Brendan Gleeson

Brendan Gleeson (born March 29, 1955) is an Irish actor and director. He is the recipient of three IFTA Awards, two BIFA Awards, and an Emmy Award, has been nominated for an Academy Award, 3 BAFTA Award and 5 Golden Globes. He’s the father of actors Domhnall Gleeson and Brian Gleeson. He made his film debut in Jim Sheridan‘s The Field (1990), with Richard Harris, John Hurt, Sean Bean, Brenda Fricker and Tom Berenger.

He is best known for his performance as Alastor “Mad Eye” Moody in the Harry Potter films from 2005–2010, with Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Robbie Coltrane, Michael Gambon, Maggie Smith, Alan Rickman, Gary Oldman, and Ralph Fiennes. His other films include Braveheart (1995), directed by and starring Mel Gibson; Neil Jordan‘s Michael Collins (1996), with Liam Neeson; Lake Placid (1999), with Oliver Platt, Bridget Fonda, Bill Pullman, and Betty White; Martin Scorsese‘s Gangs of New York (2002), with Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis, and Cameron Diaz; Anthony Minghella’s Cold Mountain (2003), with Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, Renée Zellweger, and Philip Seymour Hoffman; Wolfgang Petersen‘s Troy (2004), with Brad Pitt, Brian Cox, Bean, and Peter O’Toole; M. Night Shyamalan’s The Village (2004), with Bryce Dallas Howard, Joaquin Phoenix, Adrien Brody, William Hurt, and Sigourney Weaver; Sarah Gavron’s Suffragette (2015), with Carey Mulligan, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne-Marie Duff, and Meryl Streep; Paddington 2 (2018), and Joel & Ethan Coen‘s The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018), with James Franco, Zoe Kazan, Liam Neeson, Tim Blake Nelson, Tom Waits, Tyne Daly, Bill Heck, Grainger Hines, Harry Melling, Jonjo O’Neill, Chelcie Ross, and Saul Rubinek. He’s had leading roles in such films as Martin McDonagh‘s In Bruges (2008), with Collin Farrell and Feinnes; John Michael McDonagh‘s The Guard (2011), with Don Cheadle, Mark Strong, and Liam Cunningham; Cavalry (2014), with Chris O’Dowd, Kelly Reilly, Aidan Gillen, Dylan Moran, M. Emmet Walsh and Isaach de Bankolé; and Hempstead (2017), with Diane Keaton, James Norton, Lesley Manville, Jason Watkins, Hugh Skinner, and Simon Callow. He has starred as detective Bill Hodges in the television adaptation of Stephen King’s Mr. Mercedes. He won an Emmy Award in 2009 for his portrayal of Winston Churchill in the television film Into the Storm.

Each review will be linked to the title below.

(*seen originally in theaters)

(**seen rereleased in theaters)

