Star Wars fans might best recognize Domhnall Gleeson as the sneaky General Hux who helps
lead up the First Order, but the Irish actor has actually assembled an impressive resume
over the last few years.
From sci-fi extravaganzas to gritty period pictures, here's what you might've seen Domhnall
Gleeson starring in before he ventured out into a galaxy far, far away.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Star Wars wasn't Domhnall Gleeson's first foray into franchise land.
He also enjoyed a brief stint in the final Harry Potter films as the eldest Weasley kid,
Bill, who's come back from working overseas to marry Fleur Delacour and take a nice desk
job before the Second Wizarding War erupts.
Although Gleeson has joked that his red hair was the real reason he got the gig, his ruby
locks had very little to do with the spell he'd cast over audiences.
Never Let Me Go
Although he'd been working for about a decade before Never Let Me Go came out in 2010, the
dystopian drama about a group of teen clones who have been bred to serve as organ donors
helped launch Gleeson into the mainstream.
His role was relatively brief in the picture, but sharing the screen with an all-star cast
that included Keira Knightley, Andrew Garfield, Carey Mulligan and Ella Purnell certainly
didn't hurt.
More importantly, the film connected him with screenwriter Alex Garland, whom he would later
work with again on several other projects.
True Grit
In the Coen Brothers' acclaimed western adaptation, Gleeson played Moon, a soft-spoken outlaw
questioned by Jeff Bridges' U.S. Marshal.
The character meets a rather grisly end after answering some questions for Bridges' lawman,
but while his role isn't big, it's certainly memorable.
And Gleeson was happy to accept such a brief part in the picture because, as he put it,
he'd "rather do one day on a really cool movie than six months on something crap."
Dredd
Gleeson continued his trend of small roles in good movies when he popped up in the cult
hit Dredd as the Clan Techie in the Peach Trees slum block.
He's the grungy computer kid who's running the security cameras and communications, but
it's understandable if you may not have recognized Gleeson buried under all that grime.
Black Mirror
One of Gleeson's most heart-wrenching roles came courtesy of the acclaimed sci-fi anthology
series Black Mirror with the episode "Be Right Back," which co-starred Hayley Atwell.
The story follows a woman grieving the sudden death of her boyfriend after he's killed in
a car crash.
Gleeson offers a haunting performance as the boyfriend—and then an A.I.
reconstruction of the young man's personality designed to help Atwell's character grieve
his passing.
The two stars' work made the episode one of the most acclaimed in the anthology series,
and Gleeson said he loved the ambition of the segment, noting it asks some "really interesting
questions in a way that some of [his] favorite films ask really interesting questions."
About Time
Trading in the supporting roles for a leading man gig, Gleeson headlined the romantic comedy
About Time alongside Rachel McAdams.
The story focuses on a man who learns he has the ability to travel back in time, which
he uses to woo the love of his life.
With the film marking one of Gleeson's first starring roles in a major production, he said
he had to get used to being in pretty much every scene, saying, "There is something wonderful
about turning up every day and knowing that not just the character, but the whole movie
kind of rests on your shoulders."
Ex Machina
One of Gleeson's most buzzy roles came in the daring sci-fi flick Ex Machina, where
he played a low-level tech employee tasked with "testing" a new AI and android at a private
research facility.
The film reunited the actor with writer-director Alex Garland, and resulted in one of the most
acclaimed movies of the year, which only helped advance Gleeson's career even more.
The Revenant
This powerful period drama included a small but compelling role for Gleeson, who played
fur trader Andrew Henry alongside Leonardo DiCaprio's nigh unkillable Hugh Glass.
Gleeson was understandably proud of how The Revenant turned out, but did admit the shoot
was exceedingly brutal.
The story takes place in the dead of winter in the wilderness, and he said that when the
actors were actually working and shooting, it wasn't so bad.
Things went downhill during the downtime, though, as he said, "When you're out there,
in and out of the river, standing around and not knowing if you're going to get to your
bit that day, those days suck."
American Made
Gleeson also starred opposite A-lister Tom Cruise in American Made, a tale inspired by
a real-life pilot recruited by a CIA agent to fly secret spy missions above Central America.
Gleeson described his character as basically a "composite of different needs for the script,"
adding that he was glad the filmmakers made him part of the story's action.
The rest
Gleeson has also starred in a bevy of other pics, including Frank, Unbroken, Brooklyn,
and director Darren Aronofsky's divisive psychological thriller mother!, which Gleeson said spoke
to his urge to be a "part of something that shakes people to their core."
Indeed, if there is one common thread tying his eclectic filmography together, it's that
most of his roles do leave a lasting impression.
Thanks for watching!
Click the Looper icon to subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Plus check out all this cool stuff we know you'll love, too!