Brendan Gleeson hits back at "toxic" portrayal of fatherhood on screen

Irish actor Brendan Gleeson has called out the stereotypical portrayal of fatherhood on screen and has labelled it toxic, saying that not every father is like that.

The father of four was at the BFI London Film Festival last week, promoting his new film "H is for Hawk." Brendan stars alongside Claire Foy in the biographical drama, in a story surrounding grief and loss.

Explaining his character’s role, Brendan opened up the conversation around fatherhood and how it appears on the big screen.

"I think dads have got an awful hard time lately. And I don’t believe that every dad is toxic, and I don’t think anybody else does either," Brendan said.

The star’s latest film is based on a true story, based on the memoir by Helen MacDonald. Helen, played by Claire Foy, struggles to come to terms with the loss of her beloved father (Brendan Gleeson) and so finds support in the most unlikely of animals, a hawk.

"I think I suddenly got very tired of watching fatherhood portrayed as something that was almost an abuse, or that was toxic in some way, or in some way truncated by where you had these emotionally stunted people walking around that couldn’t hug their kids, whatever it was," Brendan replied, when asked about his characters bond with his on screen daughter.

"I really just want to celebrate paternity and how much and how deeply it affects things. I think this particular film is so beautiful in the way that that’s what it’s trying to do. The memory of this man is that he was a proper, good man who gave love to his daughter."

Brendan himself is a big family man, with all of his sons working in creative fields. Guided by their dad’s support, Domhnall, Brian, and Fergus have all dipped their toes into the acting world, with Domhnall most recently receiving acclaim for his latest role in "The Office" spin-off, "The Paper."

When asked about his own experience of raising his children, Brendan said he had to turn his whole outlook on life around, knowing how much his kids relied on him. It became "a duty" for the Irish actor to ensure that his optimism was always there, as he said it was his choice to become a father.

Brendan’s latest project is set to be released between December and early next year.

* This article was originally published on RollerCoaster.ie.