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).

Filmography

• Spider-Noir — Finn 'Silvermane' Byrne
• The Good Daughter — Rusty
• 2025H Is for Hawk — Dad
• Kerry: Tides of Time — Narrator
• 2024Joker: Folie à Deux — Jackie Sullivan
• 2023A Greyhound of a Girl — Paddy (voice)
• 2022The Banshees of Inisherin — Colm Doherty
• 2022The Dead Zoo — Narrator
• The Irish Civil War — Narrator
• Frank of Ireland — Liam
• 2021Riverdance: The Animated Adventure — Huntsman (voice)
• The Burren: Heart of Stone — Narrator
• 2021The Tragedy of Macbeth — Duncan
• The Comey Rule — Donald Trump
• 2019Frankie — Jimmy
• State of the Union — Scott
• 2018Captain Morten and the Spider Queen — Captain Vicks (voice)
• 2018Psychic — Jeremiah, Producer, Director
• 2018The Ballad of Buster Scruggs — Irishman (segment "The Mortal Remains")
• 2017Hampstead — Donald Horner
• Mr. Mercedes — Bill Hodges
• 2017Paddington 2 — Knuckles McGinty
• 2016Alone in Berlin — Otto Quangel
• 2016Assassin's Creed — Joseph Lynch
• 2016Atlantic — Narrator
• 2016Live by Night — Thomas Coughlin
• 2016Trespass Against Us — Colby Culter
• 2015In the Heart of the Sea — Old Thomas Nickerson
• 2015Pursuit — Searbhán
• 2015Suffragette — Arthur Steed
• 2014Calvary — Father James Lavelle
• 2014Edge of Tomorrow — General Brigham
• 2014Song of the Sea — Conor / Mac Lir (voice)
• 2014Stonehearst Asylum — The Alienist
• 2014The Grand Seduction — Murray French
• 1916 Seachtar Dearmadta — Glór
• 2013The Smurfs 2 — Victor Doyle
• 2012Safe House — David Barlow
• 2012So You Want To Be A Pirate! — The Pirate With Gout
• 2012The Company You Keep — Henry Osborne
• 2012The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists! — The Pirate with Gout (voice)
• 2012The Raven — Colonel Hamilton
• 2011Albert Nobbs — Dr. Holloran
• 2011The Cup — Dermot Weld
• 2011The Guard — Sergeant Gerry Boyle
• 2010Green Zone — Martin Brown
• 2010Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 — Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody
• 2010Noreen — Con Keogh
• 2010Perrier's Bounty — Darren Perrier
• 2009Into the Storm — Winston Churchill
• 2009The Secret of Kells — Abbot Cellach (voice)
• 2008In Bruges — Ken
• 2007Beowulf — Wiglaf (Voice)
• 2007Black Irish — Desmond McKay
• 2007Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix — Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody
• 2006Studs — Walter Keegan
• 2006The Tiger's Tail — Liam O'Leary
• 2005Breakfast on Pluto — John Joe Kenny
• 2005Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire — Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody
• 2005Kingdom of Heaven — Reynald de Chatillon
• 2004In My Country — De Jagar
• 2004Six Shooter — Donnelly
• 2004The Village — August Nicholson
• 2004Troy — Menelaus
• 2003Cold Mountain — Stobrod Thewes
• Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks — Ferny Toro (voice)
• 200228 Days Later — Frank
• 2002Dark Blue — Jack van Meter
• 2002Gangs of New York — Walter 'Monk' McGinn
• 2001A.I. Artificial Intelligence — Lord Johnson-Johnson
• 2001Cáca Milis — Paul
• 2001The Tailor of Panama — Mickie Abraxas
• 2000Harrison's Flowers — Marc Stevenson
• 2000Mission: Impossible II — McCloy
• 2000Saltwater — Simple Simon
• 2000Wild About Harry — Harry McKee
• 1999Lake Placid — Sheriff Hank Keough
• 1999My Life So Far — Jim Menzies
• 1999Sweety Barrett — Sweety Barrett
• 1999This Is My Father — Garda Jim
• 1998The Butcher Boy — Father Bubbles
• 1998The General — Martin Cahill
• 1997A Further Gesture — Richard
• 1997Angela Mooney Dies Again — Barney Mooney
• 1997Before I Sleep — John Harte
• 1997I Went Down — Bunny Kelly
• 1997Turbulence — Stubbs
• 1996Michael Collins — Liam Tobin
• 1996Spaghetti Slow — Frank Ferguson
• 1996Trojan Eddie — Ginger
• 1995Braveheart — Hamish Campbell
• The Lifeboat — Leslie Parry
• 1993Love Lies Bleeding — Thomas Macken
• 1993The Snapper — Lester
• 1992Far and Away — Social Club Policeman
• 1992Into the West — Inspector Bolger
• 1991The Treaty — Michael Collins
• 1990Dear Sarah — Brendan Dowd
• 1990Hard Shoulder
• 1990The Field — Quarryman
• 4 Play — Farmer
• The Simpsons — Joe Quimby Sr. (voice)
• ScreenPlay — Thomas Macken
• Screen Two — Lester
• A Hero's Journey: The Making of Beowulf — Wiglaf
• Blood Runs Coal — Joseph Yablonski
• Far Cry
• Sexual Healing — Freddy Cousaert
• Tales from the Poorhouse
• The Honey Wars — (voice)
• The Weir — Jack

Appearances as themselves (14)

• 2024Brendan Gleeson's Farewell to Hughes's — Self
• 2023On the Red Carpet Presents: The Banshees of Inisherin — Self
• Gay Byrne's Late Late Moments — Self - Guest (archive footage)
• 2019Lost Lives — Self (voice)
• The Late Late Show with James Corden — Self - Guest
• The Late Show with Stephen Colbert — Self
• Late Night with Seth Meyers — Self - Guest
• 1916 Seachtar na Cásca — Self - Narrator (voice)
• The Graham Norton Show — Self
• 2006The Path to Redemption — Self
• 2005Deconstructing 'The Village' — Self
• 2003Pure Rage: The Making of '28 Days Later' — Self
• Saturday Night Live — Self - Host
• Golden Globe Awards — Self - Nominee