Hi everyone and thank you for joining us for the 476th episode of The Hollywood Reporter's

Awards Chatter Podcast. I'm the host Scott Feinberg and I am recording this very special episode

in Orange, California in front of an audience of extremely excited students at Chapman University's

Dodge College of Film and Media Arts where I'm very proud to be a trustee professor.

Our guest today is a 46 year old Irishman who has been a bona fide movie star for half of his

life. Described by the Los Angeles Times as a compelling actor with a surprisingly wide range

and by the guardian as a pretty boy with the acting chops of a heavyweight,

he has worked on films helmed by many of his era's most distinguished directors,

including Steven Spielberg, Oliver Stone, Terrence Malik, Michael Mann, Woody Allen,

Targillium, Sophia Coppola, Peter Weir, Yorgos Lantz, the most Neil Jordan,

Steve McQueen, Tim Burton, Kenneth Branagh, Ron Howard, and of course his most frequent collaborator,

Martin McDonough. And he has shared the screen with many of its biggest stars and finest actors

as well, including Tom Cruise, Al Pacino, Jeff Bridges, Nicole Kidman, Denzel Washington,

Jessica Chastain, Ben Affleck, Violet Davis, and yes, Brendan Gleason. But as we will hear tonight,

his career has been anything but smooth sailing. There have been giant highs and lows,

huge hits, and bombs, and moments of triumph and of doubt. But all of it has shaped him into the man

and actor who this season, for his performance in McDonald's the banshees of Inesheran,

has already been honored with the best actor of Venice Film Festival prize and the best actor

in a musical or comedy Golden Globe Award, his second 14 years after his first, which also came

for a McDonough movie in Bruges. He's also been nominated for a Best Actor Critics Choice Award

and is nominated for a Best Actor BAFTA Award. And just last week, for the first time in his career,

he was nominated for an Oscar as well. With great appreciation to him for trekking up to

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