Domhnall Gleeson

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Domhnall Gleeson
Born (1983-05-12) 12 May 1983 (age 40)
Occupation(s)Actor, writer
Years active2001–present
Parent(s)Brendan Gleeson
Mary Weldon
RelativesBrian Gleeson (brother)

Domhnall Gleeson (/ˈdnəl ˈɡlsən/;[1] born May 12, 1983) is an Irish actor and writer. He is the son of actor Brendan Gleeson, alongside whom he has appeared in several films and theatre projects. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Media Arts from Dublin Institute of Technology.

During the early stages of his career, Gleeson directed and wrote several short films, garnered a Tony Award nomination in 2006 for his role in the Broadway production The Lieutenant of Inishmore, and had a supporting role in Never Let Me Go. He became known to a wider audience for his portrayal of Bill Weasley in the Harry Potter film franchise (2010–2011), Konstantin Levin in Anna Karenina (2012), Tim Lake in About Time (2013), and Russell Allen Phillips in fact-based war drama Unbroken (2014).

In 2015, Gleeson received widespread recognition and praise for his performances in four Academy Award-nominated films: Caleb in Ex Machina, Jim Farrell in Brooklyn, Captain Andrew Henry in The Revenant, and, most prominently, General Hux in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. In 2017, he appeared in Mother! alongside his brother, Brian, co-starred in American Made, portrayed A. A. Milne in Goodbye Christopher Robin and reprised his role as General Hux in Star Wars: The Last Jedi. In 2018, he will star in a live-action adaptation of Peter Rabbit.

Early life

Gleeson was born in Dublin, Ireland, the oldest son of Mary (née Weldon) and actor Brendan Gleeson.[2] He has three brothers: Fergus, Brian (also an actor), and Rúairí.[3] He attended Malahide Community School, where he performed in school productions of Grease and King Lear.[4] Gleeson later graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Media Arts from the Dublin Institute of Technology.[3]

Career

2001–2009: Theatre and recognition

After graduating, Gleeson began directing and writing for both film and stage. He first appeared in the British television miniseries Rebel Heart in 2001 with James D'Arcy and Paloma Baeza.[5] Gleeson made his film debut in Martin McDonagh's short film Six Shooter in 2004, which starred his father. The film won the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film.[6] He was featured in a small role in the 2005 horror comedy Boy Eats Girl.[5] In 2006, Gleeson starred in the feature film Studs, with his father appearing alongside him.[5]

He was among the main cast members of RTÉ comedy television series The Last Furlong in 2005.[5] Gleeson appeared on the Broadway theatre show The Lieutenant of Inishmore at age twenty-three, receiving a Tony Award nomination for his role as the dim-witted Davey.[7][6] In late 2007, Gleeson played Herbert Pocket in the Hugh Leonard adaptation of Charles Dickens's Great Expectations at the Gate Theatre in Dublin.[8] The role was described as "wittily played" by Irish Independent critic Bruce Arnold.[9] Earlier that year he had a role as Bobby in the David Mamet play American Buffalo, also at the Gate Theatre.[10][11]

In 2008, Gleeson starred in the one-off RTÉ comedy sketch show Your Bad Self, which was broadcast on 26 December that year.[5][6] In March 2009, it was confirmed that he had been cast as Bill Weasley in the film Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.[12][13] His father, Brendan, plays Alastor Moody in the series.[12][13] Gleeson had initially been reluctant to act alongside his father in the same film but later changed his mind.[14] In 2006, he said of his acting: "I'd been very certain about not wanting to do the acting thing because of my father. I thought I'd always have the father-son thing of 'He got you the role'."[13] The 2009 HBO television film A Dog Year starring Jeff Bridges, featured Gleeson as handyman Anthony Armstrong.[15] Also that year, in the film Sensation Gleeson played the role of a young farmer whose "soulless encounter" with a call-girl "develops into a bittersweet love story".[16][17]

