
Brendan Gleeson
Biography
Brendan Gleeson (born 29 March 1955) is an Irish actor and film director. He is the recipient of three IFTA Awards, two BIFA's, and a Primetime Emmy Award and has been nominated twice for a BAFTA Award, five times for a Golden Globe Award and once for an Academy Award. In 2020, he was listed at number 18 on The Irish Times list of Ireland's greatest film actors. He is the father of actors Domhnall Gleeson and Brian Gleeson.
He is best known for his performance as Alastor Moody in the Harry Potter films (2005–2010). He is also known for his supporting roles in films such as Braveheart (1995), Michael Collins (1996), 28 Days Later (2002), Gangs of New York (2002), Cold Mountain (2003), Troy (2004), Suffragette (2015), Paddington 2 (2017), The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018), and The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021). He is also known for his leading roles in films such as The General (1998), In Bruges (2008), The Guard (2011), Calvary (2014), Frankie (2019), and The Banshees of Inisherin (2022). He received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for the lattermost film.
He won an Primetime Emmy Award in 2009 for his portrayal of Winston Churchill in the television film Into the Storm. He also received a Golden Globe Award nomination for his performance as Donald Trump in the Showtime series The Comey Rule (2020). From 2017 to 2019 he starred in the crime series Mr. Mercedes. He received an Emmy Award nomination for Stephen Frears' Sundance TV series State of the Union (2022).
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Known For
Acting History
2025
H Is for Hawk as Alisdair Macdonald
2025Kerry: Tides of Time as Narrator
2024Joker: Folie à Deux as Jackie Sullivan
2024Brendan Gleeson's Farewell to Hughes's as Self
2023On the Red Carpet Presents: The Banshees of Inisherin as Self
2022The Irish Civil War as Narrator
2022The Banshees of Inisherin as Colm Doherty
2022The Dead Zoo as Narrator
2021The Tragedy of Macbeth as Duncan
2021Riverdance: The Animated Adventure as Huntsman (voice)
2021Frank of Ireland as Liam
2021The Burren: Heart of Stone as Narrator
2020The Comey Rule as Donald Trump
2019Lost Lives
2019Frankie as Jimmy
2019State of the Union as Scott
2018The Ballad of Buster Scruggs as Irishman (segment "The Mortal Remains")
2018Captain Morten and the Spider Queen as Captain Vicks (voice)
2018Psychic as Jeremiah
2017Paddington 2 as Knuckles McGinty
2017Mr. Mercedes as Detective Bill Hodges
2017Hampstead as Donald Horner
2016Live by Night as Thomas Coughlin
2016Assassin's Creed as Joseph Lynch
2016Trespass Against Us as Colby Culter
2016Alone in Berlin as Otto Quangel
2016Atlantic as Narrator
2015In the Heart of the Sea as Old Thomas Nickerson
2015Suffragette as Arthur Steed
2015The Late Show with Stephen Colbert as Self
2015Pursuit as Searbhán
2015The Late Late Show with James Corden as Self - Guest
2014Stonehearst Asylum as The Alienist
2014Song of the Sea as Conor / Mac Lir (voice)
2014The Grand Seduction as Murray French
2014Edge of Tomorrow as General Brigham
2014Calvary as Father James Lavelle
2014Late Night with Seth Meyers as Self
20131916 Seachtar Dearmadta as Glór
2013The Smurfs 2 as Victor Doyle
2012The Company You Keep as Henry Osborne
2012So You Want To Be A Pirate! as The Pirate With Gout
2012The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists! as The Pirate with Gout (voice)
2012The Raven as Colonel Hamilton
2012Safe House as David Barlow
2011Albert Nobbs as Dr. Holloran
2011The Cup as Dermot Weld
2011The Guard as Sergeant Gerry Boyle
2010Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 as Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody
20101916 Seachtar na Cásca as Self - Narrator (voice)
2010Noreen as Con Keogh
2010Green Zone as Martin Brown
2009Perrier's Bounty as Darren Perrier
2009Into the Storm as Winston Churchill
2009The Secret of Kells as Abbot Cellach (voice)
2008In Bruges as Ken
2007Beowulf as Wiglaf
2007Black Irish as Desmond McKay
2007Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix as Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody
2007The Graham Norton Show as Self
2006The Tiger's Tail as Liam O'Leary
2006The Path to Redemption as Self
2006Studs as Walter Keegan
2005Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire as Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody
2005Breakfast on Pluto as John Joe Kenny
2005Kingdom of Heaven as Reynald de Chatillon
2005Deconstructing 'The Village' as Self
2004Six Shooter as Donnelly
2004The Village as August Nicholson
2004Troy as Menelaos
2004In My Country as De Jagar
2003Cold Mountain as Stobrod Thewes
2003Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks as Ferny Toro (voice)
2002Gangs of New York as Walter 'Monk' McGinn
2002Dark Blue as Jack van Meter
200228 Days Later as Frank
2001A.I. Artificial Intelligence as Lord Johnson-Johnson
2001Cáca Milis as Paul
2001The Tailor of Panama as Mickie Abraxas
2000Wild About Harry as Harry McKee
2000Saltwater as Simple Simon
2000Harrison's Flowers as Marc Stevenson
2000Mission: Impossible II as McCloy
1999My Life So Far as Jim Menzies
1999Lake Placid as Sheriff Hank Keough
1999This Is My Father as Garda Jim
1999Sweety Barrett as Sweety Barrett
1998The General as Martin Cahill
1998The Butcher Boy as Father Bubbles
1997I Went Down as Bunny Kelly
1997Angela Mooney Dies Again as Barney Mooney
1997Turbulence as Stubbs
1997A Further Gesture as Richard
1996Spaghetti Slow as Frank Ferguson
1996Michael Collins as Liam Tobin
1996Trojan Eddie as Ginger
1995Braveheart as Hamish Campbell
1993The Snapper as Lester
1993Love Lies Bleeding as Thomas Macken
1992Into the West as Inspector Bolger
1992Far and Away as Social Club Policeman
1991The Treaty as Michael Collins
1990The Field as Quarryman
1990Dear Sarah as Brendan Dowd
1989The Simpsons as Joe Quimby Sr. (voice)
1975Saturday Night Live as Self - Host
1944Golden Globe Awards as Self - Nominee
—Sexual Healing as Freddy Cousaert
—Spider-Noir
—A Hero's Journey: The Making of Beowulf as Wiglaf
—The Good Daughter as Rusty
—The Honey Wars as (voice)
—Before I Sleep









