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Brendan Gleeson (born 29 March 1955) is an Irish actor. His best-known films include Braveheart, Gangs of New York, In Bruges, 28 Days Later, the Harry Potter films, The Guard and the role of Michael Collins in The Treaty. He won an Emmy Award in 2009 for his portrayal of Winston Churchill in the film Into the Storm. Gleeson was born in Dublin, the son of Pat and Frank Gleeson. Gleeson has described himself as having been an avid reader as a child. Later, after working as an actor, he returned to Ireland and worked for several years as a secondary school teacher at the now defunct Belcamp... MORE

Brendan Gleeson (born 29 March 1955) is an Irish actor. His best-known films include Braveheart, Gangs of New York, In Bruges, 28 Days Later, the Harry Potter films, The Guard and the role of Michael Collins in The Treaty. He won an Emmy Award in 2009 for his portrayal of Winston Churchill in the film Into the Storm. Gleeson was born in Dublin, the son of Pat and Frank Gleeson. Gleeson has described himself as having been an avid reader as a child. Later, after working as an actor, he returned to Ireland and worked for several years as a secondary school teacher at the now defunct Belcamp College in North County Dublin, which closed in 2004. He taught the Irish language (Gaeilge), English and Physical Education. Gleeson started his film career at the age of 34. He first came to prominence in Ireland for his role as Michael Collins in The Treaty, a television film broadcast on RTÉ One, and for which he won a Jacob's Award in 1992. He has acted in such films as Braveheart, I Went Down, Michael Collins, Gangs of New York, Cold Mountain, 28 Days Later, Troy, Kingdom of Heaven, Lake Placid, Artificial Intelligence: AI, Mission: Impossible II and The Village. He won critical acclaim for LESS