2010–2014: Career breakthrough

Domhnall Gleeson at the 2011 Berlin International Film Festival

His first release of 2010 was the dystopian romance Never Let Me Go, starring Carey Mulligan, Keira Knightley, and Andrew Garfield.[18] Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 was released in November 2010, with the Part 2 being released the following July. His portrayal of Bill Weasley, Ron Weasley's older brother, exposed Gleeson to a wider audience.[19] The multi Academy Award nominated Coen Brothers' film True Grit featured Gleeson as Moon, a young outlaw.[18] His short comedy film, Noreen, starring his father and brother, was shown at the Tribeca Film Festival.[20] He portrayed musician Bob Geldof as he organizes the 1985 Live Aid concert in the television film When Harvey Met Bob, which was broadcast on BBC Four on 26 December 2010.[21] Gleeson won the 2011 Ifta Award for Best Actor for his performance in the film.[22] In the drama Shadow Dancer, released in August 2012, he played an IRA member whose own sister informs on him to the MI5.[23] Gleeson played landowner Kostya Levin in the historical romance Anna Karenina, based on the Leo Tolstoy novel.[24] The Daily Telegraph critic Tim Robey praised his performance, saying Gleeson "nails Levin’s adorable self-seriousness without sentimentalising what can make him hard work."[25] His final release of 2012 was the science fiction action film Dredd starring Karl Urban as the titular Judge Dredd, in which he played an unnamed computer expert working for the gang Dredd battles against.[26]

Gleeson made a guest appearance in "Be Right Back", an episode of the science-fiction anthology series Black Mirror in 2013. Starring alongside Hayley Atwell, he played a man who is killed in a car crash, but returns to his lover as an synthetic android clone of himself.[27] Later in 2013, Gleeson starred in About Time, a romantic comedy written and directed by Richard Curtis.[28] The story follows a young man, played by Gleeson, who uses time travel to win over an American girl, played by Rachel McAdams. Filming took place in London, England, in June 2012.[28] In a largely negative review, Catherine Shaord of The Guardian described Gleeson as a "ginger Hugh Grant", although she noted that "The effect, at first, is unnerving; as About Time marches on, Gleeson's innate charm gleams through and this weird disconnection becomes quite compelling."[29] In Lenny Abrahamson's Frank (2014), he portrayed Jon, a wannabe musician who joins the band of the eccentric, papier-mâché head-wearing titular character played by Michael Fassbender.[30] Gleeson played a small role as a psychotic killer in the Irish drama Calvary, starring his father as a Catholic priest who visits him in prison.[31] His last release of 2014, was Angelina Jolie's directorial debut, the war film Unbroken. In the film, Gleeson portrayed a soldier lost at sea after a plane crash in Pacific Ocean during the Second World War. He lost what he described as a "sizable amount of weight" for the role.[32]

2015–present: Leading and supporting roles

2015 saw Gleeson appear in four films, all of which received Oscar nominations.[33] His first release of the year was the science fiction psychological thriller Ex Machina, starring Gleeson as programmer Caleb who wins a competition to visit the home of his company's CEO and test the human qualities of the artificially intelligent humanoid robot Ava, who is played by Alicia Vikander. The film was the directorial debut of Never Let Me Go and Dredd screenwriter Alex Garland and their third collaboration.[34] In the romantic period drama Brooklyn, he appeared in a supporting role as a romantic interest of Saoirse Ronan's character.[35] Gleeson was announced to be a part of the Star Wars sequel trilogy in April 2014.[36] The first instalment, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, was released in December 2015. Gleeson plays the ruthless General Hux, commander of the First Order's Starkiller Base.[37] Throughout the film, Hux is vying for power with First Order commander Kylo Ren, who is portrayed by Adam Driver.[38] In his last release of the year, Gleeson co-starred in Alejandro G. Iñárritu's The Revenant as fur trader Andrew Henry, with Leonardo DiCaprio portraying fur trapper Hugh Glass.[39] Alongside his brother Brian and his father Brendan, Gleeson starred in a revival of the Enda Walsh play The Walworth Farce from January to February 2015.[40] In February 2016, Gleeson narrated the BBC Two nature documentary series Earth's Greatest Spectacles.[41]

Gleeson played fashion house Burberry's founder, Thomas Burberry, in a short Christmas-themed advertisement film for the company in 2016.[42] He made a guest appearance on the Channel 4 sitcom Catastrophe as a recruitment consultant in March 2017.[43] Gleeson then played fictional CIA agent Monty Schafer in American Made, released in September 2017, starring Tom Cruise as drug smuggler Barry Seal.[44] Also in September, Gleeson had a small role in Darren Aronofsky's psychological horror film Mother!, starred alongside Christina Applegate and Thomas Haden Church in the independent comedy Crash Pad,[45] and portrayed Winnie-the-Pooh creator A. A. Milne in the biographical film Goodbye Christopher Robin.[44] His portrayal of Milne was deemed as being played a "little too stiffly" by BBC critic Nicholas Barber.[46] Gleeson reprised his role as General Hux in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, released in December 2017.[47] Gleeson starred alongside his brother and father in the short film Psychic, which was directed by his father and will premiere in 2018 on Sky Arts.[48]

