The Gleeson family tree: Which of Brendan’s sons have followed in his acting footsteps?

While not all of Brendan Gleeson’s sons have pursued a career in the film industry, all four have dipped their toes in — with the Academy nominated actor appearing alongside his sons on a couple of projects in their earlier days.

The 69-year-old Gaelgoir actor shares four sons with his wife of more than 40 years, Mary Waldron. Mary was the reason behind Brendan pursuing a career in acting.

The pair share four children — Domhnall, Fergus, Brian and Rory.

Here is everything you need to know about the Gleeson clan…

Brendan

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Brendan Gleeson in "The Guard."

Brendan Gleeson is an award-winning Irish actor, with three IFTA, three BAFTA and five Golden Globe awards to his name.

Some of his most well-known works include In Bruges; The Guard; The Banshees of Inisherin and The Harry Potter film series. Brendan has also portrayed real-life figures such as Winston Churchill and Donald Trump.

The now 69-year-old, who is fluent in Irish, also starred in Irish short film Cáca Milis which many Irish school attendees will be very familiar with due to its inclusion in the Irish curriculum.

At the moment, Brendan can be seen on cinema screens in the new Joker movie, Joker: Folie a Déux where he plays a prison guard.

Brendan married his wife Mary Weldon in 1982 with the pair going onto share four sons.

Mary (née Weldon)

Not much is known about Mary, who prefers to keep out of the limelight. The pair wed in 1982. Brendan previously revealed it was his other half who encouraged him to take up acting, with Mary taking up a role at the Abbey Theatre in the first few years of Brendan’s career to ensure the family could survive.

Domhnall

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Credit: Getty Images

Domhnall is the eldest of the Gleeson sons and grew up in Malahide with his parents and brothers. He graduated with a BA in Media Arts from the Dublin Institute of Technology and went straight into directing and filming for film and stage after his degree.

The now 41-year-old made his film debut in Martin McDonagh’s short film, Six Shooter, in 2004, which starred his father. It’s not the only time the actor has appeared on screen alongside his father, with the pair both appearing on 2006 feature film, Studs.

Domhnall also played Bill Weasley in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — his father played a bigger role of Alastar Moody in the series.

More recently, Domhnall starred in the music video for Hozier’s De Selby (Part 2) and also starred alongside Aisling Bea in Channel 4 TV series Alice & Jack, which he also produced.

Future endeavours from the 41-year-old include a role in Guy Ritchie’s Fountain of Youth alongside John Krasinski and Natalie Portman as well as a role in Peacock’s reboot of The Office.

Fergus

Unlike his older and younger brothers and father, Fergus is the Gleeson who opts to stay away from the spotlight the most, but has made a handful of rare appearances.

Fergus played a role in 2012 movie Immaturity for Charity and was also composer for short film Pyschic — which Brendan, Domhnall and Brian all starred in.

Brian

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Brian Gleeson and Domhnall Gleeson star in "Frank of Ireland." Credit: MERMAN

36-year-old Brian’s first acting gig was alongside his father in John Boorman’s The Tiger’s Tail, which he starred in the same year he completed his Leaving Certificate.

The Dublin native was nominated for an IFTA (Irish Film and Television Award) for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his time as Hughie on RTÉ’s Love/Hate. Other major TV series, Brian has appeared in include Peaky Blinders.

The actor has appeared in a host of major movies as well, including Snow White and the Huntsman and Assassin’s Creed.

More recently he appeared in Netflix’s Top Boy.

In 2022, Brian won his first award, the Peabody Award in the Entertainment category for his stint as Thomas Claffin on  Bad Sisters, which also starred Sharon Horgan.

Rory

The youngest of the Gleeson clan, Rory was born in 1989 and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Trinity College Dublin. The novelist and playwright also earned further degrees from Oxford, The University of Manchester.

Rory’s debut novel, Rockadoon Shore, was published by John Murray in January 2017. The following year, his short film Psychic premiered at the Galway Film Fleadh, while his debut play, Blood in the Dirt, debuted at the The New theatre in 2019.

In 2020, he was the recipient of a Literature Bursary from Arts Council Ireland.

* This article was originally published on Extra.ie.