Brendan Gleeson's bear necessities of life

Brendan Gleeson tells Esther McCarthy about the fun he had working on ‘Paddington 2’, and his mixed feelings about Cork GAA.

He’s played leaders and statesmen and is one of our most respected screen stars. But sometimes an actor wants to bring on the laughs so when he was offered a part in Paddington 2, Brendan Gleeson was promptly onboard.

The result is a delight. As the intimidating prison chef Knuckles McGinty, who cooks lumpy porridge for Paddington and his fellow inmates (yes, the world’s favourite bear ends up in the slammer) Gleeson is having a blast.