Upcoming projects

He will also co-star as National Lampoon magazine co-founder and writer Henry Beard in the biographical film A Futile and Stupid Gesture. The film will be released by Netflix in January 2018 and also features Will Forte as co-founder Doug Kenney.[49] Gleeson's other 2018 projects include a Peter Rabbit adaptation, in which he will play Mr. McGregor,[50] and he will star in The Little Stranger with Ruth Wilson.[51]

Personal life

Gleeson shares a love of the English Championship team Aston Villa with his father Brendan. He described the team's FA Cup semifinal win over Liverpool at Wembley Stadium in 2015, as one of the "great days of my life".[52]

Along with his father and brother Brian, Gleeson created and stars in the Immatürity For Charity sketches, which raises money for the St. Francis Hospice in Raheny, Dublin. It also stars Laurence Kinlan, Tadhg Murphy and Amy Huberman.[53]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2004 Six Shooter Cashier Short film
2005 Boy Eats Girl Bernard
2006 Studs Trampis
2009 What Will Survive of Us Short film; writer and director
Perrier's Bounty Clifford
Corduroy[54] Mahon Short film
2010 Never Let Me Go Rodney
Sensation Donal Duggan
Noreen Short film; writer and director
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 Bill Weasley
True Grit Moon
2011 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 Bill Weasley
2012 Shadow Dancer Connor McVeigh
Dredd Clan Techie
Anna Karenina Konstantin Levin
2013 About Time Tim Lake
2014 Frank Jon Burroughs
Calvary Freddie Joyce
Unbroken Russell Allen Phillips
2015 Ex Machina Caleb Smith
Brooklyn Jim Farrell
Star Wars: The Force Awakens General Hux
The Revenant Andrew Henry
2016 The Tales of Thomas Burberry Thomas Burberry Short film
2017 American Made Monty Schafer
Mother! Oldest Son
Crash Pad Stensland
Goodbye Christopher Robin A. A. Milne
Star Wars: The Last Jedi General Hux
2018 A Futile and Stupid Gesture Henry Beard Post-production
Peter Rabbit Thomas McGregor Post-production
The Little Stranger Dr. Faraday Post-production

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2001 Rebel Heart Byrne 1 episode
2005 The Last Furlong Sean Flanagan 3 episodes
2009 A Dog Year Anthony Armstrong Television film
2010 Your Bad Self Various 6 episodes; also writer
When Harvey Met Bob Bob Geldof Television film
2012 Immatürity for Charity Various Fundraiser
2013 Black Mirror Ash Episode: "Be Right Back"
2016 Earth's Greatest Spectacles Narrator 3 episodes
2017 Catastrophe Dan 2 episodes
2018 Psychic Shergar Post-production; television short film

Video games

Year Title Voice role
2016 Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens General Hux

Stage

Year Title Role Notes
2001–2002 The Lieutenant of Inishmore Davey
2006
2007 American Buffalo Bob
Great Expectations Herbert Pocket
2015 The Walworth Farce Blake

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Work Result
2006 Tony Award Best Featured Actor in a Play The Lieutenant of Inishmore Nominated
2007 Irish Film and Television Awards Breakthrough Talent Studs Nominated
2011 Berlin International Film Festival Shooting Stars Award Won
Irish Film and Television Awards Best Actor in a Lead Role in Television When Harvey Met Bob Won
Tribeca Film Festival Jury Award: Best Narrative Short Noreen Nominated
2012 British Independent Film Awards Best Supporting Actor Shadow Dancer Nominated
Hamptons International Film Festival Breakthrough Performer Anna Karenina Won
2013 Empire Awards Best Male Newcomer Nominated
Irish Film and Television Awards Best Supporting Actor Film Won
2014 Best Lead Actor – Film About Time Nominated
2015 Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Film Frank Won
Awards Circuit Community Awards Best Cast Ensemble Star Wars: The Force Awakens Nominated
British Independent Film Awards Best Supporting Actor Brooklyn Nominated
2016 Irish Film and Television Awards Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Film Nominated
Best Actor in a Lead Role – Film Ex Machina Nominated
Saturn Award Best Actor Nominated
Central Ohio Film Critics Association Awards Best Ensemble Nominated
Actor of the Year Runner-up

