Fangirl Friday: Domhnall Gleeson

The media has been all over the fact that actor Domhnall Gleeson had a doozy of a holiday season in 2015. In the span of two months, the actor appeared in three films: Star Wars: The Force Awakens, The Revenant and Brooklyn. These movies, which have earned tremendous critical acclaim, (as well as record-breaking box office takings in the case of Star Wars) have thrust the young actor solidly into public consciousness as a young actor to watch. Over the course of his still developing career, Domhnall Gleeson has demonstrated that he’s an incredibly versatile actor, who is not afraid to tackle a challenge, and try different roles.

Gleeson (first name pronounced Donal... just learned this myself!) isn’t a newcomer on screens. Despite having credits in his home country of Ireland dating back to 2001, his first foray into Hollywood came in the 2010/2011 blockbuster Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Pt. 1 and 2) where he played the eldest Weasley child, Bill. A fun fact: Domhnall Gleeson’s father is Brendan Gleeson, who played Mad-Eye Moody in the Harry Potter franchise. Besides the final installment of the Harry Potter series, Gleeson also appeared opposite his famous father in 2014’s Calvary.   

Like his father, Gleeson has a chameleon like talent to meld into his roles, often to so much of an extent that he hasn’t been recognized. In the span of two short years, he had supporting roles (and further developed his skills as an actor in films like: Dredd (written by Alex Garland, who would later go on to pen 2015’s Ex Machina), True Grit and Anna Karenina. The early work he threw himself into (a dystopian sci-fi film, a western, and film with a basis in European literature) established early on how versatile an actor he truly is.

In 2013, Gleeson took another step in his career development when he starred in About Time, the latest film by Richard Curtis, the director responsible for Love Actually and Notting Hill. Gleeson plays Tim, a young lawyer who discovers that the men in his family have the ability to travel through time. The main character in the film, this is the first time we see Gleeson in the main romantic storyline (playing opposite Rachel McAdams). The two are adorable together, and really shine in the simple film. 

About Time was responsible for evolving Gleeson’s career to its' next phase, as a leading actor. He appeared opposite Michael Fassbender in 2014’s Frank. In early 2015, he starred with Oscar Issac and Alicia Vikander in Ex Machina. Both films were formidable in the “indie” film circuits in their respective years. Ex Machina is is currently nominated for two Academy Awards (Best Original Screenplay and Best Achievement in Visual Effects).

On a recent appearance on the Nerdist podcast, Gleeson spoke a lot about his website and YouTube channel Immaturity for Charity, which he built to showcase a series of short comedy sketches Gleeson wrote (and appeared in) to raise money for St. Francis Hospice in Dublin. The (NSFW) sketches are simply shot, with a cast primarily comprised of Gleeson's family and friends. As a fiction writer who typically falls solidly into heavy drama, the ability to write a funny comedy script, and organize a shoot earns him my unending respect. The sketches are all fun, but are a bit off-color. Check it out, but you have been warned.

It’s tough to write a conclusive piece on Domhnall Gleeson’s early career (other than to say Squee!), because his film choices have not been defined by anything other than randomness. As he has developed as an actor, Gleeson continually demonstrates that he is has the courage to jump into a variety of versatile roles, refusing to pigeonhole himself.