Dear Sarah (1989) – directed by Frank Cvitanovich – TV movie
Hard Shoulder (1990) – directed by Mark Kilroy – TV movie
The Field (1990) – directed by Jim Sheridan
The Treaty (1991) – directed by Jonathan Lewis – TV movie
Saint Oscar (1991) – directed by Guy Slater – TV movie
Far and Away (1992) – directed by Ron Howard
Conneely’s Choice (1992) – directed by Barra de Bhaldraithe – short
Into the West – directed by Mike Newell
The Bargain Shop (1992) – directed by Johnny Gogan
M.A.N.: Matrix Adjusted Normal (1992) – directed by Connor O’Mahoney – short
Braveheart (1995) – directed by Mel Gibson
The Life of Reilly (1995) – directed by Alan Archbold – short
Kidnapped (1995) – directed by Ivan Passer – TV movie
Michael Collins (1996) – directed by Neil Jordan
Trojan Eddie (1996) – directed by Gillies MacKinnon
Spaghetti Slow (1996) – directed by Valerio Jalongo – aka Mesaggi quasi segreti – Italy/Ireland
Angela Mooney (1996) – directed by Tommy McArdle – aka Angela Mooney Dies Again
Turbulence (1997) – directed by Robert Butler
The Butcher Boy (1997) – directed by Neil Jordan
The Break (1997) – directed by Robert Dornhelm
I Went Down (1997) – directed by Paddy Breathnach
Before I Sleep (1997) – directed by Paul Mercier – short
The General (1998) – directed by John Boorman
This Is My Father (1998) – directed by Paul Quinn
The Tale of Sweety Barrett (1998) – directed by Stephen Bradley
Making the Cut (1998) – directed by Martyn Friend – TV movie
Lake Placid (1999) – directed by Steve Miner
My Life So Far (1999) – directed by Hugh Hudson
Mission: Impossible II (2000) – directed by John Woo
Harrison’s Flowers (2000) – directed by Élie Chouraqui
Saltwater (2000) – directed by Connor McPherson
Wild About Harry (2000) – directed by Declan Lowney
The Tailor of Panama (2001) – directed by John Boorman
A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001) – directed by Steven Spielberg
The Cake (2001) – directed by Jennifer Keegan – short
28 Days Later (2002) – directed by Danny Boyle
Gangs of New York (2002)* – directed by Martin Scorsese
Dark Blue (2002) – directed by Ron Shelton
Cold Mountain (2003) – directed by Anthony Minghella
Wild Stories: The Devoted Friend (2003) – directed by Maurice Joyce – TV short
In My Country (2004) – directed by John Boorman
Troy (2004)* – directed by Wolfgang Petersen
The Village (2004)* – directed by M. Night Shyamalan
Six Shooter (2004) – directed by Martin McDonagh – short
Kingdom of Heaven (2005) – directed by Ridley Scott
Breakfast on Pluto (2005) – directed by Neil Jordan
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)* – directed by Mike Newell
Studs (2006) – directed by Paul Mercier
The Tiger’s Tail (2006) – directed by John Boorman
Black Irish (2007) – directed by Brad Gann
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)* – directed by David Yates
Beowulf (2007) – directed by Robert Zemeckis
In Bruges (2008) – directed by Martin McDonagh
The Secret of Kells (2008) – directed by Tomm Moore & Nora Twomey
Into the Storm (2009) – directed by Thaddeus O’Sullivan
Perrier’s Bounty (2009) – directed by Ian Fitzgibbon
Green Zone (2010) – directed by Paul Greengrass
Noreen (2010) – directed by Domhnall Gleeson – short
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010)* – directed by David Yates
The Guard (2011) – directed by John Michael McDonagh
Albert Nobbs (2011) – directed by Rodrigo García
The Cup (2011) – directed by Simon Wincer
Safe House (2012) – directed by Daniel Espinosa
The Raven (2012) – directed by James McTeigue
The Pirates! Band of Misfits (2012)* – directed by Peter Lord & Jeff Newitt – aka The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists!
So You Want to Be a Pirate! (2012) – directed by Jay Grace – short
The Company You Keep (2012) – directed by Robert Redford
The Smurfs 2 (2013) – directed by Raja Gosnell
The Grand Seduction (2013) – directed by Don McKellar
Calvary (2014) – directed by John Michael McDonagh
Edge of Tomorrow (2014) – directed by Doug Liman
Stonehearst Asylum (2014) – directed by Brad Anderson
Song of the Sea (2014) – directed by Tomm Moore
The Money (2014) – directed by Justin Chadwick – TV movie
Pursuit (2015) – directed by Paul Mercier
In the Heart of the Sea (2015) – directed by Ron Howard
Suffragette (2015) – directed by Sarah Gavron
Alone in Berlin (2016) – directed by Vincent Perez
Trespass Against Us (2016) – directed by Adam Smith
Assassin’s Creed (2016) – directed by Justin Kurzel
Live by Night (2016) – directed by Ben Affleck
Hampstead (2017) – directed by Joel Hopkins
Paddington 2 (2017) – directed by Paul King
Captain Morten and the Spider Queen (2018) – directed by Kasper Jancis, Henry Nicholson, & Riho Unt
Psychic (2018) – also director – short
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018) – directed by Joel & Ethan Coen
Frankie (2019) – directed by Ira Sachs
The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021) – directed by Joel Coen
The Banshees of Inisherin (2022) – directed by Martin McDonagh
A Greyhound Of A Girl (2023) – directed by Enzo D’Alò
Joker: Folie à Deux (2024) – directed by Todd Phillips

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