Brendan Gleeson brings warmth and depth to the role of Alisdair Macdonald in the 2025 biographical drama H IS FOR HAWK, a film that marks another significant chapter in the Irish actor’s recent career resurgence. Based on Helen Macdonald’s acclaimed 2014 memoir, the film stars Claire Foy as Helen and explores the profound bond between daughter and father through the lens of grief and memory. When Helen loses her beloved father suddenly, she turns to an unlikely source of solace: training a goshawk named Mabel. Through this unusual act of mourning, the film weaves together present-day scenes of Helen’s struggle with loss and tender flashbacks of Alisdair sharing his passion for nature and birding with his daughter, moments that Gleeson imbues with genuine tenderness.
What makes Gleeson’s performance particularly resonant is the personal connection he brought to the material. During the film’s promotional tour, he opened up about how the role allowed him to portray something he felt had become increasingly rare in contemporary cinema: a father who is emotionally present, loving, and nurturing. Gleeson didn’t hold back in expressing his frustration with the current landscape of on-screen fatherhood, admitting he had grown tired of seeing fathers consistently depicted as toxic or emotionally stunted. His comments struck a chord with many viewers who recognized the same pattern, and he advocated passionately for more celebratory representations of fatherhood in film. For Gleeson, playing Alisdair wasn’t just another role but an opportunity to honor the kind of father he believes deserves to be seen more often on screen.
This performance comes at a time when Gleeson has been carefully selecting projects that showcase his range beyond the intense, often darker characters that defined much of his earlier work. H IS FOR HAWK allows him to demonstrate the subtlety and emotional intelligence that have always been hallmarks of his craft, proving once again why he remains one of the most respected actors of his generation. The film itself has resonated with audiences precisely because of performances like Gleeson’s, which ground the story’s more fantastical elements in genuine human emotion. His Alisdair becomes not just a memory but a presence that lingers throughout the film, shaping Helen’s journey and reminding viewers of the lasting impact of paternal love.
Colin Farrell hit the @thegrahamnortonshowofficial couch this weekend!
Farrell reveals a new haircut (!) and how he was initially reluctant to take accept his role in the classic IN BRUGES.
Watch now via 🔗︎ in bio!
One question that has haunted Ireland for decades ⚖️
In RE-CREATION, the new film from Jim Sheridan, the story is built on the real 1996 murder of Sophie Toscan Du Plantier, and Colm Meaney never hands you a verdict. The veteran actor trusts you to argue it out yourself 🎬
More details via 🔗︎ in bio!
“This is the Ireland I always believed existed.”
July 13, 1985. Two stadiums. One mission. Queen, U2, Bowie, Elton John, Madonna, McCartney, all on one day to fight famine in Ethiopia. And five Irish women who wanted to donate their wedding rings!
More details of Bob Geldof`s LATE LATE SHOW appearance via 🔗︎ in bio!
Let’s hear it for Jamie Dornan 👏
He’s back as an American career criminal, always one step ahead, in 12 12 12 on Apple TV, going toe to toe with Anthony Mackie in a cat-and-mouse game across Europe. And this time he’s also an executive producer, helping shape the story as well as starring in it.
NEW trailer via 🔗︎ in bio!
Andrew Scott and Olivia Colman looked adorable at the London Film Festival ELSINORE premiere!
Their biographical drama on actor Ian Charleson`s final performance opened the festival to rave reviews.
More details via 🔗︎ in bio!
🎸 RORY GALLAGHER IS COMING HOME TO THE BIG SCREEN 🎸
The world premiere of JOE BONAMASSA: THE SPIRIT OF RORY lands at the Cork International Film Festival this November, and it’s a love letter to the Ballyshannon-born, Cork-raised guitar legend who changed the sound of rock forever.
More details via 🔗︎ in bio!
⛳🍀 BILL MURRAY. IRELAND. NO PLAN 🍀⛳
The trailer for A COURSE CALLED IRELAND has landed, and it looks like the best kind of trouble.
Murray and author Tom Coyne tee off across some of Ireland’s most legendary golf courses - six episodes, north and south of the border, with plenty of wit, warmth and unscripted chaos.
Watch now via 🔗︎ in bio!
Don`t miss @scandalous_13 on the @willseeyounowshow!
The PEAKY BLINDERS, KIN and MOBLAND actor opens up about living with aphantasia, his complicated relationship with fear and the self-destructive impulses he works to keep under control.
Watch now via 🔗︎ in bio 🍀
Fifty years. One extraordinary career. And he keeps getting better 🎬
Don`t miss beloved #Belfast actor; Ciaran Hinds; in Netflix’s adaptation of John Steinbeck`s EAST OF EDEN.
Hinds re-unites with THE WONDER co-star, with the magnificent Florence Pugh!
Full details via 🔗︎ in bio.
