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More Brendan Gleeson Bios & Profiles

 

The most recent Brendan Gleeson biography is published on the main page.
 


Biography #2 (for Troy)

Dublin born actor Brendan Gleeson had a desire to act from early childhood and began his career by appearing in local plays and concerts.

At the age of 18, he auditioned for the famed Abbey Theatre. It was a disastrous audition that led him to abandon acting for a career as a high school teacher. After ten years in the classroom, Gleeson decided to return to his dream and pursue acting fulltime.

Following small parts in films such as The Field, Far and Away, Michael Collins and The Butcher Boy, Gleeson came to the public's attention as Hamish, the hulking ally of William Wallace (Mel Gibson) in Braveheart.

Gleeson most recently co-starred in Anthony Minghella's Cold Mountain, Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later and Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York. The talented actor's numerous other film credits include Ron Shelton's Dark Blue, John Boorman's Tailor of Panama, Artificial Intelligence: A.I., directed by Steven Spielberg, John Woo's Mission: Impossible II and I Went Down, directed by Paddy Breachnach. On television, Gleeson appeared in The Treaty, The Snapper and Kidnapped.

In 1998 he starred in The General for John Boorman, winning international acclaim for his performance as the Irish mafia figure Martin Cahill. This performance earned him Best Actor awards from the Boston Society of Film Critics, the London Film Critics, and the Irish Film and Television Association.

Gleeson will soon be seen in M. Night Shyamalan's thriller The Village, followed by Ridley Scott's Kingdom of Heaven, as well as his third film with John Boorman, Country of My Skulls.

Bio courtesy Warner Bros. for "Troy" (17-Jun-2004)


Biography #3 (for Gangs of New York)

Brendan Gleeson most recently co-starred in Steven Spielberg's AI: Artificial Intelligence and is currently shooting Anthony Mingella's Cold Mountain. Gleeson was born and raised in Dublin where he went to school in Marino before joining the Christian Brothers at St. Joseph's in Fairview. It was while at St. Joseph's that he was first drawn to the stage and screen thanks to the influence and encouragement he received from his teacher, Pat Grogan. After leaving school, Gleeson joined the Health Board for a time, after which he returned to school and began studying at Belcamp. He later taught there for ten years, during which time he acted in several productions, including King of the Castle at the Abbey Theater and Home with the Passion Machine Company. In 1989, at the age of 34, Gleeson decided to try acting full time. He first attracted international attention with his performance in John Boorman's film The General, for which he won Best Actor from the Boston Society of Film Critics, the London Film Critics, and from the Irish Film and Television Association. Gleeson's many other film credits include Far and Away, Braveheart, Michael Collins, I Went Down, The Snapper, Angela Mooney, My Life So Far, Wild About Harry, Mission Impossible 2, Harrison's Flower, Lake Placid and most recently John Boorman's film of John Le Carre's The Tailor of Panama.

Bio courtesy Miramax for "Gangs of New York" (01-Jan-2000)