Some actors become strongly associated with one particular kind of character. Domhnall Gleeson has somehow managed to avoid that. Across his career, he has played romantic leads, villains, anxious intellectuals, historical figures, comic characters and deeply troubled men — often without looking quite like the same actor twice. Born in Dublin in 1983, Gleeson is the son of actor Brendan Gleeson, but his career has developed very much on its own terms. He studied media arts before becoming involved in acting, writing and directing, and his early work included theatre as well as short films. He even received a Tony Award nomination for his performance in the Broadway production of The Lieutenant of Inishmore . His first major exposure to a global audience came through Harry Potter , where he played Bill Weasley in the final two films. It was a relatively small role compared with some of the franchise's central characters, but it introduced him to an enormous audience. Then came...
Ex Machina is one of those films that seems, at first, to be asking a relatively simple question: can we create artificial intelligence that is genuinely conscious? But the more interesting question is what comes after that one. If a machine behaves like a human, understands us, manipulates us and even makes us feel empathy for it, does it matter whether there is actually a conscious mind behind it? The Test Caleb ( Domhnall Gleeson ) arrives at Nathan's isolated home without knowing what he was going to find, but he becomes fascinated almost immediately. Nathan (Oscar Isaac) is a technological genius, and Ava appears to be the ultimate achievement of his work. But something about Nathan feels uncomfortable almost immediately. He is arrogant, unpredictable, and clearly enjoying having control over both Caleb and Ava. And while Caleb is fascinated by Ava, we are encouraged to question her from the beginning. Intelligence Isn't the Same as Consciousness This is pr...