Mad-Eye

Background:

Spending a decade as a high school teacher, Brendan Gleeson decided to become an actor at age 34 and got his first big break as Hamish Campbell, Mel Gibson's William Wallace's hulking sidekick, in the Academy Award-winning historical epic "Braveheart" (1995). Since then, he has earned an increasing amount of acclaim for his work in a variety of films, most notably as Bunny Kelly, a dimwitted, low-level criminal, in the Paddy Breathnach directed Irish comedy crime film, "I Went Down" (1997), and as Dublin folk hero and criminal Martin Cahill in John Boorman's biopic "The General" (1998).

The Irish actor, who made his big screen debut with a bit part in Jim Sheridan’s adaptation of John B. Keane's play, ''The Field'' (1990), has acted in more than 30 films, including "Michael Collins" (1996), "Turbulence" (1997), "Mission: Impossible II" (2000), "The Tailor of Panama" (2001), "Artificial Intelligence: AI" (2001), "28 Days Later," (2002), "Gangs of New York" (2002), "Cold Mountain" (2003), "Troy" (2004), "The Village" (2004), "Kingdom of Heaven" (2005), "Breakfast on Pluto" (2005) and "Beowulf" (2007).

Gleeson portrayed Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Mood, a professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts, in two Harry Potter films: "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" (2005) and "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" (2007). He will next be seen as a hit man, opposite Colin Farrell, in "In Bruges" and as the former British prime minister in the Thaddeus O'Sullivan directed historical drama, "Churchill at War."

On a more personal note, the burly redhead versatile player has been married since 1982 and has four sons. He currently lives in Malahide County, Dublin, with his family.

Ireland

Childhood and Family:

In Dublin, Ireland, Brendan Gleeson was born on March 29, 1955. An avid reader as a child, Gleeson paid attention to Irish play writers such as Samual Beckett, which eventually led to him performing in his high school play production of ''Waiting for Godot.'' After finishing the 12th grade and spending a couple of years with the Dublin Shakespeare Festival, he headed to London and auditioned for drama schools and was accepted at the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA).

After RADA, he returned home to Dublin, continued with theatre, and studied Gaelic and English at the University College, in Dublin, Ireland. He then worked for several years as a secondary level teacher at Belcamp College, in North County Dublin. He also taught at St. Joseph's Secondary School in Fairview, Dublin.

Gleeson is also a very talented fiddle player and can be seen playing in the films ''Michael Collins'' (1996) and ''Cold Mountain'' (2003). He is good friends with fellow Irish actors Liam Neeson, Stephen Rea and Cillian Murphy.

Gleeson lives in Malahide, County, Dublin, with his wife Mary, whom he married in 1982. They have four sons: Domhnall, Fergus, Brían and Ruari.

The General

Career:

A schoolteacher for almost 10 years while acting in semi-professional and professional productions, RADA graduate Brendan Gleeson participated in the Dublin Shakespeare Theatre Festival during the mid-eighties. In the late eighties, he was asked to audition for the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) in Stratford Upon Avon, England, where he stayed for two seasons and was credited in such productions as ''King Lear'' and ''King Richard II.''

At the age of 35, Gleeson decided to audition for films in the U.K. and began to develop a respectable resume for playing diverse characters. After appearing in the made-for TV movies "Dear Sarah" (1989) and "Hard Shoulder" (1990), he made his feature film acting debut in a small role in Jim Sheridan's adaptation of John B. Keane's play, "The Field" (1990), starring Richard Harris. The Irish actor followed it up with roles in films like Mike Newell's Irish fable "Into the West" (1992; starring Gabriel Byrne and Ellen Barkin) and Ron Howard's Irish drama movie "Far and Away" (1992; starring Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise).

Gleeson also appeared in the TV movies "Saint Oscar" (1991), "The Treaty" (1991), "The Snapper" (1993), "Love Lies Bleeding" (1993) and the TNT adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's novel, "Kidnapped" (1995; starring Armand Assante). He also starred as a Welsh lifeboat crew member in the short-lived seaside drama series called "The Lifeboat" (1994). In 1995, Gleeson got his big break when he was cast as Hamish Campbell, the childhood friend of Mel Gibson's William Wallace, in the Academy Award-winning historical epic "Braveheart."

Gleeson continued to perform and was seen in the films "Michael Collins" (1996; starring Liam Neeson), an Academy Award-nominated biopic about the Irish leader written and directed by Neil Jordan, and "Trojan Eddie" (1996; starring Stephen Rea), an independent romantic drama by Gillies MacKinnon. He also could be seen in Robert Butler's thriller "Turbulence" (1997), Neil Jordan's film version of Pat McCabe's Irish novel, "The Butcher Boy" (1997), as Father Bubbles, and Robert Dornhelm's Irish thriller starring Stephen Rea, "A Further Gesture" (1997; aka "The Break"). Gleeson was then nominated for an IFTA (Irish Film and Television Award) for Best Actor in a Male Role and won a BSFC (Boston Society of Film Critics) for Best Actor for his solid performance as Bunny Kelly, a half-witted henchman, in the Paddy Breathnach directed Irish comedy crime film, "I Went Down" (1997).

