Brendan Gleeson Biography (2)

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.

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