Domhnall Gleeson

Domhnall Gleeson Headshot

Actor

Birth Date: May 12, 1983

Age: 40 years old

Birth Place: Dublin, Ireland

Parents: Brendan Gleeson

Siblings: Brian Gleeson

Once you get past the intimidating-looking name (hint: it rhymes with tonal) and his impressive pedigree (his father is well-known Irish actor Brendan Gleeson), it's easy to see why the multi-talented Domhnall Gleeson has become so successful. Though he initially resisted becoming an actor, early appearances in two U.K. miniseries, "Rebel Heart" (BBC, 2001) and "The Last Furlong" (RTE, 2005), eventually gave way to roles in plays such as David Mamet's "American Buffalo" and Martin McDonagh's "The Lieutenant of Inishmore." Projects like his 2009 self-written directorial debut, the short film "What Will Survive Us," and his stint as a writer and performer on the Irish sketch-comedy series "Your Bad Self" (RTE, 2010) fueled Gleeson's creativity, while his role as Bill Weasley in the epic "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1" (2010) and "Part 2" (2011), along with memorable performances in "Never Let Me Go" (2010) and "True Grit" (2010), provided international exposure. After a strong 2012 that found him in both "Shadow Dancer" and "Anna Karenina," it seemed like the once-reluctant Domhnall Gleeson finally became comfortable with being an actor. That quickly led to a string of even higher-profile roles, including a starring role in science fiction love story "Ex Machina" (2015) and the period drama "Brooklyn" (2015), as well as key supporting roles in Alejandro González Iñárritu's "The Revenant" (2015), Darren Aronofsky's "mother!" (2017), Doug Liman's "American Made" (2017) and both "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" (2015) and "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" (2017).

Born in Dublin in the spring of 1983, Domhnall Gleeson grew up watching his father, Brendan, leave behind a successful teaching career to pursue his love of acting. His initial protests of following in his footsteps died away when a particularly nervy speech, delivered while accepting an award on behalf of his father, landed him an agent. After studying media arts at the Dublin Institute of Technology, Gleeson made his acting debut in 2001's "Rebel Heart," a BBC miniseries about Ireland's struggle for independence. He balanced the occasional film and TV appearance with long stretches on stage in both London's West End and New York's Broadway, and in 2006 earned a Tony nomination for his lead role as Davey in the violently political "The Lieutenant of Inishmore." But every high has a low and Gleeson was determined to create his own opportunities when none were being offered. In 2009 he wrote and directed the short film "What Will Survive of Us," before joining "Your Bad Self" in 2010 as a writer and lead actor. His hard work paid off that year when he appeared in a trio of high-profile films: first as the eldest Weasley brother in the opening half of the Harry Potter franchise's final installment; then as a restless clone in the adaptation of "Never Let Me Go;" and finally as an unlucky gunslinger in the Coen Brothers' critically acclaimed western, "True Grit." After reprising his role in the 2011 finale to the Harry Potter series, Gleeson re-united with two of his "Never Let Me Go" co-stars in 2012: Andrea Riseborough and Keira Knightley. In "Shadow Dancer" he portrayed an IRA member who's suspicious his that sister (Riseborough) has been flipped; and in the Russian epic "Anna Karenina," starring Knightley as the title aristocrat, he played the anxious landowner, Konstantin Levin. He next starred opposite Rachel McAdams and Bill Nighy in the Richard Curtis time-travel romantic comedy-drama "About Time" (2013). This mainstream film was followed by a quirkier role opposite Michael Fassbender (wearing a giant papier-mache cartoon head) in "Frank" (2014), a Sundance favorite inspired by the life of Chris Sievey, a British post-punk musician who created a cartoon alter ego named Frank Sidebottom.

After working with his father in the Irish drama "Calvary" (2014), Gleeson co-starred in Angelina Jolie's World War II biopic "Unbroken" (2014) before taking the male lead opposite Alicia Vikander in Alex Garland's speculative science-fiction thriller "Ex Machina" (2015). Another supporting role in historical romance "Brooklyn" (2015) was followed by Gleeson's debut in the Star Wars universe as General Hux in "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" (2015), a role he reprised in "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" (2017). Gleeson next took on a key supporting role in 19th-century survival thriller "The Revenant" (2015), followed by roles in Darren Aronofsky's divisive parable "mother!" (2017) and Doug Liman's politically-themed crime caper "American Made" (2017). After starring opposte Christina Applegate in love-triangle comedy "Crash Pad" (2017), Gleeson starred as British children's author A.A. Milne in the biopic "Goodbye Christopher Robin" (2017).

