Famous Irish Directors

One of the most talented Irish film actors of all time, Brendan Gleeson gained international attention after playing Alastor Moody in the Harry Potter movie series. He was ranked 18th in The Irish Times' Ireland's greatest film actors list in 2020. Brendan Gleeson is also credited with inspiring his sons Domhnall and Brian Gleeson to become actors.

The director and writer of the Academy Award-winning short film, Six Shooter, Martin McDonagh is also well known as a playwright and stage director. The Beauty Queen of Leenane is one of the his noted works. The crime drama film Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri was another successful venture of McDonagh. He says he prefers films to plays.

Though born in the US, Patrick McGoohan moved to the US with his family as a child and later became one of Britain’s best-known actors. Fans loved him as John Drake in Danger Man and as Number Six in The Prisoner. He is also known for his Emmy-winning performance in the series Columbo.

Best known for his award-winning performance as Ted Hastings from the BBC series Line of Duty, Adrian Dunbar has also entertained audiences with his roles in Ashes to Ashes and Broken. The Guildhall alumnus has also been nominated for the BAFTA twice and has also directed plays.

Apart from being a comedian, Brendan O'Carroll is also a fine writer. Best known as Agnes Brown from the sitcom Mrs. Brown's Boys, he later played the role in various spin-offs and a couple of movies too. He has also penned several books and screenplays.

A multitalented personality, Richard Harris was an Irish actor, singer, director and writer. He began as a stage actor and later moved to films. His famous films include This Sporting Life, Camelot, A Man Called Horse, Gladiator and the first two Harry Potter films. He released numerous musical albums, published a poetry book and ventured into film direction with Bloomfield.

Born to award-winning Irish actor Brendan Gleeson, Domhnall Gleeson initially gained fame with his Tony-nominated role in the Broadway play The Lieutenant of Inishmore. However, he is best known to audiences as Bill Weasley from the Harry Potter film series. He has also been part of series such as Black Mirror.

Irish author, director, and broadcaster Conor Woodman is best known for hosting the TV show Around the World in 80 Trades. Starting his career as a financial analyst, he eventually became an investigative journalist. With time, he branched out into film-making as well. Also a fiction writer, he is planning to launch a novel series soon.

Best known for his work in the plays of August Wilson, actor Stephen McKinley Henderson has also impressed audiences with his roles in movies such as Lincoln and Dune. The Juilliard-educated actor has also been nominated for a Tony Award for his role in the play Fences.

Neil Jordan is a screenwriter, film director, short-story writer, and novelist. In 1979, his book Night in Tunisia earned him the Guardian Fiction Prize and a Somerset Maugham Award. In 1992, he received an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for his work in the film The Crying Game. He is also credited with creating a TV series called The Borgias.

Initially a bassist and vocalist for the Irish rock band The Frames, John Carney later gained fame as the executive producer of the rom-com anthology Modern Love. His award-winning music drama Once was filmed on a budget of 100,000 Euros on 2 digital camcorders but grossed $7 million in its first 3 months.

Born to a minister father and a doctor mother, Daragh O Malley started appearing in plays as a student and won recitation prizes, too. Best known as Patrick Harper from the series Sharpe, he also gained accolades for his appearance as Big Daddy in a production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.

Best remembered as the producer of the James Bond flick Thunderball, Irish director-producer Kevin McClory had a long-drawn legal battle with the author of the James Bond novel series Ian Fleming. Previously part of the British Merchant Navy, he was once stranded on a raft at sea and narrowly escaped death.

Best known as part of the British-Irish pop group Liberty X, Tony Lundon has also hosted the quiz show TOAST. While he failed to make it to the winning group of the show Popstars, he and the other runners-up ended up forming Liberty. He later performed solo and launched a production company too.

Irish animator and voice actor Nora Twomey is best known for co-founding the animation studio Cartoon Saloon. She also directed the Oscar-nominated animated films The Secret of Kells and The Breadwinner. A school drop-out, she initially worked in a factory, before studying fine art and then animation.

Remembered for his long-term association with the Abbey Theatre and for films such as Scrooge, Irish actor Michael J. Dolan later also took over the management of the former. He was also known for his appearances in plays by Teresa Deevy, such as The King of Spain's Daughter.

Stage actor/director Lumsden Hare had his first stint as an actor on stage at age 19 and gradually mastered character roles in plays of George Bernard Shaw. Known for plays such as What Every Woman Knows, he later stepped into films and mostly played the roles of priests, doctors, or aristocrats.

Irish director, screenwriter, and actor Herbert Brenon initially worked as a Broadway call boy and also performed in vaudeville with his wife before he became a sensation in the silent-film era. While shooting for Neptune’s Daughter, one of his best-known films, he was injured in a water tank explosion.

The award-winning writer-director of the Irish drama film Patrick's Day, Terry McMahon also acted in the movie. He has also appeared in films such as Batman Begins and has lectured on cinema at institutes such as Trinity College. He is also known for his viral speech This is Our Ireland.

Though born to a lawyer father and an activist mother, Shelah Richards was interested in the arts since the very beginning. An actor and director, known for projects such as Return to Glennascaul, she later directed series such as The Riordans and also led the RTE as its drama director.

Ria Mooney scripted history when she became the woman to serve the Abbey Theatre as a producer. A fine actor, she was known for her roles in projects such as This Other Eden and Riders to the Sea. Starting her acting career as a child, she later studied art too.