Domhnall Gleeson

He had a supporting role in Never Let Me Go (2010) and became known to a wider audience for his portrayal of Bill Weasley in the Harry Potter film series (2010–2011). Gleeson had starring roles in the period drama Anna Karenina (2012), the romantic comedy About Time (2013), the Black Mirror episode "Be Right Back" (2013), and the war drama Unbroken (2014). His career progressed with roles in the films Ex Machina (2014), Brooklyn (2015), The Revenant (2015), and Peter Rabbit (2018), as well as for his role as General Armitage Hux in the Star Wars sequel trilogy (2015–2019). In 2020, he had a main role in the HBO black comedy series Run. In 2023, he received a Golden Globe nomination for his role in the limited series The Patient, and also starred in the satirical political miniseries White House Plumbers. In 2025, he starred as the lead in The Office spinoff series The Paper. He voiced the lead in the short Retirement Plan, which was nominated for an Academy Award in 2026.

Domhnall Gleeson was born on 12 May 1983 in Dublin, Ireland. He was raised in Malahide, County Dublin, the eldest son of Mary (née Weldon) and 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. He first appeared in the British television miniseries Rebel Heart in 2001 with James D'Arcy and Paloma Baeza. 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. He was featured in a small role in the 2005 horror comedy Boy Eats Girl. In 2006, Gleeson starred in the feature film Studs, with his father appearing alongside him. 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. 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 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. 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".

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. 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 a largely negative review, Catherine Shaord of The Guardian described Gleeson as a "ginger Hugh Grant", although she noted that "The effect, at first, is unnerving; as About Time marches on, Gleeson's innate charm gleams through and this weird disconnection becomes quite compelling." 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. In the film, Gleeson portrayed a soldier lost at sea after a plane crash in the Pacific Ocean during the Second World War. He lost what he described as a "sizable amount of weight" for the role. 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.

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. In July 2020, HBO cancelled the series after one season. 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. In 2022, he starred in the FX on Hulu psychological thriller limited series The Patient as Sam Fortner, a serial killer, alongside Steve Carell. 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 17 March 2024. The series was released on Channel 4 on 14 February 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".

Gleeson was listed at number 21 on The Irish Times list of Ireland's greatest film actors.

Gleeson has said that it never crossed his mind to change his surname at the beginning of his career to stay out of his father's shadow. His reasoning was that his father was not as well known internationally at that time, and everyone in the Irish film industry already knew of their relationship. Gleeson met and befriended Irish producer Juliette Bonass while they were in college. In 2023, Gleeson and Bonass married. Gleeson and Bonass have worked together on a number of projects, including Your Bad Self, Immatürity for Charity and Psychic. Alongside his father, Gleeson is an ambassador for St. Francis Hospice, Dublin, after both his paternal grandparents received end-of-life care in St. Francis Hospice in Raheny. In 2013 Gleeson penned a series of comedy shorts in aid of St. Francis Hospice in Raheny and Blanchardstown, called Immatürity for Charity. The sketches were billed as a “lowbrow comedy fundraiser" and starred Gleeson alongside appearances from his father and brother. The sketches also included Amy Huberman, Laurence Kinlan, Tadhg Murphy, Hugh O'Conor, and others. He shares a love of the English football team Aston Villa with his father, Brendan. He described the team's FA Cup semifinal win over Liverpool at Wembley Stadium in 2015, as one of the "great days of my life". As of 2021, Gleeson was residing in Ballsbridge, Dublin.