References

  1. ^ "Domhnall Gleeson Teaches Us How To Pronounce 'Domhnall Gleeson". Entertainment Weekly. YouTube. 1 May 2015. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  2. ^ Gleeson, B. (1989). Breaking Up. Passion Machine. ISBN 9781872313009. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
  3. ^ a b Mottram, James (14 December 2015). "Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Domhnall Gleeson on playing the villain and how JJ Abrams inspired the cast". The Independent. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  4. ^ Whitington, Paul (27 August 2017). "Domhnall Gleeson and the long road to Hollywood: I didn't handle my first day on Harry Potter very well'". The Independent. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Domhnall Gleeson to star in RTÉ Christmas Special". Evening Herald. 10 December 2007. Retrieved 7 July 2009. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  6. ^ a b c "The last laugh". The Irish Times. 20 December 2008. Retrieved 7 July 2009. Domhnall Gleeson Nominated for a Tony at the age of 23 for his role in the 2006 Broadway production of Martin McDonagh's The Lieutenant of Inishmore. May have felt like déjà-vu for Gleeson who also appeared in McDonagh's Oscar-winning short, Six Shooter. Domhnall's father, Brendan Gleeson, co-starred with Peter McDonald in 1997's I Went Down. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  7. ^ Spencer, Charles (28 June 2002). "Devastating masterpiece of black comedy". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  8. ^ "Domhnall Gleeson–Actor". Irish Independent. 24 November 2007. Archived from the original on 3 August 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2009. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help); Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ Arnold, Bruce (29 November 2007). "Festive fare for all the family lives up to the greatest of expectations". Irish Independent. Retrieved 7 July 2009. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  10. ^ "American Buffalo". RTÉ. 16 February 2007. Retrieved 7 July 2009.
  11. ^ Fricker, Karen (16 February 2007). "American Buffalo". Variety. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  12. ^ a b "Bill Nighy in "Die Heiligtümer des Todes"". Spielfilm.de (German). 1 July 2009. Retrieved 7 July 2009.
  13. ^ a b c "Headlines: Tony Nominee Domhnall Gleeson to Appear in Final Harry Potter Films". Broadway.com. 9 March 2009. Retrieved 7 July 2009.
  14. ^ "Domhnall Gleeson confirmed as Bill Weasley for 'Deathly Hallows'". HPANA. 12 March 2009. Retrieved 7 July 2009.
  15. ^ Hale, Mike (2 September 2009). "A Grumpy Guy Who Barks a Lot Finds a Peer". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  16. ^ "Follow-Up May Keep Hall From Edinburgh". California Chronicle. 12 June 2009. Archived from the original on 2 August 2009. Retrieved 7 July 2009. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  17. ^ "Follow-Up May Keep Hall From Edinburgh (original)". The Irish Times. 12 June 2009. Retrieved 7 July 2009. Tony-award nominee Domhnall Gleeson plays a randy young farmer with New Zealand actress Luanne Gordon as an aging Antipodean escort. "They begin as client and call-girl, evolve into lovers and finally business partners," according to the synopsis. "What starts as a soulless contract develops into a bittersweet love story." {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  18. ^ a b Gritten, David (27 August 2013). "About Time: Domhnall Gleeson on being Richard Curtis's new leading man". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  19. ^ Vincent, Alice (27 August 2013). "Domhnall Gleeson: 'I was a Weasley waiting for a role'". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  20. ^ O'Doherty, Cahir (12 May 2011). "A tale of two Tribeca hits - Brendan Gleeson's 'The Guard' and 'Noreen'". IrishCentral. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  21. ^ McCormick, Neil (22 December 2010). "Bob Geldof, Harvey Goldsmith – and the truth about Live Aid". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  22. ^ Gibley, Ryan (16 August 2012). "Domhnall Gleeson: 'Handsome is not really where I'm at'". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  23. ^ Jolin, Dan (28 July 2012). "Shadow Dancer Review". Empire. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  24. ^ Lussier, Germain (4 June 2011). "Joe Wright's 'Anna Karenina' Welcomes Saoirse Ronan, Kelly Macdonald, Olivia Williams And More". /Film. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  25. ^ Robey, Tim (6 September 2016). "Anna Karenina, review". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  26. ^ Mellor, Louisa (8 July 2011). "Domhnall Gleeson gives new details of Dredd movie". Den of Geek. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  27. ^ Sims, David (3 December 2013). "Black Mirror: "Be Right Back"". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  28. ^ a b Kit, Borys (10 May 2012). "Rachel McAdams to Star in Working Title's 'About Time' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter.
