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Brendan Gleeson

 
Brendan Gleeson

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Brendan Gleeson



 
 
Brendan Gleeson (born 29 March 1955) is a Golden Globe award-nominated Irish
Irish people

The Irish people are a Western European ethnic group who originate in Ireland, in north western Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolgs, Tuatha D? Danann and the Milesians ?the last group supposedly representing the "pure" Gaelic a...
 actor
Actor

An actor or actress is a person who acting in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio programming in that capacity....
 who has starred in many high profile Irish, American and British films. His best-known movies include the Harry Potter films, Kingdom of Heaven
Kingdom of Heaven (film)

Kingdom of Heaven is a 2005 in film epic film, directed by Ridley Scott and written by William Monahan. It stars Orlando Bloom, Eva Green, Jeremy Irons, David Thewlis, Marton Csokas, Brendan Gleeson, Alexander Siddig, Ghassan Massoud, Edward Norton, Jon Finch, Michael Sheen and Liam Neeson....
, Beowulf
Beowulf

Beowulf is an Old English language heroic Epic poetry of unknown authorship, dating as recorded in the Nowell Codex manuscript from between the 8th to the early 11th century, and relates events described as having occurred in what is now Denmark and Sweden....
, Troy
Troy (film)

Troy is an epic film released on May 14, 2004, concerning the Trojan War. It is loosely based on Homer's Iliad, but includes material from Virgil's Aeneid and other sources, and frequently diverges from myth....
, Gangs of New York
Gangs of New York

Gangs of New York is a 2002 in film USA historical film crime film set in the mid-19th century in the Five Points, Manhattan district of New York City....
, 28 Days Later
28 Days Later

28 Days Later is a British films of 2002 Cinema of the United Kingdom Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction science fiction film directed by Danny Boyle....
, In Bruges
In Bruges

In Bruges is a 2008 in film film directed and written by Martin McDonagh. The film stars Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson as hitmen in hiding, with Ralph Fiennes as their gangster boss....
, Braveheart
Braveheart

Braveheart is an Academy Award-Winning, 1995 historical action-drama movie film producer and Film director by Mel Gibson, who also starred in the title role....
, The General
The General (1998 film)

The General is a true film about Dublin criminal Martin Cahill, who pulled off several daring heists in the early 1980s, and attracted attention from the Garda S?och?na, List of IRAs, and Ulster Volunteer Force....
 and the role of Michael Collins in The Treaty
The Treaty

The Treaty is a 1991 Republic of Ireland historical film television film directed by Jonathan Lewis.The film is about the Anglo-Irish Treaty that Michael Collins bargained for with the British government in 1921....
.

son was born in Dublin
Dublin

Dublin is both the largest city and capital of Republic of Ireland. It is located near the midpoint of Ireland's east coast, at the mouth of the River Liffey and at the centre of the Dublin Region....
, Ireland
Republic of Ireland

Ireland is an Island country in north-western Europe. The modern Sovereignty state occupies about five-sixths of the island of Ireland, which was partitioned by the British on 3 May 1921....
.






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Brendan Gleeson (born 29 March 1955) is a Golden Globe award-nominated Irish
Irish people

The Irish people are a Western European ethnic group who originate in Ireland, in north western Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolgs, Tuatha D? Danann and the Milesians ?the last group supposedly representing the "pure" Gaelic a...
 actor
Actor

An actor or actress is a person who acting in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio programming in that capacity....
 who has starred in many high profile Irish, American and British films. His best-known movies include the Harry Potter films, Kingdom of Heaven
Kingdom of Heaven (film)

Kingdom of Heaven is a 2005 in film epic film, directed by Ridley Scott and written by William Monahan. It stars Orlando Bloom, Eva Green, Jeremy Irons, David Thewlis, Marton Csokas, Brendan Gleeson, Alexander Siddig, Ghassan Massoud, Edward Norton, Jon Finch, Michael Sheen and Liam Neeson....
, Beowulf
Beowulf

Beowulf is an Old English language heroic Epic poetry of unknown authorship, dating as recorded in the Nowell Codex manuscript from between the 8th to the early 11th century, and relates events described as having occurred in what is now Denmark and Sweden....
, Troy
Troy (film)

Troy is an epic film released on May 14, 2004, concerning the Trojan War. It is loosely based on Homer's Iliad, but includes material from Virgil's Aeneid and other sources, and frequently diverges from myth....
, Gangs of New York
Gangs of New York

Gangs of New York is a 2002 in film USA historical film crime film set in the mid-19th century in the Five Points, Manhattan district of New York City....
, 28 Days Later
28 Days Later