Credits

Alice & JackStream

Actor
Jack
Series
2023
38%

Alice & JackStream

Executive Producer
Series
2023
38%

The PatientStream

Actor
Sam Fortner
Series
2022
89%

Frank of IrelandStream

Actor
Doofus
Series
2021
45%

Frank of IrelandStream

Writer
Series
2021
45%

Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway

Actor
Mr. Thomas McGregor
Movie
2021

Peter Hase 2

Actor
Movie
2021

RunStream

Actor
Billy Johnson
Series
2020
81%

Run: Extras

Actor
Show
2020

Star Wars: The Rise of SkywalkerStream

Actor
General Hux
Movie
2019
52%

The Kitchen

Actor
Gabriel O'Malley
Movie
2019

Couch Surfing

Guest
Show
2018

Peter Rabbit

Actor
Mr. Jeremy Fisher/Mr. Thomas McGregor
Movie
2018

A Futile and Stupid Gesture

Actor
Henry Beard
Movie
2018

The Little Stranger

Actor
Dr. Faraday
Movie
2018

Pelle Kanin - sv.tal

Actor
Thomas Karlsson
Movie
2018

Star Wars: The Last JediStream

Actor
General Hux
Movie
2017
91%

American MadeStream

Actor
Monty "Schafer"
Movie
2017
85%

mother!

Actor
Oldest Son
Movie
2017

Goodbye Christopher Robin

Actor
Alan Milne
Movie
2017

Crash Pad

Actor
Stensland
Movie
2017

American Made

Actor
Movie
2017

Earth's Greatest Spectacles

Narrator
Show
2016

The Late Show With Stephen ColbertStream

Guest
Talk
2015

Artificial Intelligence: Making Ex Machina

Actor
Show
2015

Noreen

Director
Show
2015

Noreen

Screenwriter
Show
2015

The Late Late Show With James CordenStream

Guest
Talk
2015

Ex Machina: Interview Special

Guest
Show
2015

Star Wars: The Force AwakensStream

Actor
General Hux
Movie
2015
93%

BrooklynStream

Actor
Jim Farrell
Movie
2015
97%

The RevenantStream

Actor
Captain Andrew Henry
Movie
2015
78%

The Making Of: Unbroken

Actor
Show
2014

Late Night With Seth MeyersStream

Guest
Talk
2014

Calvary

Actor
Freddie Joyce
Movie
2014

Unbroken

Actor
Phil
Movie
2014

Frank

Actor
Jon
Movie
2014

Ex MachinaStream

Actor
Caleb Smith
Movie
2014
92%

Neukrotiva volja

Actor
Movie
2014

About TimeStream

Actor
Tim
Movie
2013
70%

Wieczór kinomana

Actor
Show
2012

Entertainment Studios.TV

Guest
Show
2012

Shadow Dancer

Actor
Connor
Movie
2012

DreddStream

Actor
Clan Techie
Movie
2012
80%

Anna KareninaStream

Actor
Levin
Movie
2012
63%

Black MirrorStream

Actor
Ash
Series
2011
83%

When Harvey Met Bob

Actor
Bob Geldof
Show
2010

Noreen

Director
Movie
2010

Noreen

Writer
Movie
2010

Never Let Me GoStream

Actor
Rodney
Movie
2010
71%

Sensation

Actor
Donal
Movie
2010

A Dog Year

Actor
Anthony Armstrong
Movie
2009

The Graham Norton ShowStream

Guest
Talk
2007

The One Show

Guest
Show
2006

Studs

Actor
Trampis
Movie
2006

Six Shooter

Actor
Cashier
Movie
2004

Jimmy Kimmel Live!Stream

Guest
Talk
2003

The Late Late Show

Guest
Show
2002

Good Morning America

Guest
News
1975

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