30 Facts About Brendan Gleeson

1.

Brendan Gleeson was born on 29 March 1955 and is an Irish actor and film director.

2.

Brendan Gleeson 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.

3.

Brendan Gleeson is the father of actors Domhnall Gleeson and Brian Gleeson.

4.

Brendan Gleeson is popularly known for his performance as Alastor Moody in the Harry Potter films.

5.

Brendan Gleeson is known for his supporting roles in films such as Braveheart, Michael Collins, 28 Days Later, Gangs of New York, Cold Mountain, Troy, Suffragette, Paddington 2, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, and The Tragedy of Macbeth.

6.

Brendan Gleeson is known for his leading roles in films such as The General, In Bruges, The Guard, Calvary, Frankie, and The Banshees of Inisherin for which he received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

7.

Brendan Gleeson won a Primetime Emmy Award in 2009 for his portrayal of Winston Churchill in the television film Into the Storm.

8.

Brendan Gleeson received a Golden Globe Award nomination for his performance as Donald Trump in the Showtime series The Comey Rule.

9.

Brendan Gleeson received an Emmy Award nomination for Stephen Frears' Sundance TV series State of the Union.

10.

Brendan Gleeson has described himself as having been an avid reader as a child.

11.

Brendan Gleeson received his second-level education at St Joseph's CBS in Fairview, Dublin where he was a member of the school drama group.

12.

Brendan Gleeson received his Bachelor of Arts at University College Dublin, majoring in English and Irish.

13.

Brendan Gleeson was working simultaneously as an actor while teaching, doing semi-professional and professional productions in Dublin and surrounding areas.

14.

Brendan Gleeson left the teaching profession to commit full-time to acting in 1991.

15.

Brendan Gleeson has written three plays for Passion Machine: The Birdtable and Breaking Up, both of which he directed, and Babies and Bathwater in which he acted.

16.

Brendan Gleeson first came to prominence in Ireland for his role as Michael Collins in The Treaty, a television film broadcast on RTE One, and for which he won a Jacob's Award in 1992.

17.

Brendan Gleeson won critical acclaim for his performance as Irish gangster Martin Cahill in John Boorman's 1998 film The General.

18.

In 2003, Brendan Gleeson was the voice of Hugh the Miller in an episode of the Channel 4 animated series Wilde Stories.

19.

Brendan Gleeson later went on to portray Winston Churchill in Into the Storm.

20.

Brendan Gleeson played Hogwarts professor Mad-Eye Moody in the fourth, fifth and seventh Harry Potter films.

21.

Brendan Gleeson provided the voice of Abbot Cellach in The Secret of Kells, an animated film co-directed by Tomm Moore and Nora Twomey of Cartoon Saloon which premiered in February 2009 at the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival.

22.

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

23.

In 2008, Brendan Gleeson starred in the comedy crime film In Bruges, written and directed by McDonagh.

24.

The film, and Brendan Gleeson's performance, enjoyed huge critical acclaim, earning Brendan Gleeson several award nominations, including his first Golden Globe nomination.

25.

Brendan Gleeson is a fiddle and mandolin player, with an interest in Irish folklore.

26.

Brendan Gleeson played the fiddle during his roles in Cold Mountain, Michael Collins, The Grand Seduction, and The Banshees of Inisherin, and features on Altan's 2009 live album.

27.

Brendan Gleeson has made a contribution in 2019 to the album by Irish folk group Dervish with a version of Rocky Road To Dublin.

28.

Brendan Gleeson has been married to Mary Weldon since 1982.

29.

Brendan Gleeson speaks fluent Irish and is an advocate of the promotion of the Irish language.

30.

Brendan Gleeson is a fan of English football club Aston Villa, as is his son Domhnall.