The son of acclaimed Irish actor Brendan Gleeson, Domhnall Gleeson clearly comes from a talented family. At just 36-years-old, Domhnall already has quite an impressive resume, including roles in big-budget franchises, quirky independent films, and stage productions.
While he got started playing Bill Weasley in the Harry Potter movies, his mainstream recognition peaked with his role as General Hux in the Star Wars sequel trilogy. He’s tried his hand at every genre, from science fiction to rom-com to horror, always bringing a genuine sensibility to his roles. This list rounds up Domhnall’s 5 best and 5 worst features according to Rotten Tomatoes.
Worst: Perrier’s Bounty (2010) - 56%
Gleeson has a role in this gritty Irish crime drama met with mixed reviews. Cillian Murphy stars as a man named Michael who borrows money from a local loan shark, played by Domhnall’s father Brendan. When Michael is unable to pay the loan back, he’s forced to commit a breaking and entering at the behest of his creditor.
Domhnall has a small role in this film, playing a local gang member named Clifford. While Perrier’s Bounty features solid acting from its talented cast, the movie adds nothing new or interesting to an already overworked genre.
Best: Ex Machina (2015) - 92%
Gleeson won praise for his role in this compelling, futuristic thriller. Written and directed by Alex Garland, known for writing the 28 Days Later and Sunshine screenplays, Ex-Machina is a hardcore science fiction film about tech industry excess. Gleeson plays a programmer named Caleb, who is employed by a Google-esque search giant.
Caleb wins a competition that allows him to spend a week at the home of the company’s CEO Nathan Bateman, played by Oscar Isaac. Once there, Caleb finds out that Nathan has developed a viable and stunning android named Ava, and Nathan wants Caleb to be the human component in his Turing test for his new A.I. Things get pretty crazy from there.
Worst: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) - 55%
The final in the Star Wars prequel trilogy, The Rise of Skywalker received the least amount of critical acclaim. Despite appealing to fans’ nostalgia and wrapping up all loose ends, it lacks the feeling and imagination that made the two films before it more than just movies designed to make quick cash at the box office.
Gleeson reprises his role as General Hux in The Rise of Skywalker, where his story comes to an end after he’s killed for being the spy who saves Poe, Finn, and Chewbacca from execution.
Best: Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015) - 93%
While The Rise of Skywalker is one of Gleeson’s weakest films, The Force Awakens is one of his best. This feature picks up where 1983’s The Last Jedi leaves off, and it’s considered a fresh and exciting revitalization of the beloved franchise. It’s also the first Star Wars film to be made under the Disney umbrella.
As General Hux, Gleeson’s character leads the First Order, which includes Adam Driver’s Kylo Ren within its ranks. The new generation of characters, acted by the likes of Daisy Ridley and John Boyega, are mixed in with the classic Star Wars actors, like Harrison Ford and the late Carrie Fisher.
Worst: Crash Pad (2017) - 54%
This romantic comedy was a video-on-demand release that turned out to be a total bomb. In Crash Pad, Gleeson plays Stensland, a man known to fall way too hard and fast for women. He meets the older Morgan, played by Christina Applegate. Sparks fly, and he’s soon head over heels.
The catch is that Morgan is actually using him to make her neglectful husband Grady, played by Thomas Haden Church, jealous. While it has a few funny moments, Crash Pad is ultimately another completely forgettable rom-com.
Best: True Grit (2010) - 96%
The Coen brothers are responsible for this Western starring Jeff Bridges, which is adapted from the novel of the same name written by Charles Portis. Hailee Steinfeld plays 14-year-old Mattie Ross, who hires a cantankerous US Marshall named Rooster Cogburn to find the man who killed her father.
Gleeson plays an outlaw named Moon who is hiding out in a shelter. He’s interrogated by Cogburn, played by Bridges, alongside his companion, Quincy. Moon spills the beans about the whereabouts of the Pepper gang Cogburn is looking for, causing Quincy to fatally stab him for being a rat.
Worst: Unbroken (2014) - 51%
Angelia Jolie directed this poorly-received WWII drama based on a screenplay supplied by the Coen brothers, which they adapted from the award-winning Laura Hildenbrand book. The movie is based on the life of Louis Zamperini, an Olympics track star whose plane is shot down by the Japanese in the Pacific. After surviving at sea for a month, Zamperini is eventually captured by the Japanese, where he becomes a prisoner of war.
Gleeson plays Lt. Russell “Phil” Phillips, one of the crew members left at sea after the plane crash. Like Louis, Phil was also captured by the Japanese. Ultimately, both men survived the ordeal and lived to tell the tale.
Best: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 (2011) - 96%
The final film in the epic Harry Potter series is also one of the best. In this finale, Harry, Ron, and Hermoine prepare for their ultimate battle with Lord Voldemort. In order to beat Voldemort, they must destroy his most powerful Horcrux, the part of Voldemort’s soul that allows him to remain immortal. If they don’t, Voldemort will kill Harry once and for all.
Although he doesn’t have a major role in it, Gleeson returns to wrap up the series as Bill Weasley, the older brother of Ron.
Worst: The Kitchen (2019) - 22%
A mob comedy set in the 1970s, The Kitchen stars Elizabeth Moss, Melissa McCarthy, and Tiffany Haddish as the wives of gangsters who decide to keep their husbands’ Hell’s Kitchen crime rings going after they are apprehended by the FBI.
In The Kitchen, Gleeson plays Gabriel O’Malley, a Vietnam veteran and hitman who is asked to return to Hell’s Kitchen in order to take out the wives. Instead, he falls for Elizabeth Moss’s character, Claire.
Best: Brooklyn (2015) - 97%
Brooklyn is a historical drama about a young Irish immigrant who ends up in Brooklyn in order to find viable work. Based on the novel by Irish writer Colm Tóibín, it stars Saoirse Ronan as Ellis, a woman who must decide between her new life in New York and her life back home.
Gleeson stars alongside Ronan as a potential suitor named Jim, who is also Irish. Ultimately, Ellis falls for an Italian plumber named Tony, choosing her own happiness over her familial and cultural obligations.
