People

Brendan Gleeson

Acting · follow into films and chains

Biography

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).

Notable films

Where to start

Highlights from credits and KinoChain journeys.

Troy

Appears in a KinoChain journey

A.I. Artificial Intelligence

Appears in a KinoChain journey

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

As Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1

As Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody

Cold Mountain

Appears in a KinoChain journey

Paddington 2

Appears in a KinoChain journey

In Bruges

Appears in a KinoChain journey

The Secret of Kells

Appears in a KinoChain journey

Chains

KinoChain journeys

Public chains that pass through their films — or name them as a bridge.

Browse all chains

The Epic Journey: An Odyssey Narrative Chain

Homer's Odyssey is the foundational blueprint for the homebound journey, tracking a weary warrior's attempt to return to his family. This six-film narrative cha...

6 films

Open Doors: Cinema That Sees Everyone

From a deaf drummer to a queer romance in space, these eight films expand who gets to be a hero, a lover, a survivor. A journey through inclusive storytelling t...

8 films

The Long Goodbye to the Small Screen

A journey through the films that turned television's intimate glow into cinema's grand spectacle, and back again.

6 films

The Stage on Screen: A Theatrical Journey

From the claustrophobic confines of a cabin to the sprawling sets of a Shakespearean epic, these eight films celebrate the art of theatre translated to cinema.

7 films

The Weight of the Cape: Inheriting a Legacy You Never Asked For

Before the multiverse had a use for her, Kara Zor-El's first outing wasn't framed as destiny, it was framed as a mistake to fix. She loses the Omegahedron, the...

8 films

Pure-Hearted Heroes

Sixty years after Batman '66 taught us that heroism can be bright, sincere, and utterly without irony, this chain celebrates films whose protagonists believe, s...

7 films

Into the Woods We Go

From Enid Blyton's enchanted tree to the haunted forests of world cinema, a journey through the woods where magic, memory, and transformation await.

8 films

Growing Pains: Sequels That Leap Through Time

From a Parisian afternoon to a boxing ring, these sequels skip years ahead and find their characters changed, challenged, and achingly familiar. A journey throu...

6 films

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