28 Days Later is a British films of 2002 Cinema of the United Kingdom Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction science fiction film directed by Danny Boyle....
, In Bruges
In Bruges

In Bruges is a 2008 in film film directed and written by Martin McDonagh. The film stars Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson as hitmen in hiding, with Ralph Fiennes as their gangster boss....
, Braveheart
Braveheart

Braveheart is an Academy Award-Winning, 1995 historical action-drama movie film producer and Film director by Mel Gibson, who also starred in the title role....
, The General
The General (1998 film)

The General is a true film about Dublin criminal Martin Cahill, who pulled off several daring heists in the early 1980s, and attracted attention from the Garda S?och?na, List of IRAs, and Ulster Volunteer Force....
 and the role of Michael Collins in The Treaty
The Treaty

The Treaty is a 1991 Republic of Ireland historical film television film directed by Jonathan Lewis.The film is about the Anglo-Irish Treaty that Michael Collins bargained for with the British government in 1921....
.

Biography


Personal life

Gleeson was born in Dublin
Dublin

Dublin is both the largest city and capital of Republic of Ireland. It is located near the midpoint of Ireland's east coast, at the mouth of the River Liffey and at the centre of the Dublin Region....
, Ireland
Republic of Ireland

Ireland is an Island country in north-western Europe. The modern Sovereignty state occupies about five-sixths of the island of Ireland, which was partitioned by the British on 3 May 1921....
. He has said that he was an avid reader as a child. 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 and Drama.

Gleeson lives in Malahide
Malahide

Malahide is a coastal suburban town, near Dublin city, located in the administrative county of Fingal, within the traditional County Dublin, Republic of Ireland....
, County Dublin
County Dublin

County Dublin , or more correctly today the Dublin Region , is the area that contains the city of Dublin, the Capital of Republic of Ireland as well as the largest city on the island of Ireland; and the modern counties of County of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown, County of Fingal and County of South Dublin....
.

Gleeson is also a very talented fiddle
Fiddle

The term fiddle refers to a violin; it is a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including European classical music....
 player, with an interest in folklore. 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
Michael Collins (Irish leader)

Michael John Collins was an Ireland revolutionary leadership, Minister for Finance and Member of Parliament for South Cork in the First D?il of 1919, Director of Military intelligence for the Irish Republican Army, and member of the Irish delegation during the Anglo-Irish Treaty negotiations....
 in The Treaty
The Treaty

The Treaty is a 1991 Republic of Ireland historical film television film directed by Jonathan Lewis.The film is about the Anglo-Irish Treaty that Michael Collins bargained for with the British government in 1921....
 a television film broadcast on RTÉ One
RTÉ One

RT? One is Republic of Ireland's oldest and most popular television channel, operated by Irish state broadcaster Radio Telef?s ?ireann. RT? One is almost universally available on the Very high frequency and Ultra high frequency bands on the island of Ireland , and is available on the Sky Digital satellite service in both the Republic of Ire...
, and for which he won a Jacob's Award in 1992.

Gleeson has subsequently acted in more than 60 films including Braveheart
Braveheart

Braveheart is an Academy Award-Winning, 1995 historical action-drama movie film producer and Film director by Mel Gibson, who also starred in the title role....
, I Went Down
I Went Down

I Went Down is a 1997 Ireland comedy crime film. It has only ever been released on VHS....
, Michael Collins
Michael Collins (film)

Michael Collins is a List of Irish films#1990s List of historical drama films biographical film about Michael Collins , the Ireland patriotism and revolutionary who died in the Irish Civil War....
, Gangs of New York
Gangs of New York

Gangs of New York is a 2002 in film USA historical film crime film set in the mid-19th century in the Five Points, Manhattan district of New York City....
, Cold Mountain
Cold Mountain (film)

Cold Mountain is a 2003 film written and directed by Anthony Minghella, and stars Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, Ren?e Zellweger, Brendan Gleeson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ray Winstone and Natalie Portman....
, 28 Days Later
28 Days Later

28 Days Later is a British films of 2002 Cinema of the United Kingdom Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction science fiction film directed by Danny Boyle....
, Troy
Troy (film)

Troy is an epic film released on May 14, 2004, concerning the Trojan War. It is loosely based on Homer's Iliad, but includes material from Virgil's Aeneid and other sources, and frequently diverges from myth....
, Kingdom of Heaven
Kingdom of Heaven (film)

Kingdom of Heaven is a 2005 in film epic film, directed by Ridley Scott and written by William Monahan. It stars Orlando Bloom, Eva Green, Jeremy Irons, David Thewlis, Marton Csokas, Brendan Gleeson, Alexander Siddig, Ghassan Massoud, Edward Norton, Jon Finch, Michael Sheen and Liam Neeson....
, Lake Placid
Lake Placid (film)