The next year Brendan portrayed the title role of Dublin folk hero and criminal Martin Cahill in John Boorman's biopic "The General" (1998), a role which won him IFTA (Irish Film and Television Award) for Best Actor in a Male Role, ALFS’ Award for British Actor of the Year, and a BSFC (Boston Society of Film Critics) Best Actor. He was also nominated for a Golden Satellite Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama.

Entering the new millennium, Gleeson co-starred with Brian Cox and Peter McDonald in McPherson's "Salt Water," which was adapted from McPherson's play "This Lime Tree Bower." He then had a featured role in "Mission: Impossible II," starring Tom Cruise, and played the title role in Declan Lowney's comedy "Wild About Harry," which earned him an IFTA nomination for Best Actor in a Feature Film.

Gleeson subsequently co-starred in Steven Spielberg's Academy Award nominated science fiction film, "A.I. Artificial Intelligence" (2001; starring Haley Joel Osment), and teamed up again with ''The General'' director Boorman for his spy film, "The Tailor of Panama" (2001; with Pierce Brosnan, Geoffrey Rush and Jamie Lee Curtis). He was also cast as Walter 'Monk' McGinn, a barber who worked as a mercenary for Priest Vallon (played by Liam Neeson), in Martin Scorsese's Academy Award nominated historical drama loosely inspired by Herbert Asbury's 1928 book, "Gangs of New York" (2002; with Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis and Cameron Diaz), and appeared as a survivor named Frank in director Danny Boyle's critical and commercial successful post-apocalyptic zombie thriller, "28 Days Later" (2002; alongside Cillian Murphy and Naomie Harris).

In 2003, director Anthony Minghella cast Gleeson as Stobrod Thewes, the deadbeat father of Renée Zellweger's Ruby and a Confederate deserter, in his Academy Award winning adaptation of Charles Frazier's 1997 historical fiction novel, "Cold Mountain" (also starring Jude Law and Nicole Kidman). He then portrayed Jack Van Meter, a corrupt police official, in Ron Shelton's Los Angeles cop drama, "Dark Blue," alongside Kurt Russell.

Gleeson was next cast as Spartan king Menelaus in director Wolfgang Petersen's Academy Award nominated epic "Troy" (2004; starring Brad Pitt), and starred as August Nicholson in writer/director M. Night Shyamalan's box office hit thriller, "The Village" (2004), with Bryce Dallas Howard, Joaquin Phoenix and Adrien Brody.

Gleeson was cast opposite Orlando Bloom in Ridley Scott's 2005 epic "Kingdom of Heaven" before playing a hard-drinking Irish emigrant, opposite Cillian Murphy, in Neil Jordan's Golden Globe nominated adaptation of Patrick McCabe's 1998 novel, "Breakfast on Pluto" (2005). That same year, he also portrayed Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Mood, a professor of the Defense Against the Dark Arts, in "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," adapted from the fourth book in the fantasy series by J.K. Rowling and directed by Mike Newell. He later reprised the role in the sequel ''Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix'' (2007).

Gleeson was nominated for an IFTA Award for Best Actor in a Lead Role in a Feature Film for his turn as a volatile soccer coach in Paul Mercier's ''Studs'' (2006) and played an alcoholic, emotionally remote father to Michael Angarano in writer/director Brad Gann's coming-of-age drama "Black Irish," which made its debut at the Hamptons International Film Festival in October 2006. More recently, he could be seen as Beowulf's fierce sidekick Wiglaf in Robert Zemeckis' animated epic film adapted from the Old English heroic epic poem of anonymous authorship, "Beowulf" (2007), alongside Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins, John Malkovich, Robin Wright Penn and Angelina Jolie.

Gleeson has wrapped up his upcoming film, "In Bruges," a dramatic comedy by writer/director Martin McDonagh in which he stars with Colin Farrell. He will soon complete a historical drama film directed by Thaddeus O'Sullivan, "Churchill at War," in which he portrays the title role of the former British prime minister.

Awards:

• IFTA (Irish Film and Television Awards): Best Actor in a Male Role, "The General," 1999

• London Critics Circle Film: ALFS Award--British Actor of the Year, "The General," 1999

• BSFC (Boston Society of Film Critics): Best Actor, "The General," 1998

• BSFC (Boston Society of Film Critics): Best Actor, "I Went Down," 1998