2001–2009: Beginnings and early recognition After graduating, Gleeson began directing and writing for both film and stage. He first appeared in the British television
miniseries Rebel Heart in 2001 with
James D'Arcy and
Paloma Baeza. He was featured in a small role in the 2005 horror comedy
Boy Eats Girl. 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. 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. 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'." 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".
2010–2014: Career breakthrough 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. 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. Gleeson won the 2011
Ifta Award for Best Actor for his performance in the film. In the drama
Shadow Dancer, released in August 2012, he played an
IRA member whose own sister informs on him to the
MI5. Gleeson played landowner Kostya Levin in the historical romance
Anna Karenina, based on the
Leo Tolstoy novel.
The Daily Telegraph critic Tim Robey praised his performance, saying Gleeson "nails Levin’s adorable self-seriousness without sentimentalising what can make him hard work." His final release of 2012 was the science fiction action film
Dredd starring
Karl Urban as the titular
Judge Dredd, in which he played an unnamed computer expert working for the gang Dredd battles against. Gleeson made a guest appearance in "
Be Right Back", an episode of the science-fiction anthology series
Black Mirror in 2013. Starring alongside
Hayley Atwell, he played a man who is killed in a car crash, but returns to his lover as a synthetic android clone of himself. Later in 2013, Gleeson starred in
About Time, a romantic comedy written and directed by
Richard Curtis. The story follows a young man, played by Gleeson, who uses time travel to win over an American girl, played by
Rachel McAdams. Filming took place in
London, England, in June 2012. In
Lenny Abrahamson's
Frank (2014), he portrayed Jon, a wannabe musician who joins the band of the eccentric,
papier-mâché head-wearing titular character played by
Michael Fassbender. Gleeson played a small role as a psychotic killer in the Irish drama
Calvary, starring his father as a Catholic priest who visits him in prison. His last release of 2014, was
Angelina Jolie's directorial debut, the war film
Unbroken. Along with his father and brother
Brian, Gleeson created and stars in the Immatürity For Charity comedy sketches, which raise money for the St. Francis Hospice in
Raheny, Dublin. Gleeson directed and starred in a music video for the
Squarehead charity single "2025" in 2014, with all proceeds going to Immatürity For Charity. His first release of the year was the science fiction psychological thriller
Ex Machina, which was filmed at a hotel in
Valldalen, Norway in the summer of 2013 and released in January 2015. The film stars Gleeson as a programmer who wins a competition to visit the home of his company's CEO (
Oscar Isaac) and test the human qualities of the
artificially intelligent humanoid robot Ava, who is played by
Alicia Vikander.
Ex Machina was met with critical acclaim for its performances, screenplay, direction, and visual effects. In the romantic period drama
Brooklyn, he appeared in a supporting role as a romantic interest of
Saoirse Ronan's character, a young Irish woman living in
Brooklyn in the 1950s. Gleeson was announced to be a part of the
Star Wars sequel trilogy in April 2014. The first installment,
Star Wars: The Force Awakens, was released in December 2015. Gleeson plays the ruthless
General Hux, commander of the
First Order's Starkiller Base. Throughout the film, Hux is vying for power with First Order commander
Kylo Ren, who is portrayed by
Adam Driver. In his last release of the year, Gleeson co-starred in
Alejandro G. Iñárritu's western
The Revenant as fur trader
Andrew Henry, with
Leonardo DiCaprio portraying
fur trapper Hugh Glass. Alongside his brother Brian and his father Brendan, Gleeson starred in a revival of the
Enda Walsh play
The Walworth Farce from January to February 2015. In February 2016, Gleeson narrated the
BBC Two nature documentary series ''
Earth's Greatest Spectacles''. '' in September 2015 Gleeson played fashion house
Burberry's founder,
Thomas Burberry, in a short Christmas-themed advertisement film for the company in 2016. He made a guest appearance on the
Channel 4 sitcom
Catastrophe as a
recruitment consultant in March 2017. Gleeson then played fictional
CIA agent Monty Schafer in
American Made, released in September 2017, starring
