Brendan Gleeson
Brendan Gleeson
Brendan Gleesonis an Irish actor. His best-known performances include supporting roles in films such as Braveheart, Gangs of New York, 28 Days Later, Troy, and the Harry Potter films and leading roles in films such as In Bruges, The Guard, and Calvary. He won an Emmy Award in 2009 for his portrayal of Winston Churchill in the film Into the Storm. He is also the father of actors Domhnall Gleeson and Brian Gleeson...
NationalityIrish
ProfessionMovie Actor
Date of Birth29 March 1955
CityDublin, Ireland
CountryIreland
bad consequences criminals guy people playing seductive terribly time worry
Actors will always tell you it's more fun playing bad guys. A lot of the time, it's criminals who are the people who don't care. There's something extraordinarily seductive about the guy who doesn't care, and to play that guy is terribly empowering, because you don't have to worry about the consequences of your actions.
fill home occupation time
When I first was able to fill in A-C-T-O-R for the occupation line on my passport, that was the first time I really felt, 'Wow, I'm home.'
absolutely beginning bit level movies power spielberg steven time worked works wrecked
I worked with Steven Spielberg on 'AI,' and his level of preparation was extraordinary. He told me there was a time at the beginning when he was a bit more spontaneous and went over budget, and it absolutely wrecked his head. When you look at the power and assuredness of his movies, it makes sense that he works out so much in advance.
against believe book evil exists harry initiation learning lightly men men-and-women prepare students themselves time treading walking wants women
He has no time for book learning or pussy-footing about. He wants to show these young men and women what they're up against - evil exists and they better know what they're getting themselves into. He's a one-man initiation ceremony, a walking rite-of-passage. He doesn't believe in treading lightly with Harry or the other students because that won't prepare them for the real world.
hero loss thinking
I think it's doubly important, now that we see so many people failing. When the norm is an anti-hero, there's a serious loss when you cannot portray a decent person on screen without it becoming slightly sentimental or feeling like it's unrealistic.
strong motivation believe
Are there people to aspire to? Can people be strong enough to withstand all of this disillusionment? Maybe the time is right for people to emerge from the easy cynicism and try to get back to a place where we can actually believe in people and trust people to have proper motivations.
hero focus needs
We lost faith in authority in the '50s, up to a point, and we spawned a lot of anti-heroes in movies, which were refreshing and open. But at this point, with the distrust that's there and the disillusionment with leadership that is so acute, we need some kind of a focus on taking the irony out and taking the anti-hero element away.
kindness humility play
So, to get to play somebody who was insisting on it, in spite of all the evidence was very liberating and exciting. It went quite deep. I suppose I reference a kindness and humility that I would have seen in my parents' generation, a little bit more than now.
thinking people pressure
I think most people are decent people. I don't know if they could stand the pressure he's under, but most people aspire to be decent people.
dna giving challenges
You work for it. You don't have to massage it, so that it fits into the way it has to be. He's just too vigorous a writer and the dialogue is too sparking to do anything other than inhabit it and give it as much truth as you can. You just try to make it part of your DNA. That's what the challenge is, really.
ambition careers people
I don't plan in terms of career ambitions. The only career ambition I have is to work with people who are going to bring you up and elevate your performance. They'll let you know things that you didn't know already and bring you places that you might not have gotten to otherwise.
jobs giving people
I don't want people poking around in my private stuff. They've no business in it. My work is what I give to people, that's my job, and that's where it stops.
trying shooting manageable
Once we start shooting, it's in there. You're trying to get into a place where you rise to the work, rather than make it manageable or make it work for you.
teaching acting too-much
I loved teaching. And I always used to say that acting was just something I did purely on my own terms, and that if I had to make a living from it there would be too much pressure.