Brendan Gleeson is an Irish actor and director, known for box office hits like Cold Mountain (2003), in which he starred alongside Jude Law, Nicole Kidman and Renée Zellweger, and the comedy-drama In Bruges (2008) alongside Colin Farrell and Ralph Fiennes. Brendan also appeared in Calvary (2014) where he had the lead role of Father James, for which he won the IFTA award in the Best Actor – Motion Picture category and co-starred alongside his son, noted actor Domhnall Gleeson.

He also appeared in a crime comedy film The Watch in 2011 with Liam Cunningham, for which he was also awarded an IFTA award for Best Lead Actor – Motion Picture in 2012. One of his most notable roles was as Winston Churchill in the biographical drama film Into the Tempest (2009), for which he won the 2009 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Motion Picture. In 2017 and 2018 he played a character of Bill Hodges in Mr Mercedes television series.

Born name

Brendan Gleeson

nickname

Brendan

Sun sign

Aries

Place of birth

Dublin, Ireland

Residence

Dublin, Ireland

nationality

training

He attended St Joseph’s Secondary School , a well-known Northside school in Fairview, Dublin, where he was part of a theater company.

occupation

actor, director

family

• Father – Frank Gleeson
• Mutter – Pat Gleeson
• Siblings – unknown

Manager

Brendan is represented by –

• The agency in Dublin, Ireland
• Home Entertainment LA in Los Angeles, California, USA
• Kovert Creative in Santa Monica, California, USA (publicist)

Genre

Volk

instruments

Life

labels

unknown

To build

Big

Height

188 cm (6 ft 2 in)

weight

96 kg or 211.5 lbs

girlfriend/spouse

Brendan dated –

1. Mary (née Weldon) Gleeson (1982-Present) – Brendan was in a long-term relationship with Mary, and the couple married in 1982. He has 4 sons from the marriage, 2 of whom are well-known actors – Domhnall Gleeson (b. 1983 ) and Brian Gleeson (b. 1987). The other two are Fergus Gleeson and Rúairí Gleeson, and Brendan appeared alongside all of his four sons in a TV special called Immaturity for a Cause in 2012.

race/ethnicity

White

He is of Irish descent.

hair colour

Hellbraun

Due to his advanced age, his hair has turned into “salt and pepper”.

eye color

Blau

sexual orientation

Just

distinguishing features

• Big, big build
• Often wears a full beard
• prominent nose
• Thick eyebrows
• Deep, raspy voice

brand promotion

He hasn’t endorsed any brands yet.

Known for

• Starred in leading roles in The Watch (2011) as Gerry Boyle and Calvary (2014) as Father James
• Plays a character named Ken in In Bruges (2008)
• Play Winston Churchill in Into the Storm (2009), for which he won an Emmy Award that same year
• Starring Mr Mercedes TV series since 2017 as Bill Hodges
• Appears as Alastor “Mad-Eye” Moody in the 2005, 2007 and 2010 Harry Potter film series

As a singer

His first appearance as a singer was in a film Wild Because of Harry (2000), where he performed a song entitled Welcome Home . In 2003 he sang several songs: I sit on top of the world , Ruby with sparkling eyes , and Bonaparte’s retreat in the cold mountain (2003). Brendan also sang The Unfortunate Rake , a traditional Irish folk ballad in the 2018 anthology film The Ballad of Buster Scruggs .

first movie

Brendan made his motion picture debut as the Quarryman in the 1990 film The Field .

First TV show

He made his first television show appearance as a farmer in an episode titled On the Frontier of the drama series Games 4 in 1991.

Brendan Gleeson favorite things

• sports – football
• Activity – reading, teaching
• Football Club – Aston Villa
• School Subject – Drama, Mathematics, English, Irish, PE
• Directors – The Coen Brothers, Steven Spielberg

Brendan Gleeson Facts

1. He was an avid reader as a child and later was a great promoter of the Irish language, which he is fluent in. This later led to him being a secondary school teacher of English and Irish at Catholic Belcamp College in North County (Dublin), which closed in 2004.
2. Brendan worked simultaneously as a teacher and actor in various plays. In 1991, when he was 34, he made a serious commitment to acting and left the teaching profession.
3. He was a mathematics teacher at DublinerSt. Joseph’s Secondary School, and also taught physical education at Belcamp College Secondary School in Dublin during the 10 years he was a teacher before becoming an actor.
4. Although Brendan does not have a career as a musician or singer, he has played altan violin in several films alongside the Irish folk group’s 2009 live album .
5. He wrote, directed and starred in Psychic (2018), a short film starring three of his sons – Brian Gleeson played Michelangelo, and Domhnall Gleeson was a character named Shergar, while his third son, Fergus Gleeson, composed the music for it.
6. His performances of Alastor “Mad-Eye” Moody in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005), Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 received acclaim from both critics and audiences . His co-stars were well-known Hollywood actors such as Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Tom Felton, Rupert Grint and Bonnie Wright and Brendan’s son Domhnall Gleeson in the role of Bill Weasley.
7. He had supporting roles in Brave Heart (1995) opposite Mel Gibson, The Impossible 2 (2000) with Tom Cruise and Thandie Newton and 28 Days Later (2002) opposite Cillian Murphy and Naomie Harris.
8. He played the character of Menelaus in Troy (2004) with Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, Orlando Bloom and Diane Kruger and later starred Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt in Tomorrow’s Edge (2014).
9. Brendan had a notable role in Paddington 2 , a 2017 live-action animated comedy for which Hugh Grant was nominated for multiple awards in the Best Actor in a Supporting Role category.
10. He was a well-known Irish theater actor and a member of Passion Machine , a theater company based in Dublin. He acted in plays such as Whole Wheat Bread (1987), Home ( 1988) and Garbage (1985), and wrote and directed The Bird Table (1987) and Break Up (1988).
11. Brendan played the violin in Michael Collins (1996) with Julia Roberts and Liam Neeson, another well-known Irish actor.
12. He starred in the feature film The Tiger Tail (2006) alongside his youngest son, Brian Gleeson.
13. In the late 1980s he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), a well known English theater company Dublin Shakespeare Theater Festival also in the mid 1980s.
14. Brendan starred in Live By Night (2016), a film directed, produced and starring Ben Affleck, as well as Zoe Saldana and Sienna Miller.
15. Brendan beat his son in the Best Supporting Actor category at the 2015 British Independent Film Awards. He won the award for his role as Inspector Arthur Steed in Suffragette Film, which was released earlier this year, while his son, Domhnall, won for the role of Jim Farrell in Brooklyn (2015) with Saoirse Ronan. His son accepted the award for him at the event.
16. He is not active on social media.