A Gleeson Film Reunion for St. Patrick’s Day!

If there was ever a week to celebrate all things Irish, this is the one. So it’s perfectly fitting that channel 3e announced its intention to promote rising Irish talent by featuring Irish short films beginning this Friday.

First to air is a film starring three members of the Gleeson clan. Noreen, written and directed by Domhnall Gleeson, tells the story of two guards who report to a possible crime scene after a gunshot has been heard.

According to Joe.ie, Domhnall’s brother, Brian, “plays an emotional Frank, inexperienced and heartbroken, and [his father] Brendan plays Con, middle-aged and weary.”

Domhnall and Brendan also worked together in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I, with Domhnall portraying the eldest of the Weasley sons, Bill, and Brendan appearing for the last time in the shoes shoe of Mad-Eye Moody.

Brendan Gleeson hails from Dublin, Ireland and raised his children there, so its exciting to see the family included in this showcasing venture, especially as Domhnall explores the writing and directing side of the film industry.

Noreen can be seen at 9 p.m. on March 17th, a lucky day for the Harry Potter fandom, indeed! Otherwise, both actors have full schedules and will be gracing the silver screen regularly over the coming year or two.

IMDb.com indicates that Domhnall currently has six films completed or in post-production: an as-yet untitled A.A. Milne film, Crash Pad, American Made, Mother!, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and A Futile & Stupid Gesture. He’s also listed as filming Peter Rabbit, in which he stars as Mr. McGregor.

Domhnall is surely making a name for himself in his own right after a string of appearances in recent well-received films such as Unbroken, Ex Machina, The Revenant, Brooklyn, and Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Of course, Brendan Gleeson was a household name long before his son broke into the industry. He continues to stay busy as well, and IMDb.com shows three projects of his own in post-production: the films Paddington 2 and Hampstead and the television series Mr. Mercedes.

Brendan also appeared in a number of recent films, Alone in Berlin, Trespass Against Us, and Live By Night. Leaky’s coverage of the latter described him as follows:

“[He’s] a devout family man and native of Ireland, who never considered leaving it for Hollywood. He’s a serious man who viewers take seriously, and it comes through in the way he treats his work.

He came late to a career in acting–teaching English was his first profession–so he never took it for granted. Gleeson recalled:

‘To begin with anyway, you don’t know what money is coming in or when, so I still have the natural impulse to get up and work, to put bread on the table…I never actually contemplated taking on anything I thought was going to be rubbish or wouldn’t work so I was always pretty selective, but it has only been in the past five years where I’ve thought I’m actually going to calm down a little bit.’”

He may talk of slowing down, but if joining his sons onscreen and supporting Irish film in one go is the way to do it, then we’re all for it. Tune in–hopefully it will be a whale of a time!