Acting · Dublin, Ireland · Born March 29, 1955
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).
The Good Daughter
2026
as Rusty
TVSpider-Noir
2026
as Finn 'Silvermane' Byrne
MovieH Is for Hawk
2025
as Alisdair Macdonald
TVKerry: Tides of Time
2025
as Narrator
MovieJoker: Folie à Deux
2024
as Jackie Sullivan
MovieBrendan Gleeson's Farewell to Hughes's
2024
as Self
MovieA Greyhound of a Girl
2023
as Paddy (voice)
MovieOn the Red Carpet Presents: The Banshees of Inisherin
2023
as Self
TVThe Irish Civil War
2022
as Narrator
MovieThe Banshees of Inisherin
2022
as Colm Doherty
The Dead Zoo
2022
as Narrator
MovieThe Tragedy of Macbeth
2021
as Duncan
MovieRiverdance: The Animated Adventure
2021
as Huntsman (voice)
TVFrank of Ireland
2021
as Liam
TVThe Burren: Heart of Stone
2021
as Narrator
TVThe Comey Rule
2020
as Donald Trump
Gay Byrne's Late Late Moments
2020
as Self (archive footage)
MovieLost Lives
2019
as Self (voice)
MovieFrankie
2019
as Jimmy
TVState of the Union
2019
as Scott
MovieThe Ballad of Buster Scruggs
2018
as Irishman (segment "The Mortal Remains")
MovieCaptain Morten and the Spider Queen
2018
as Captain Vicks (voice)
MoviePsychic
2018
as Jeremiah
MoviePaddington 2
2017
as Knuckles McGinty
TVMr. Mercedes
2017
as Detective Bill Hodges
MovieHampstead
2017
as Donald Horner
MovieLive by Night
2016
as Thomas Coughlin
MovieAssassin's Creed
2016
as Joseph Lynch
MovieTrespass Against Us
2016
as Colby Culter
MovieAlone in Berlin
2016
as Otto Quangel
MovieAtlantic
2016
as Narrator
MovieIn the Heart of the Sea
2015
as Old Thomas Nickerson
MovieSuffragette
2015
as Arthur Steed
TVThe Late Show with Stephen Colbert
2015
as Self
MoviePursuit
2015
as Searbhán
TVThe Late Late Show with James Corden
2015
as Self - Guest
MovieStonehearst Asylum
2014
as The Alienist
MovieSong of the Sea
2014
as Conor / Mac Lir (voice)
MovieThe Grand Seduction
2014
as Murray French
MovieEdge of Tomorrow
2014
as General Brigham
MovieCalvary
2014
as Father James Lavelle
TVLate Night with Seth Meyers
2014
as Self
1916 Seachtar Dearmadta
2013
as Glór
MovieThe Smurfs 2
2013
as Victor Doyle
MovieThe Company You Keep
2012
as Henry Osborne
MovieSo You Want To Be A Pirate!
2012
as The Pirate With Gout
MovieThe Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists!
2012
as The Pirate with Gout (voice)
MovieThe Raven
2012
as Colonel Hamilton
MovieSafe House
2012
as David Barlow
MovieAlbert Nobbs
2011
as Dr. Holloran
MovieThe Cup
2011
as Dermot Weld
MovieThe Guard
2011
as Sergeant Gerry Boyle
MovieHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
2010
as Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody
1916 Seachtar na Cásca
2010
as Self - Narrator (voice)
MovieNoreen
2010
as Con Keogh
MoviePerrier's Bounty
2010
as Darren Perrier
MovieGreen Zone
2010
as Martin Brown
MovieInto the Storm
2009
as Winston Churchill
MovieThe Secret of Kells
2009
as Abbot Cellach (voice)
MovieIn Bruges
2008
as Ken
MovieBeowulf
2007
as Wiglaf (Voice)
MovieBlack Irish
2007
as Desmond McKay
MovieHarry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
2007
as Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody
TVThe Graham Norton Show
2007
as Self
MovieThe Tiger's Tail
2006
as Liam O'Leary
MovieThe Path to Redemption
2006
as Self
MovieStuds
2006
as Walter Keegan
MovieBreakfast on Pluto
2005
as John Joe Kenny
MovieHarry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
2005
as Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody
MovieKingdom of Heaven
2005
as Reynald de Chatillon
MovieDeconstructing 'The Village'
2005
as Self
MovieSix Shooter
2004
as Donnelly
MovieThe Village
2004
as August Nicholson
MovieTroy
2004
as Menelaus
MovieIn My Country
2004
as De Jagar
MovieCold Mountain
2003
as Stobrod Thewes
TVJakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks
2003
as Ferny Toro (voice)
MovieGangs of New York
2002
as Walter 'Monk' McGinn
MovieDark Blue
2002
as Jack van Meter
Movie28 Days Later
2002
as Frank
MovieA.I. Artificial Intelligence
2001
as Lord Johnson-Johnson
MovieCáca Milis
2001
as Paul
MovieThe Tailor of Panama
2001
as Mickie Abraxas
MovieWild About Harry
2000
as Harry McKee
MovieSaltwater
2000
as Simple Simon
MovieHarrison's Flowers
2000
as Marc Stevenson
MovieMission: Impossible II
2000
as McCloy
MovieMy Life So Far
1999
as Jim Menzies
MovieLake Placid
1999
as Sheriff Hank Keough
MovieThis Is My Father
1999
as Garda Jim
MovieSweety Barrett
1999
as Sweety Barrett
MovieThe General
1998
as Martin Cahill
MovieThe Butcher Boy
1998
as Father Bubbles
MovieBefore I Sleep
1997
as John Harte
MovieI Went Down
1997
as Bunny Kelly
MovieAngela Mooney Dies Again
1997
as Barney Mooney
MovieTurbulence
1997
as Stubbs
MovieA Further Gesture
1997
as Richard
MovieSpaghetti Slow
1996
as Frank Ferguson
MovieMichael Collins
1996
as Liam Tobin
MovieTrojan Eddie
1996
as Ginger
MovieBraveheart
1995
as Hamish Campbell
TVThe Lifeboat
1994
as Leslie Parry
MovieThe Snapper
1993
as Lester
MovieLove Lies Bleeding
1993
as Thomas Macken
MovieInto the West
1992
as Inspector Bolger
MovieFar and Away
1992
as Social Club Policeman
MovieThe Treaty
1991
as Michael Collins
Hard Shoulder
1990
MovieThe Field
1990
as Quarryman
MovieDear Sarah
1990
as Brendan Dowd
TVThe Simpsons
1989
as Joe Quimby Sr. (voice)
4 Play
1989
as Farmer
TVScreenPlay
1986
as Thomas Macken
TVScreen Two
1985
as Lester
TVSaturday Night Live
1975
as Self - Host
TVGolden Globe Awards
1944
as Self - Nominee
Sexual Healing
as Freddy Cousaert
MovieThe Honey Wars
as (voice)
A Hero's Journey: The Making of Beowulf
as Wiglaf
MovieTales from the Poorhouse
Blood Runs Coal
as Joseph Yablonski
