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 Pott...
Known For
Complete Filmography

Joker: Folie à Deux
2024
as Jackie Sullivan
While struggling with his dual identity, Arthur Fleck not only stumbles upon true love, but also finds the music that's always been inside him.

Brendan Gleeson's Farewell to Hughes's
2024
as Self
In 2021, Hughes’s pub closed its doors for the last time. In January 2022, talented fiddle player, actor, and Hughes regular Brendan Gleeson meets mus...

A Greyhound of a Girl
2023
as Paddy (voice)
Mary is a 12-year-old girl with a passion for cooking, absorbing information from her grandmother, who is a wonderful cook. However, Mary and her fami...

On the Red Carpet Presents: The Banshees of Inisherin
2023
as Self
On The Red Carpet presents an in-depth look at the making of The Banshees of Inisherin.

The Banshees of Inisherin
2022
as Colm Doherty
Two lifelong friends find themselves at an impasse when one abruptly ends their relationship, with alarming consequences for both of them.
The Dead Zoo
2022
as Narrator
The story, narrated by Brendan Gleeson, of how the curators of the Dead Zoo, Dublin's beloved Natural History Museum, managed to get two enormous whal...

The Tragedy of Macbeth
2021
as Duncan
Macbeth, the Thane of Glamis, receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurre...

Riverdance: The Animated Adventure
2021
as Huntsman (voice)
A young Irish boy named Keegan and Spanish girl named Moya journey into a magical world of the Megaloceros Giganteus who teach them to appreciate Rive...

Lost Lives
2019
This poignant testament to the physical and emotional cost of war, centres on the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

Frankie
2019
as Jimmy
About three generations of a family grappling with a life-changing experience during one day of a vacation in the historic town of Sintra, Portugal.

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
2018
as Irishman (segment "The Mortal Remains")
Vignettes weaving together the stories of six individuals in the old West at the end of the Civil War. Following the tales of a sharp-shooting songste...

Captain Morten and the Spider Queen
2018
as Captain Vicks (voice)
Morten, a ten-year-old boy, is shrunk to the size of an insect due to a magical fog gun. Soon, he finds himself on his makeshift model ship sailing th...

Psychic
2018
as Jeremiah
A light and dark tale of family, showmanship and the suspension of disbelief.

Psychic
2018
Producer, Director
A light and dark tale of family, showmanship and the suspension of disbelief.

Paddington 2
2017
as Knuckles McGinty
Paddington, now happily settled with the Browns, picks up a series of odd jobs to buy the perfect present for his Aunt Lucy, but it is stolen.

Hampstead
2017
as Donald Horner
Emily Walters is an American widow living a peaceful, uneventful existence in the idyllic Hampstead Village of London, when she meets local recluse, ...

Live by Night
2016
as Thomas Coughlin
A group of Boston-bred gangsters set up shop in balmy Florida during the Prohibition era, facing off against the competition and the Ku Klux Klan.

Assassin's Creed
2016
as Joseph Lynch
Through a technology that unlocks the generic memories of his ancestor in 15th century Spain, Callum Lynch discovers he is a descendant of an ancient ...

Trespass Against Us
2016
as Colby Culter
Three generations of the rowdy Cutler family live as outlaws in some of Britain's richest countryside – hunting hares, ram-raiding stately homes, and ...

Alone in Berlin
2016
as Otto Quangel
Berlin in June of 1940. While Nazi propaganda celebrates the regime’s victory over France, a kitchen-cum-living room in Prenzlauer Berg is filled with...

Atlantic
2016
as Narrator
Documentary about the two big resources in the North Atlantic, fish and oil, and the impact of their exploitation on the environment in various countr...

In the Heart of the Sea
2015
as Old Thomas Nickerson
In the winter of 1820, the New England whaling ship Essex is assaulted by something no one could believe—a whale of mammoth size and will, and an almo...

Suffragette
2015
as Arthur Steed
Based on true events about the foot soldiers of the early feminist movement, women who were forced underground to pursue a dangerous game of cat and m...

Pursuit
2015
as Searbhán
Pursuit is a modern take on Irish mythology, adapting the legend of Diarmuid and Gráinne and transforming it into a road movie and gangster thriller f...

