Brendan Gleeson Quotes

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Brendan Gleeson

Profession : Actor

Birth : March 29, 1955

The whole point of film for me is that it's such a joy. It's such a wonder. The possibilities are literally endless in terms of what you can creatively do.

Brendan Gleeson

Everyone's waiting for the seventh book, and looking at each other saying, 'Oh, I wonder will I be in the running?

Brendan Gleeson

What I voice, I voice though my art, if that's not too vainglorious a word. But I don't think it is.

Brendan Gleeson

I think it's what art should do: make you feel less alone - either in the quest for truth or in dealing with any pain you have.

Brendan Gleeson

I find myself really privileged to be able to go in and look at a set that the likes of Hollywood can provide, and say, 'My God, look at the craftsmanship in this; look at the ambition in it, the scale of it.'

Brendan Gleeson

When I started out at about 19, 20, it took me two years just to tell the difference between a jig and a reel. It does all sound the same, but what you can find once you go in - it's never-ending. So that's my love.

Brendan Gleeson

I don't want people poking around in my private stuff. They've no business in it. My work is what I give to people, that's my job, and that's where it stops.

Brendan Gleeson

The horror of a death without dignity has so much implications for the people who are left behind.

Brendan Gleeson

I think it was a possibility, I think we're all kind of delusional like that, we think that we can all carry on being who we are without bending ourselves to make ourselves acceptable and expect someone to come along and see to us and rescue to us.

Brendan Gleeson

For me, it's just about keeping the standards up. We're a small country, so we have to punch above our weight. I'm not a great man for doing something just because it's Irish, and you never know what's going to work. But as long as we keep the standards up, people will continue to invest in films. It's as simple as that.

Brendan Gleeson

My grandfather played a mandolin, so I got my hands on that. Then on down to a banjo, and I found I couldn't play any kind of soft or mournful music with that so I took up the fiddle in my late 20s or early 30s - and that was far too late. But it keeps me off the streets. It has been a love of mine since I was 17 maybe.

Brendan Gleeson

I tend to look for the good in bad people and the bad in good people, to make them human. 'Cause I don't think that people generally are that black and white. Maybe in movie-land they can be... but that isn't necessarily all there is.

Brendan Gleeson

I started hitching about the country when I was 16 or 17 years old. I found the music that was played around the country - Irish music - had a particular resonance.

Brendan Gleeson

I think every character actor at some stage likes to carry a film. It can be extremely liberating to just come in for a scene or two and do your thing. But I find it frustrating if I'm just doing little bits here and there for too long.

Brendan Gleeson

The good thing about my part in 'Harry Potter' was that I was pretty well disguised. When I was walking down the street, there was no real recognition factor. Parents would sometimes call their children to come say hello to Mad-Eye, and the kids wouldn't know what they were looking at.

Brendan Gleeson

I'm very proud of 'Calvary.' It's been doing well; it has legs. It's no easy ride. It packs a punch, this one.

Brendan Gleeson

I loved teaching. And I always used to say that acting was just something I did purely on my own terms, and that if I had to make a living from it there would be too much pressure.

Brendan Gleeson

I worked with Steven Spielberg on 'AI,' and his level of preparation was extraordinary. He told me there was a time at the beginning when he was a bit more spontaneous and went over budget, and it absolutely wrecked his head. When you look at the power and assuredness of his movies, it makes sense that he works out so much in advance.

Brendan Gleeson

You can channel a lot within a comic framework, and I think 'The Guard' had a lot going on outside of the comedy, which is satisfying.

Brendan Gleeson

When I first was able to fill in A-C-T-O-R for the occupation line on my passport, that was the first time I really felt, 'Wow, I'm home.'

Brendan Gleeson