Domhnall Gleeson (born 12 May 1983) is an Irish actor and screenwriter.
He is the son of actor Brendan Gleeson, with whom he has appeared in a number of films and theatre projects.
He received a Bachelor of Arts in Media Arts from Dublin Institute of Technology.
Gleeson was born 12 May 1983, the eldest of four boys, in Dublin, Ireland.
He was raised in Malahide, County Dublin, the eldest son of Mary (née Weldon) and actor Brendan Gleeson.
He has three brothers: Fergus, Brian (also an actor), and Rory.
He attended Malahide Community School, where he performed in school productions of Grease and King Lear.
Gleeson later graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Media Arts from the Dublin Institute of Technology.
After graduating, Gleeson began directing and writing for both film and stage.
2001
He first appeared in the British television miniseries Rebel Heart in 2001 with James D'Arcy and Paloma Baeza.
2004
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.
2005
He was featured in a small role in the 2005 horror comedy Boy Eats Girl.
He was among the main cast members of RTÉ comedy television series The Last Furlong in 2005.
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.
2006
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.
In 2006, Gleeson starred in the feature film Studs, with his father appearing alongside him.
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'."
2007
In late 2007, Gleeson played Herbert Pocket in the Hugh Leonard adaptation of Charles Dickens's Great Expectations at the Gate Theatre in Dublin.
The role was described as being "wittily played" by Irish Independent critic Bruce Arnold.
Earlier that year he had a role as Bobby in the David Mamet play American Buffalo, also at the Gate Theatre.
2008
In 2008, Gleeson starred in the one-off RTÉ comedy sketch show Your Bad Self, which was broadcast on 26 December that year and later developed into a series in 2010.
2009
In March 2009, it was confirmed that he had been cast as Bill Weasley in the film Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
His father, Brendan, plays Alastor Moody in the series.
Gleeson had initially been reluctant to act alongside his father in the same film but later changed his mind.
The 2009 HBO television film A Dog Year starring Jeff Bridges, featured Gleeson as handyman Anthony Armstrong.
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".
2010
He became known to a wider audience for his portrayal of Bill Weasley in the last two entries of the Harry Potter film series (2010–2011), Tim Lake in About Time (2013), and Russell Allen Phillips in the fact-based war drama Unbroken (2014).
Gleeson has won three IFTA Awards for his performances in When Harvey Met Bob (2010), Anna Karenina (2012), and Frank (2014).
His first release of 2010 was the dystopian romance Never Let Me Go, starring Carey Mulligan, Keira Knightley, and Andrew Garfield.
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.
The multi Academy Award nominated Coen Brothers' film True Grit featured Gleeson as Moon, a young outlaw.
His short comedy film, Noreen, starring his father and brother, was shown at the Tribeca Film Festival.
He portrayed musician Bob Geldof as he organises the 1985 Live Aid concert in the television film When Harvey Met Bob, which was broadcast on BBC Four on 26 December 2010.
2014
In the following years, Gleeson received widespread recognition and praise for his performances in several Academy Award-nominated films: Caleb Smith in Ex Machina (2014), Jim Farrell in Brooklyn (2015), and Captain Andrew Henry in The Revenant (2015).
2015
He has also starred as General Armitage Hux in the Star Wars sequel trilogy (2015–2019).
2020
In 2020, he had a main role in the HBO black comedy series Run.
The same year, he was listed at number 21 on The Irish Times list of Ireland's greatest film actors.
In 2023 he received a Golden Globe and Critics Choice nomination for his role in the limited series The Patient, and also starred in the satirical political miniseries White House Plumbers.
