Brendan Gleeson

Infobox actor

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imagesize =
caption = Brendan Gleeson, September 2005
birthname = Brendan Gleeson
birthdate = birth date and age|1955|3|29
birthplace = Dublin, Ireland
spouse = Mary Gleeson

Brendan Gleeson (born 29 March 1955) is an Irish actor who has starred in many high profile Irish, American and British films. He is perhaps best known for his roles in the "Harry Potter" films, "Kingdom of Heaven", "Troy", "Gangs of New York", "28 Days Later", "Braveheart", and "The General" and as Michael Collins in "The Treaty".

Biography

Personal life

Gleeson was born in Dublin, Ireland. He has said that he was an avid reader as a child. [http://www.rte.ie/radio1/eamondunphy/ In Conversations with Eamon Dunphy] , 10 November 2007, ] After leaving school, he worked for two years in an office with a health board. He later graduated from University College Dublin. Gleeson then worked for several years as a secondary school teacher in Belcamp College, in North County Dublin, where he taught English, Mathematics, and Drama.

Gleeson lives in Malahide, County Dublin. He and his wife, Mary, have been married since 1982 and have four sons, Domhnall, Fergus, Brian and Rory.

Gleeson is also a very talented fiddle player, with an interest in folklore. He is good friends with fellow Irish actors Liam Neeson, Stephen Rea and Cillian Murphy. He has long been known for his love of football and recounts tales of attempting to get a clear radio reception so he could listen to how his team, Aston Villa was faring on a Saturday.

Career

Gleeson started acting at the age of 34. 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.

Gleeson has subsequently acted in more than 60 films including "Braveheart", "I Went Down", "Michael Collins", "Gangs of New York", "Cold Mountain", "28 Days Later", "Troy", "Kingdom of Heaven", "Lake Placid" , "" and "The Village". He won critical acclaim for his performance as Irish gangster Martin Cahill in John Boorman's 1998 film "The General". [ [http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1087427-general/ The General - Movie Reviews, Trailers, Pictures - Rotten Tomatoes ] ]

While Gleeson played Michael Collins in "The Treaty", he later portrayed Liam Tobin in the film "Michael Collins" with Liam Neeson taking the role of Collins. :cquote|The first day I went to the set Liam came over to me and said 'Here's the real Michael Collins now, I'll be picking your brains'. [ [http://www.foodandwine.net/miscellany/misc011.htm Brendan Gleeson] on Foodandwine.net] Ironically, Gleeson later went on to portray Collins' nemesis Winston Churchill in "Churchill at War".:cquote|He was going to wipe us out. [Referring to the time of Michael Collins] I was in the TV film "The Treaty" so I knew what it was like to be on the other side of the table from Churchill. I had to think about it a lot before doing this. [ [http://www.skinnymag.co.uk/content/view/5143/135/ Interview - Brendan Gleeson on The Tiger's Tail] ]

Gleeson frequently appears in the role of mentor or authority figure; he played Hogwarts professor Mad-Eye Moody in the fourth and fifth Harry Potter films, "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" and "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix". Roger Ebert described him as having a "noble shambles of a face and the heft of a boxer gone to seed" in praising his performance in "In Bruges", in which Gleeson played a mentor-like figure for Colin Farrell's hitman. [ [http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080207/REVIEWS/802070301 :: rogerebert.com :: Reviews :: In Bruges (xhtml) ] ]

He starred in the short film "Six Shooter" in 2006, which won an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short.

Filmography

*"The Treaty" (1990) - Michael Collins
*"The Field" (1990) – Quarryman
*"Far and Away" (1992) - Social Club Policeman
*"Into the West" (1992) - Inspector Bolger
*"The Snapper" (1993) - Lester
*"Kidnapped" (1995) - Colin Campbell of Glenure, the Red Fox
*"Braveheart" (1995) - Hamish Campbell
*"Michael Collins" (1996) - Liam Tobin
*"I Went Down" (1997) - Bunny Kelly
*"The Tale of Sweety Barrett" (1998) - Sweet Barrett
*"The General" (1998) - Martin Cahill
*"This Is My Father" (1998) - Garda Jim
*"Lake Placid" (1999) - Sheriff Hank Keough
*"Harrison's Flowers" (2000) - Marc Stevenson
*"Mission Impossible II" (2000) - John C. McCloy
*"The Tailor of Panama" (2001) - Michelangelo 'Mickie' Abraxas
*"" (2001) - Lord Johnson-Johnson
*"Cáca Milis" (2001) - The blind man
*"28 Days Later" (2002) - Frank
*"Gangs of New York" (2002) - Walter 'Monk' McGinn
*"Dark Blue" (2002) - Jack Van Meter
*"Cold Mountain" (2003) - Stobrod Thewes
*"Troy" (2004) - Menelaus
*"The Village" (2004) - August Nicholson
*"Kingdom of Heaven" (2005) - Raynald of Chatillon
*"Breakfast on Pluto" (2005) - John Joe Kenny
*"Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" (2005) - Mad-Eye Moody
*"Black Irish" (2006) – Desmond
*"The Tiger's Tail" (2006) - Liam O'Leary
*’'Six Shooter" (2006 Oscar-winning short) - Donnelly
*"Studs" (2006) - Walter Keegan
*"Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" (2007) - Mad-Eye Moody
*"Beowulf" (2007) - Wiglaf
*"In Bruges" (2008) – Ken
*"Into the Storm" (2008) - Winston Churchill
*"Green Zone" (TBA) - American soldier
*"" (2010) - Mad-Eye Moody

Awards

Won
*BSFC Award for "The General" in category (Best Actor)
*IFTA Award for "The General" in category (Best Actor in a Male Role)
*ALFS Award for "The General" in category (British Actor of the Year)

Nominated
*IFTA Award for "Studs" in category (Best Actor in a Lead Role in a Feature Film)
*IFTA Award for "Wild About Harry" in category (Best Actor in a Feature Film)
*IFTA Award for "I Went Down" in category (Best Actor in a Male Role)
*ALFS Award for "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" in category (British Supporting Actor of the Year)
*Golden Satellite Award for "The General" in category (Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama)

References

External links

*imdb name|id=0322407|name=Brendan Gleeson