film
2011	The Guard	Sergeant Gerry Boyle	Nominated—British Independent Film Award for Best Actor Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Nominated—IFTA Award for Best Actor in a Lead Role - Film
	Albert Nobbs	Dr. Holloran	Nominated—IFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Film
	The Cup	Dermot Weld
2012	Safe House	David Barlow
	The Raven	Captain Charles Hamilton
	The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists!	Pirate with Gout	Voice
	The Company You Keep	Henry Osborne
2013	The Smurfs 2	Victor Doyle
	The Grand Seduction	Murray French
2014	Calvary	Father James Lavelle	British Independent Film Award for Best Actor San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor IFTA Award for Best Actor in a Lead Role - Film Nominated—Detroit Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor
	Edge of Tomorrow	General Brigham
	Song of the Sea	Conor / Mac Lir	Voices; English and Irish-language versions
	Stonehearst Asylum	The Alienist
2015	Suffragette	Arthur Steed	British Independent Film Award for Best Supporting Actor
	In the Heart of the Sea	Old Thomas Nickerson
	Pursuit	Searbhán
2016	Alone in Berlin	Otto Quangel
	Trespass Against Us	Colby
	Atlantic	Narrator	Voice Documentary
	Live by Night	Thomas Coughlin
	Assassin's Creed	Joseph Lynch
2017	Hampstead	Donald Horner
	Paddington 2[18]	Knuckles McGinty
2018	Captain Morten and the Spider Queen	Father	Voice
	Psychic	Jeremiah	Short film; also director
	The Ballad of Buster Scruggs	Irishman (Clarence)	Segment: "The Mortal Remains"
2019	Frankie	Jimmy
TBA	The Tragedy of Macbeth	King Duncan	Post-production
TBA	Riverdance: The Animated Adventure		Voice role[19]

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1989	Dear Sarah	Brendan Dowd	Television film
1990	Hard Shoulder	Lorry Driver	Television film
1991	Saint Oscar		Television film
	The Treaty	Michael Collins	Television film
	In the Border Country	Farmer	Television play
1993	The Snapper	Lester	Television film
	Screenplay	Thomas Macken	Episode: "Love Lies Bleeding"
1994	The Lifeboat	Leslie Parry	9 episodes
1995	Kidnapped	Red Fox	Television film
1998	Making the Cut	Flanagan	Television film
	This Is My Father	Garda Jim	Television film
2009	Into the Storm	Winston Churchill	Television film Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor – Miniseries or a Movie Satellite Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film Nominated—IFTA Award for Best Actor in a Lead Role – Television Nominated—British Academy Television Award for Best Actor Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film
2017–2019	Mr. Mercedes	Bill Hodges	30 episodes Satellite Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama (2019) Nominated—IFTA Award for Best Actor in a Lead Role – Television (2018 and 2020)
2020	The Comey Rule	Donald Trump	4 episodes Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film

References

1. Clarke, Donald; Brady, Tara. "The 50 greatest Irish film actors of all time – in order". The Irish Times. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
2. "The heart of the matter" Archived 11 November 2014 at the Wayback Machine 17 February 2011, RTE.ie
3. In Conversations with Eamon scruphy Archived 20 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine 10 November 2007, RTÉ
4. "School is out for Brandon Gleeson", 23 July 1999, Entertainment Weekly
5. "Gannon to get €400m for Belcamp College site" Archived 4 November 2010 at the Wayback Machine 10 September 2006, Business Post
6. "Brendan Gleeson reveals abuse by Christian Brother". Independent.ie.
7. "Irish Theatre Institute's Playography database". Irish Theatre Institute.
8. "STARS WHO HIT IT BIG AFTER 30". The Hype. Archived from the original on 23 August 2013.
9. "The Devoted Friend". Wilde Stories. Channel 4. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
10. Brendan Gleeson Archived 17 November 2007 at the Wayback Machine on Foodandwine.net
11. "THE SECRET OF KELLS to screen at the Dublin International Film Festival" 10 December 2008, Irish Film Board web site
12. Review of In Bruges by Ebert at Rogerebrt.com
13. Fleming, Mike (30 July 2012). "Brendan Gleeson, Taylor Kitsch Find 'The Grand Seduction'". Deadline Hollywood. PMC. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
14. https://www.irishfilmboard.ie/news/shooting-wraps-on-brendan-gleesons-debut-short-film-psychic
15. "Altan EPK". Mpibands.com. Archived from the original on 9 October 2011. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
16. "Capturing the Glee factor", 16 July 2011, The Irish Times
17. "Star Wars actor Gleeson: Villa Wembley win was special day" Archived 16 May 2015 at the Wayback Machine, 13 May 2015, Aston Villa
18. "Hugh Grant joins Paddington sequel as shooting begins". Sky News. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
19. Vlessing, Etan (11 September 2020). "Pierce Brosnan, Lilly Singh, Brendan Gleeson to Voice 'Riverdance: The Animated Adventure' Feature (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 12 September 2020.

External links

• Brendan Gleeson at IMDb