  29. ^ Shoard, Catherine (8 August 2013). "About Time – first look review". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  30. ^ Hanna, Beth (14 August 2014). "'Frank,' Starring Michael Fassbender Wearing a Giant Fake Head, Totally Rocks (TRAILER)". Indiewire. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  31. ^ Riley, Jenelle (6 August 2014). "The Fruitful Partnership of 'Calvary' Team Brendan Gleeson and John Michael McDonagh". Variety. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  32. ^ Rosen, Christopher (23 December 2014). "Domhnall Gleeson Lost So Much Weight For 'Unbroken' His Contacts Didn't Fit". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  33. ^ People Staff (25 February 2016). "Is Domhnall Gleeson the Oscars' Lucky Charm?". People. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  34. ^ Smith, Nigel M. (7 April 2015). "Domhnall Gleeson on 'Ex Machina' and Why 'Star Wars' Hasn't Been Overwhelming". Indiewire. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  35. ^ Smith, C. Molly (5 November 2015). "Brooklyn stars Saoirse Ronan, Domhnall Gleeson chart their screen romance". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  36. ^ "Star Wars: Episode VII Cast Announced". Star Wars Official Website. 29 April 2014. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  37. ^ Davis, Edward (10 July 2015). "'Star Wars: The Force Awakens': Domhnall Gleeson Revealed To Be On The Dark Side As General Hux". Indiewire. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  38. ^ Breznican, Anthony (13 November 2015). "Starkiller Base and General Hux: J.J. Abrams shares new details from the Star Wars: The Force Awakens". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  39. ^ Fane Saunders, Tristram (18 February 2016). "Two minutes with... Domhnall Gleeson". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  40. ^ Meany, Helen (15 January 2015). "The Walworth Farce review – Brendan Gleeson and sons are infectiously funny". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  41. ^ Rutkowski, Laura (5 February 2016). "Earth's Greatest Spectacles, BBC2: New England's forests receive the Midas touch in the American fall". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  42. ^ Butler, Sarah (1 November 2016). "Sienna Miller and Domhnall Gleeson star in Burberry's Christmas ad". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  43. ^ Zuckerman, Esther (29 April 2017). "Rob and Sharon start to heal and spiral in Catastrophe's second episode". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  44. ^ a b Zemler, Emily (1 September 2017). "With four films coming this year, Domhnall Gleeson is going for much more than a 'Star Wars' villain". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  45. ^ Schager, Nick (28 August 2017). "'Crash Pad' puts Domhnall Gleeson, Christina Applegate, Thomas Haden Church in twisted love triangle". Yahoo! Movies. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
  46. ^ Barber, Nicholas (27 September 2017). "Film review: Goodbye Christopher Robin". BBC. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  47. ^ Ruby, Jennifer (17 December 2015). "Star Wars producer Kathleen Kennedy confirms that entire cast will return for eighth film". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  48. ^ "Brendan Gleeson makes directing debut a family affair". RTE. 14 November 2017. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  49. ^ Fleming Jr, Mike (4 April 2016). "Domhnall Gleeson To Play National Lampoon Co-Founder In Netflix Film 'A Futile And Stupid Gesture'". Deadline.com. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  50. ^ Galuppo, Mia (18 October 2016). "Domhnall Gleeson to Play Mr. McGregor in Live-Action 'Peter Rabbit'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  51. ^ Jaggernauth, Kevin (25 September 2017). "Domhnall Gleeson Reteaming With 'Frank' And 'Room' Director Lenny Abrahamson For 'The Little Stranger'". Indiewire. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  52. ^ "Star Wars actor Gleeson: Villa Wembley win was special day". Aston Villa F.C. 13 May 2015. Archived from the original on 16 May 2015. Retrieved 13 May 2015. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  53. ^ "Domhnall Gleeson: Immaturity for Charity". today.fm. 25 September 2013. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
  54. ^ "Corduroy (2009)". British Film Institute. Retrieved 25 August 2017.

External links