Stonehearst Asylum
2014
as The Alienist
An Oxford Medical School graduate takes a position at a mental institution and soon becomes obsessed with a female mental patient, but he has no idea ...

Song of the Sea
2014
as Conor / Mac Lir (voice)
The story of the last Seal Child’s journey home. After their mother’s disappearance, Ben and Saoirse are sent to live with Granny in the city. When th...

The Grand Seduction
2014
as Murray French
A small fishing village must procure a local doctor to secure a lucrative business contract. When unlikely candidate and big city doctor Paul Lewis la...

Edge of Tomorrow
2014
as General Brigham
Major Bill Cage is an officer who has never seen a day of combat when he is unceremoniously demoted and dropped into combat. Cage is killed within min...

Calvary
2014
as Father James Lavelle
After being threatened during a confession, a good-natured priest must battle the dark forces closing in around him.

The Smurfs 2
2013
as Victor Doyle
The evil wizard Gargamel creates a couple of mischievous Smurf-like creatures called the Naughties that he hopes will let him harness the all-powerful...

The Company You Keep
2012
as Henry Osborne
A former Weather Underground activist goes on the run from a journalist who discovers his identity.

So You Want To Be A Pirate!
2012
as The Pirate With Gout
With the help of his trusted dodo Polly, the Pirate Captain presents fun-loving and hilarious tips and advice on pirating. Learn how to remember where...

The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists!
2012
as The Pirate with Gout (voice)
The enthusiastic Pirate Captain, along with his rag-tag crew, sets out to beat his bitter rivals. The chaotic adventure takes them from exotic shores ...

The Raven
2012
as Colonel Hamilton
A fictionalized account of the last days of Edgar Allan Poe's life, in which the poet is in pursuit of a serial killer whose murders mirror those in t...

Safe House
2012
as David Barlow
A dangerous CIA renegade resurfaces after a decade on the run. When the safe house he's remanded to is attacked by mercenaries, a rookie operative esc...

Albert Nobbs
2011
as Dr. Holloran
Albert Nobbs struggles to survive in late 19th century Ireland, where women aren't encouraged to be independent. Posing as a man, so she can work as a...

The Cup
2011
as Dermot Weld
At the heart of this true story is Damien Oliver, a young jockey who loses his only brother in a tragic racing accident, hauntingly reflecting of the ...

The Guard
2011
as Sergeant Gerry Boyle
When a small-town Irish cop with a crass personality is partnered with a straight-laced FBI agent to bust an international drug-trafficking ring, they...

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
2010
as Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody
Harry, Ron and Hermione walk away from their last year at Hogwarts to find and destroy the remaining Horcruxes, putting an end to Voldemort's bid for ...

Noreen
2010
as Con Keogh
Two guards are headed to a house where there has been a shot due to a statement of a neighbour who called the police. What can possibly happen there? ...

Green Zone
2010
as Martin Brown
During the U.S.-led occupation of Baghdad in 2003, Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller and his team of Army inspectors are dispatched to find weapons of ...

Perrier's Bounty
2009
as Darren Perrier
A gangster named Perrier looks to exact his revenge on a trio of fugitives responsible for the accidental death of one of his cronies.

Into the Storm
2009
as Winston Churchill
This powerful follow-up to “The Gathering Storm” follows Churchill from 1940 to 1945 as he guided his beleaguered nation through the crucible of the w...

The Secret of Kells
2009
as Abbot Cellach (voice)
Adventure awaits 12 year old Brendan who must fight Vikings and a serpent god to find a crystal and complete the legendary Book of Kells. In order to ...

In Bruges
2008
as Ken
Ray and Ken, two hit men, are in Bruges, Belgium, waiting for their next mission. While they are there they have time to think and discuss their previ...

Beowulf
2007
as Wiglaf
A 6th-century Scandinavian warrior named Beowulf embarks on a mission to slay the man-like ogre, Grendel.

Black Irish
2007
as Desmond McKay
In South Boston, where Irish roots run deep and Catholic tradition reigns, two brothers face similar hardships but lead far different lives. While old...

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
2007
as Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody
Returning for his fifth year of study at Hogwarts, Harry is stunned to find that his warnings about the return of Lord Voldemort have been ignored. Le...

