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Brendan Gleeson

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).

CritifyHub Reviews Featuring Brendan Gleeson

Dragons, Dances, and Dark Lords: How Goblet of Fire Ignites the Potter Saga

on Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire | Aug 17, 2025

Why does Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire still feel like a cauldron bubbling with raw, restless energy? This 2005 pivot in the Potter saga, directed by Mike Newell, doesn’t just escalate the stake... Read more

A Tapestry of War and Want: Cold Mountain’s Timeless Yearning

on Cold Mountain | Aug 17, 2025

Ever wonder how love can endure when war tears the world apart? Cold Mountain (2003), Anthony Minghella’s sweeping adaptation of Charles Frazier’s novel, dares to answer with a raw, aching pulse. Set ... Read more

A Shadow Play of Paranoia in Stark Monochrome

on The Tragedy of Macbeth | Jun 15, 2025

Joel Coen’s The Tragedy of Macbeth is not so much a film as it is a waking nightmare a meticulously carved obsidian slab of Shakespearean horror. Stripped down to its barest bones and shot in cavernou... Read more

A Darkly Comic Ode to Friendship’s End

on The Banshees of Inisherin | Jun 07, 2025

Martin McDonagh’s The Banshees of Inisherin is a masterclass in tragicomedy, blending the writer-director’s signature wit with a profound meditation on loneliness, legacy, and the quiet desperation of... Read more

"Every man dies. Not every man truly lives." This stirring quote encapsulates the themes of freedom and passionate defiance in "Braveheart."

on Braveheart | May 31, 2025

Mel Gibson’s Braveheart is a rousing and visually epic historical drama that tells the story of William Wallace (Mel Gibson), a Scottish warrior who ignites a rebellion against King Edward I of Englan... Read more

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