Lake Placid is a 1999 in film comedy film horror film. It was directed by Steve Miner and was released in the United States on July 16, 1999....
, Artificial Intelligence: AI
A.I. (film)

A.I. Artificial Intelligence is a 2001 science fiction film directed, produced and co-written by Steven Spielberg. Based on the short story Super-Toys Last All Summer Long, the film stars Haley Joel Osment, Frances O'Connor, Jude Law, Sam Robards, Jake Thomas and William Hurt....
 and The Village
The Village (film)

The Village is a 2004 film written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan that explores the dynamics of an insular turn-of-the-20th-century village and the collective fears of its members....
. He won critical acclaim for his performance as Irish gangster Martin Cahill
Martin Cahill

Martin Cahill was a prominent Republic of Ireland criminal from Dublin.Cahill generated a certain notoriety in the media, which referred to him by the sobriquet "The General"....
 in John Boorman
John Boorman

John Boorman is an England filmmaker, currently based in Ireland, best known for his feature films such as Point Blank , Deliverance, Excalibur , Hope and Glory , The General and Zardoz....
's 1998 film The General
The General (1998 film)

The General is a true film about Dublin criminal Martin Cahill, who pulled off several daring heists in the early 1980s, and attracted attention from the Garda S?och?na, List of IRAs, and Ulster Volunteer Force....
.

While Gleeson played Michael Collins in The Treaty, he later portrayed Liam Tobin
Liam Tobin

Major General Liam Tobin was an officer in the Irish Army. Previously he had been an intelligence gatherer for Michael Collins ' The Squad ....
 in the film Michael Collins with Liam Neeson
Liam Neeson

William John "Liam" Neeson Order of the British Empire is an Irish people actor. He is well known for his roles as Oskar Schindler in Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List and as Qui-Gon Jinn in George Lucas' Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace and as the Voice acting of Aslan in The Chronicles of Narnia film series....
 taking the role of Collins.
Ironically, Gleeson later went on to portray Collins' nemesis Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, Order of the Garter, Order of Merit, Order of the Companions of Honour, Territorial Decoration, Fellow of the Royal Society, Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, Queen's Privy Council for Canada was a Politics of the United Kingdom known chiefly for his leadership of the United King...
 in Churchill at War.


Gleeson frequently appears in the role of mentor or authority figure; he played Hogwarts
Hogwarts

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is a setting in J. K. Rowling's best-selling Harry Potter series. In the series, it is a school of Magic for witches and wizards between the ages of eleven and eighteen living in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland....
 professor Mad-Eye Moody in the fourth and fifth Harry Potter
Harry Potter

Harry Potter is a Heptalogy fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the eponymous adolescent wizard Harry Potter , together with Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, his friends from the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry....
 films, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is a 2005 in film fantasy adventure film, based on J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and is the fourth film in the popular Harry Potter ....
 and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is a 2007 in film fantasy film adventure film film, based on the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J....
. 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 Bruges

In Bruges is a 2008 in film film directed and written by Martin McDonagh. The film stars Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson as hitmen in hiding, with Ralph Fiennes as their gangster boss....
, in which Gleeson played a mentor-like figure for Colin Farrell
Colin Farrell

'Colin James Farrell' is a Golden Globe Award-winning Irish people actor, who has appeared in several high-profile Hollywood, Los Angeles, California films including Tigerland, Daredevil , Miami Vice , Minority Report , Phone Booth , Alexander and S.W.A.T....
's hitman
Hitman

A hitman usually is an assassin who is hired to assassinate a target via contract killing....
., 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
Brendan and the Secret of Kells

The Secret of Kells is an Republic of Ireland-Belgian-French people animated feature film by Cartoon Saloon that premiered on February 8, 2009, at the Berlin International Film Festival....
, an animated film by Cartoon Saloon
Cartoon Saloon

Cartoon Saloon is an Republic of Ireland company which provides illustration, design, animation, film and TV services. The company is based in Kilkenny City....
 which premieres at the Jameson
Jameson Irish Whiskey

Jameson is a single-distillery Irish whiskey. The brand is today owned by the French beverage conglomerate Pernod Ricard. Unlike other blends where several whiskeys from either other distilleries or the open market are combined together to reduce costs, the Jameson distilling tradition has always insisted upon producing every component of the...
 Dublin International Film Festival in February 2009.

He starred in the short film Six Shooter
Six Shooter (film)

Six Shooter is an Irish 2005 in film live action short subject starring Brendan Gleeson and R?aidhr? Conroy....
 in 2006, which won an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short.

Filmography



External links