Detailed Biography

Brendan Gleeson is an Irish character actor. His best-known films include the Harry Potter films, In Bruges, Braveheart, Lake Placid, Kingdom of Heaven, Beowulf, Troy, Gangs of New York, 28 Days Later, The General, and the role of Michael Collins in The Treaty.

Early life

Gleeson was born in Dublin, Ireland and has described himself as having been an avid reader as a child. After leaving school for a short while, he worked for two years in an office with a health board. He then graduated from University College Dublin and went on to Drama School in London at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art . Just after completing the 3 Year Acting Drama Course at RADA, Gleeson built a very respectable CV at the Royal National Theatre, Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, and the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon. Gleeson became known for his tremedous stage presence, particularly while performing in such works of William Shakespeare as King Lear, Richard III, and Hamlet. Gleeson was also known for performing the works of Anton Chekhov throughout the theatres of London's West End. He then returned to Ireland and worked for several years as a secondary school teacher at Belcamp College in North County Dublin where he taught the Irish language. During that time Gleeson was also very active in the Dublin Shakespeare Festival.

Career

Gleeson started his film career 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, Artificial Intelligence: AI and The Village. He won critical acclaim for his performance as Irish gangster Martin Cahill in John Boorman's 1998 film The General.

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.

Ironically, Gleeson later went on to portray Collins' nemesis Winston Churchill in Into the Storm.

Gleeson 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. Gleeson will also appear in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part I, reprising his role of Mad-Eye. His son, Domhnall will be playing Bill Weasley in the film. 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, a role that garnered him his first Golden Globe nomination, among other accolades. Gleeson provides the voice of Abbot Cellach in The Secret of Kells, an animated film by Cartoon Saloon which premiered at the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival in February 2009.

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

Gleeson will be making his directorial debut in a film adaptation of Flann O'Brien's novel At Swim Two Birds. The Irish production company Parallel Pictures will produce the film with a budget of $11 million. Colin Farrell, Gabriel Byrne, and Cillian Murphy have been attached to star in the film, which is set for release in 2010.

Personal life

Gleeson lives in Malahide, County Dublin. Gleeson is a very talented fiddle player, with an interest in Irish folklore. He played the fiddle during his role in Cold Mountain and in Michael Collins and will also feature on Altan's 2009 live album. He can be found from time to time playing at traditional music seisiúins in Hughes's pub in Chancery Street in Dublin 7. His brother, Barry Gleeson, is a well-known singer in An Góilín traditional singers' club, and his son, Domhnall, is an actor. Brendan 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 were faring on a Saturday.