Domhnall Gleeson

Domhnall Gleeson
Gleeson at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival, 10 February 2011
Born	(1983-05-12) 12 May 1983 Dublin, Ireland
Other names	Donal Gleeson
Occupation	Actor, director, writer
Years active	2001–present

Domhnall Gleeson (born 12 May 1983) is an Irish actor, director, and writer from Dublin. He has acted on both stage and screen, picking up a Tony Award nomination in 2006 for his part in the Broadway production The Lieutenant of Inishmore. He has performed in several shows at Dublin's Gate Theatre, including adaptations of American Buffalo and Great Expectations.

Gleeson's work on-screen includes the television series The Last Furlong, the comedy sketch show Your Bad Self and the films Six Shooter, Studs and Boy Eats Girl. He played Bill Weasley in the films Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 and Part 2, released in 2010/2011. He is the son of actor Brendan Gleeson, who plays Alastor Moody in the series.

Early life and education

Gleeson was born in Dublin, Ireland, the eldest son of actor Brendan Gleeson, and his wife, Mary Weldon.^[1] He has three younger brothers, Fergus, Bríain (also an actor), and Rúairí.^[2]

Gleeson graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Media Arts from the Dublin Institute of Technology.^[2]

Career

After graduating, Gleeson began directing and writing for both film and stage.^[2] In 2006, Gleeson starred in the feature film Studs, with his father appearing alongside him.^[2]

Gleeson also starred in the Academy Award-winning movie short Six Shooter^[3] and Boy Eats Girl, as well as the RTÉ television series The Last Furlong.^[2] He also appeared on the Broadway theatre show The Lieutenant of Inishmore at age twenty-three, receiving a Tony Award nomination for the role.^[2][3]

In late 2007, Gleeson played Herbert Pocket in the Hugh Leonard adaptation of Charles Dickens's Great Expectations at the Gate Theatre in Dublin.^[4] The part was described as "wittily played" by Irish Independent critic Bruce Arnold.^[5] Earlier that year he had a role as Bobby in the David Mamet play American Buffalo, also at the Gate Theatre.^[6]

In 2008, Gleeson starred in the one-off RTÉ comedy sketch show Your Bad Self, which was broadcast on 26 December that year.^[2][3] Other roles in 2008 included A Dog Year and Paddyville.^[2]

In March 2009, it was confirmed that he had been cast as Bill Weasley in the film Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.^[7][8] His father, Brendan, plays Alastor Moody in the series.^[7][8] Gleeson had initially been reluctant to act alongside his father in the same film but later changed his mind.^[9] 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 part'."^[8]

In the 2009 film Sensation, Gleeson plays the part of a randy young farmer whose "soulless encounter" with a call-girl "develops into a bittersweet love story".^[10][11]

He had his break-out year in 2010 with his role in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Also in 2010, he starred alongside Keira Knightley, Andrew Garfield and Carey Mulligan in Never Let Me Go, and with Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon in the Academy Award–nominated Coen Brothers' film True Grit.

Gleeson won the 2011 Ifta Award for Best Actor for his performance as Bob Geldof in the acclaimed biopic When Harvey Met Bob.

Dohmnall played Konstantin Levin in the film adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's classic novel Anna Karenina,^[12] directed by Joe Wright. It was released in late 2012. In 2013 Gleeson starred in About Time, a romantic comedy written and directed by Richard Curtis.^[13] The story follows a young man, played by Gleeson, who travels back in time and meets "the girl of his dreams", played by Rachel McAdams. Filming took place in London, England, in June 2012.^[14]

Filmography

Awards

References

External links

• Domhnall Gleeson at the Internet Movie Database
• Domhnall Gleeson appreciation blog.