The Tiger's Tail
2006
as Liam O'Leary
After a chance encounter, a Dubliner is stalked by a murderous facsimile of himself.

The Path to Redemption
2006
as Self
From pre-production to release, we are given an exclusive look into the making of Ridley Scott's Kingdom of Heaven (2005). Interviews with the cast an...

Studs
2006
as Walter Keegan
The hot-tempered, unruly players of this pub league soccer team are in dire straits after having lost everything -- their drive, their skills and soon...

Breakfast on Pluto
2005
as John Joe Kenny
In the 1970s, a young transgender woman called “Kitten” leaves her small Irish town for London in search of love, acceptance, and her long-lost mother...

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
2005
as Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody
When Harry Potter's name emerges from the Goblet of Fire, he becomes a competitor in a grueling battle for glory among three wizarding schools—the Tri...

Kingdom of Heaven
2005
as Reynald de Chatillon
After his wife dies, a blacksmith named Balian is thrust into royalty, political intrigue and bloody holy wars during the Crusades.

Deconstructing 'The Village'
2005
as Self
In this making-of documentary, we see movie snippets, shots from the set, and interviews. We get notes from the crew and cast. We learn about the movi...

Six Shooter
2004
as Donnelly
Overwhelmed by grief following the death of his wife, Donnelly shares a train carriage home with a troubled young man identified only as the 'Kid'. As...

The Village
2004
as August Nicholson
When a willful young man tries to venture beyond his sequestered Pennsylvania hamlet, his actions set off a chain of chilling incidents that will alte...

Troy
2004
as Menelaos
In year 1250 B.C. during the late Bronze age, two emerging nations begin to clash. Paris, the Trojan prince, convinces Helen, Queen of Sparta, to leav...

In My Country
2004
as De Jagar
An American reporter and an Afrikaans poet meet and fall in love while covering South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings.

Cold Mountain
2003
as Stobrod Thewes
In this classic story of love and devotion set against the backdrop of the American Civil War, a wounded Confederate soldier named W.P. Inman deserts ...

Gangs of New York
2002
as Walter "Monk" McGinn
In early 1860s New York, Irish immigrant Amsterdam Vallon is released from prison and returns to the Five Points, seeking revenge against his father's...

Dark Blue
2002
as Jack van Meter
Set during the Rodney King riots, a robbery homicide investigation triggers a series of events that will cause a corrupt LAPD officer to question his ...

28 Days Later
2002
as Frank
Twenty-eight days after a killer virus was accidentally unleashed from a British research facility, a small group of London survivors are caught in a ...

A.I. Artificial Intelligence
2001
as Lord Johnson-Johnson
David, a robotic boy—the first of his kind programmed to love—is adopted as a test case by a Cybertronics employee and his wife. Though he gradually b...

The Tailor of Panama
2001
as Mickie Abraxas
A British spy is banished to Panama after having an affair with an ambassador's mistress. Once there he makes connection with a local tailor with a ne...

Cáca Milis
2001
as Paul
A chance encounter on a train between a young woman and a blind man.

Wild About Harry
2000
as Harry McKee
A sleazy chef is forced to face the truth about the man he has become and realizes that he has the chance to begin again.

Saltwater
2000
as Simple Simon
An Irish-Italian café owner in a seaside town faces a life crisis, as his wife recently died and he's severely in debt. His oldest son tries to help, ...

Harrison's Flowers
2000
as Marc Stevenson
1991. Harrison Lloyd, a renowned photojournalist covering the war in Yugoslavia, is reported missing. Sarah, his wife, convinced that he is not dead, ...

Mission: Impossible II
2000
as McCloy
With computer genius Luther Stickell at his side and a beautiful thief on his mind, agent Ethan Hunt races across Australia and Spain to stop a former...

My Life So Far
1999
as Jim Menzies
A memoir of the lives of a family growing up on a post World War I British estate headed up by a strong disciplinarian, her daughter, her inventor hus...

Lake Placid
1999
as Sheriff Hank Keough
When a man is eaten alive by an unknown creature, the local Game Warden teams up with a paleontologist from New York to find the beast. Add to the mix...

