Brendan Gleeson
☼ Born on 29 December 1955, in Dublin, Ireland
Biography
Brendan Gleeson was born in Dublin, Ireland, to Pat and Frank Gleeson. From a very young age, he loved to learn, especially reading classical text in and outside the classroom. He took great attention to Irish play writers such as Samuel Beckett, which eventually led to him performing in his high school play production of "Waiting for Godot", and paying great attention to detail in his high school drama classes. Upon finishing 12th grade, he spent a couple of years with the Dublin Shakespeare Festival, and under the advice of a director there, headed across to London and auditioned for drama schools. Soon to follow, he was invited to audition for the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford upon Avon, and spent a couple of seasons back in England on the stage. He then, at the age of thirty five, decided to audition for films in the UK and began to build a very respectable resume playing many different diverse characters.
He made his debut as a quarryman in The Field (1990). He had several small roles in major Hollywood movies based in Ireland, such as Far and Away (1992) and Into the West (1992). Memorably played historical Irish figure "Michael Collins" in The Treaty (1991). Made his breakthrough in Scottish themed Braveheart (1995), which was largely filmed in Ireland, opposite Mel Gibson. He played Gibson's right-hand man "Hamish". Since then, he has appeared in numerous major films such as Mission: Impossible II (2000), Lake Placid (1999), Turbulence (1997). He has made a n
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ame for himself taking the titular role in The General (1998), based on the life of Irish criminal "Martin Cahill", for which he won the Boston Society of Film Critics Award. He appears in director John Boorman's film The Tailor of Panama (2001) as well as Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York (2002) and Steven Spielberg's A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001).
Ever since, he has continued to bring his huge stage presence to the screen, always delivering the character in full development to his audience. He is married to his lovely wife, Mary, since 1982. They have four sons.
In the role of actor
Joker: Folie À Deux (01/10/2024)
Arthur Fleck finds love as he is put on trial for his crimes in Joker: Folie À Deux. For the past two years, Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) has been in the maximum security wing of Arkham State Hospital, subject to cruel and mocking treatment by the guards headed by Jackie Sullivan (Brendan Gleeson). While being […]
The Banshees of Inisherin – TIFF 2022 (20/09/2022)
Two lifelong friends inexplicably begin feuding in The Banshees of Inisherin. In 1923, on the island of Inisherin, just off Ireland’s west coast, Pádraic (Collin Farrell) visits the home of his best friend Colm (Brendan Gleeson) for their daily trip to the pub. However, Pádraic is shocked to find Colm ignoring him and is later […]
The Tragedy of Macbeth (27/12/2021)
Joel Coen goes solo with this stylized adaptation of the play by William Shakespeare with The Tragedy of Macbeth. Following a victory on the battlefield, Thane of Glamis Macbeth (Denzel Washington) and his cohort Banquo (Bertie Carvel) are greeted by Three Witches (Kathryn Hunter), who tell Macbeth that he will be the next King of […]
Joker (06/10/2019)
An alternate history of the DC comics villain is told in Joker. Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) is a lonely man with mental health issues, who lives alone with his mother Penny (Frances Conroy) and dreams of being a popular standup comedian and appearance on a talk show hosted by Murray Franklin (Robert De Niro). During […]
Edge of Tomorrow (07/06/2014)
Tom Cruise stars in the sci-fi time loop action film Edge of Tomorrow. For five years, humanity have been engulfed in a war with an alien race, known as Mimics, which seemingly have the ability to predict battles before they happen. Major William Cage (Cruise) is a spokesperson for the United Defense Forces, who finds […]
The Raven (26/04/2012)
I suppose that I shall start by saying that, even though the film is called The Raven (and features plenty of ravens within the film), it has nothing at all to do with Edgar Allan Poe’s famous poem (if you want an adaptation, watch the 1963 Vincent Price film). I suppose the title is meant as […]