Tom Cruise as drug smuggler
Barry Seal. Also in September, Gleeson had a small role in
Darren Aronofsky's psychological horror film
Mother! in which he shared significant screen time with his brother, starred alongside
Christina Applegate and
Thomas Haden Church in the independent comedy
Crash Pad, and portrayed
Winnie-the-Pooh creator
A. A. Milne in the biographical film
Goodbye Christopher Robin. Gleeson reprised his role as General Hux in
Star Wars: The Last Jedi, released in December 2017. In his first film of 2018, Gleeson co-starred as
National Lampoon magazine co-founder and writer
Henry Beard in the biographical comedy
A Futile and Stupid Gesture, opposite
Will Forte as the magazine's co-founder
Doug Kenney. Gleeson next starred in
Peter Rabbit (2018) – based on the stories of the
character of the same by
Beatrix Potter – as Thomas McGregor, the great-grandnephew and heir to Mr. McGregor. The adaptation received a mixed reception from critics, although
Deadline Hollywood critic Pete Hammond praised "an appealing Gleeson" for "overcoming the unlikable aspects of Thomas". The film fared better at the box office, grossing over $350 million globally. Gleeson starred alongside his brother and father in the short film
Psychic, which was directed by the latter and premiered in 2018 on
Sky Arts. Also in 2018, Gleeson starred in the supernatural thriller
The Little Stranger, with
Ruth Wilson. The story concerns a country doctor (Gleeson) who takes on a patient living in a possibly haunted old estate, where he falls in love with the owner's youngest daughter (Wilson). In late 2019, Gleeson returned to the role of General Hux in
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the last film of the nine-movie series.
2020–present: Television roles and theatre The start of a new decade saw Gleeson pivot into television roles. In 2020, he co-starred opposite
Merritt Wever in
Run, an American comedy thriller television series created by
Vicky Jones that premiered on 12 April 2020 on HBO. He reprised his role as Thomas McGregor in
Peter Rabbit 2 (2021). In 2021 he starred in
Frank of Ireland, an Irish comedy television series that he co-created with his brother
Brian Gleeson and close friend, Michael Moloney. It was co-produced by
Sharon Horgan. It premiered in the United Kingdom on Channel 4 on 15 April 2021 and Australia, Canada and the United States on Amazon Prime on 16 April 2021. The series received mixed reviews from critics. Brian Gleeson confirmed in 2022 that the series would not be returning. Gleeson returned to the theatre in 2021, starring in
Enda Walsh's
Medicine. It received its world premiere at
Edinburgh International Festival in August 2021 prior to its opening at GIAF 2021 in September and New York transfer to
St. Ann’s Warehouse in November. Gleeson received acclaim for his performance and was nominated for Best Actor in The Irish Times Theatre Awards. He received
Golden Globe and
Critics Choice nominations for his role in the limited series. In 2023, he continued his work in television by portraying
John Dean in the satirical political miniseries
White House Plumbers. In August 2023, it was announced that Gleeson would star in
Alice & Jack, a television series made for
Channel 4. He is also credited as a co-producer. The series will premiere on PBS Masterpiece on March 17, 2024. The series was released on Channel 4 on February 14, 2024 and received mixed to negative reviews from critics, with praise for Gleeson's acting, but with criticism over the plot and character arc. Gleeson starred in the music video for "
De Selby (Part 2)" by Irish singer song writer,
Hozier. The video was filmed in
County Wicklow. Gleeson voiced the role of Lawrence in
James Acaster's scripted podcast
Springleaf. It is presented as a true crime podcast, with the framing device of Springleaf playing wire recordings of his most important case. After its second episode, Springleaf topped the Spotify podcast chart in the UK and Ireland. He also voiced the character of "Boy" in the 2023 animated short story
Worry World. In April 2023, it was confirmed that Gleeson would star in
Echo Valley, an American thriller film directed by Michael Pearce, written by
Brad Ingelsby, and starring
Julianne Moore and
Sydney Sweeney. In January 2024 it was announced that Gleeson had joined the cast of
Guy Ritchie's
Fountain of Youth opposite
John Krasinski and
Natalie Portman in an undisclosed role. In February 2026, Gleeson co-starred in the music video for Taylor Swift’s
Opalite. ==Recognition ==