This Is My Father
1999
as Garda Jim
When schoolteacher Kieran Johnson discovers that his father was not a French sailor (as he had been led to believe) but rather an Irish farmer, he loo...

Sweety Barrett
1999
as Sweety Barrett
Sweety Barrett is a giant of a man with the mind of a child. An easy target in a corrupt world, Sweety becomes embroiled in a smuggling operation unle...

The General
1998
as Martin Cahill
The real-life story of Dublin folk hero and criminal Martin Cahill, who pulled off two daring robberies in Ireland with his team, but attracted unwant...

The Butcher Boy
1998
as Father Bubbles
Francie and Joe live the usual playful, fantasy filled childhoods of normal boys. However, with a violent, alcoholic father and a manic depressive, su...

I Went Down
1997
as Bunny Kelly
Fresh out of prison, Git rescues a former best friend (now living with Git's girlfriend) from a beating at the hands of loan sharks. He's now in troub...

Angela Mooney Dies Again
1997
as Barney Mooney
Americans want to take over the Irish creamery Angela Mooney's husband built up. Everybody in town is delighted, with the exception of Mrs Mooney, who...

Turbulence
1997
as Stubbs
On a flight transporting dangerous convicts, murderer Ryan Weaver manages to break free and cause complete chaos throughout the plane. As various peop...

A Further Gesture
1997
as Richard
Dowd, an IRA prisoner in the H-blocks, is gloomily facing his sentence, until he joins a comrade in a risky escape. Dowd begins a new life in New York...

Spaghetti Slow
1996
as Frank Ferguson
A wealthy young Italian man is sent to Ireland to learn English, only to fall in love with the daughter of the host family he is staying with.

Michael Collins
1996
as Liam Tobin
Michael Collins plays a crucial role in the establishment of the Irish Free State in the 1920s, but becomes vilified by those hoping to create a compl...

Trojan Eddie
1996
as Ginger
Trojan Eddie sells stolen goods for John Power, aging godfather of a local network of Irish gypsies, known as "travelers." Having done time rather tha...

Braveheart
1995
as Hamish Campbell
Enraged at the slaughter of Murron, his new bride and childhood love, Scottish warrior William Wallace slays a platoon of the local English lord's sol...

The Snapper
1993
as Lester
Sharon Curley is a 20-year-old living with her parents and many brothers and sisters in Dublin. When she gets pregnant and refuses to name the father,...

Love Lies Bleeding
1993
as Thomas Macken
Conn, a member of the IRA and a former hunger striker, is serving a life sentence for murder. During peace talks, he is released on a 24-hour parole a...

Into the West
1992
as Inspector Bolger
Accused of a crime they didn't commit, two city kids and a magical horse are about to become the coolest outlaws ever to ride Into The West.

Far and Away
1992
as Social Club Policeman
A young couple escapes Ireland, dreaming of a new life during the land giveaway in Oklahoma. As they struggle to survive against betrayal and harsh wi...

The Treaty
1991
as Michael Collins
How the Anglo-Irish Treaty between the unrecognised Irish Republic, represented by Michael Collins, and the British government was concluded after hig...

The Field
1990
as Quarryman
"Bull" McCabe's family has farmed a field for generations, sacrificing much in the name of the land. When the widow who owns the field decides to sell...

Dear Sarah
1990
as Brendan Dowd
Giuseppe Conlon and his son Gerry are convicted of an IRA bombing as part of the Maguire Seven in 1976. Giuseppe diligently writes his wife Sarah as s...

H Is for Hawk
N/A
as Alisdair Macdonald
After losing her beloved father, Helen finds herself saved by an unlikely friendship with a stubbor hawk named Mabel. Through the bond, Helen rediscov...
Sexual Healing
N/A
as Freddy Cousaert
A look at the last years of Marvin Gaye's life, from his parting ways with Motown and self-imposed exile to Europe, to his relationship with Freddy Co...

The Honey Wars
N/A
as (voice)
Follows Hope, a young girl with a secret ability to see the invisible threads that connect the magical world to our own. Recently uprooted by the loss...
A Hero's Journey: The Making of Beowulf
N/A
as Wiglaf
A behind the scenes look at the production of Beowulf