The Irish in Tinseltown Trivia Quiz

Answer: Brendan Gleeson

Born in Dublin, Gleeson trained at RADA in London and worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company, and later as a teacher back in Dublin, before his film career took off at the age of 34. He has appeared in over 60 films, including 'Cold Mountain' (2003) as Stobrod Thewes, 'Beowulf' (2007) as the hero's right hand man Wiglaf, my favourite film 'Gangs of New York' (2002) as 'Monk' McGinn, and several of the Harry Potter films as 'Mad-Eye' Moody.

Answer: Batman Begins (2005)

Liam Neeson plays Ra's al Ghul, the leader of the League of Shadows - intent on destroying Gotham City. Cillian Murphy is Dr. Jonathan Crane, an Arkham Asylum psychiatrist who adopts the persona of The Scarecrow and perfects a psychotropic drug which Ra's al Ghul releases into Gotham's water supply. Cillian Murphy was originally considered for the part of Batman, by director Christopher Nolan, before he opted to cast Christian Bale in that role.

Answer: Maureen O'Sullivan

Maureen O'Sullivan attended convent schools in Dublin and London, where she was a school friend of Vivien Leigh. Back home in Dublin, when finishing with school, she met the director of the film 'Song o' My Heart', being filmed on location in Ireland.

She won a part in the film before travelling to Hollywood. She acted alongside Johnny Weissmuller in six 'Tarzan' films in the 1930s - and was supporting actress in other 20th Century Fox films with Greta Garbo and Myrna Loy - before semi-retiring in 1942.

In the 1980s she acted as her real daughter Mia Farrow's mother in 'Hannah and Her Sisters' (1986) and appeared in 'Peggy Sue Got Married' (1986). She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Answer: Wilfrid Brambell

Although feeling that he was typecast, to a large degree, by the iconic BBC 'Steptoe and Son' comedy series, which screened between 1962-1974, and in which his 'son' Harold (played by Harry H. Corbett) characterised him as "you DIR-ty old man", Brambell also had a significant career in films. Apart from 'Steptoe' film spin-offs and 'A Hard Day's Night' (1964), this included the lead role in the final part of the Terence Davies trilogy, 'Death and Transfiguration' (1983).

His role as a dying man coming to terms with his homosexuality had poignant echoes with Brambell's own life.

In a British society where homosexual acts were illegal until 1967, he had been charged and convicted of importuning in 1962 and had felt compelled afterwards to remain 'in the closet' until his death in 1985.

Answer: Michael Fassbender

Fassbender was born in Heidelberg in Germany, but moved to Killarney, County Kerry, with his Irish mother and German father when he was two. His acting career began in television, but after the Zack Snyder-directed film '300' in 2007, and 'Hunger' (2008), for which he received Best Actor from the British Independent Film Awards, his film career took off with roles in 'Inglourious Basterds' (2009) and 'Jonah Hex' (2010).

Answer: Albus Dumbledore (in 'Harry Potter')

Gambon took over the role of Albus Dumbledore from fellow Irish actor, Limerick-born Richard Harris, when Harris died in 2002. Gambon's first 'Harry Potter' film was 'The Prisoner of Azkaban' (2004) and he continued to play the role in subsequent 'Harry Potter' films. Of the other options, Sir Ian McKellen played Gandalf in the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy (2001-2003), Nicol Williamson played Merlin in 'Excalibur' (1981), and Bob Holt was Avatar in 'Wizards' (1977).

Answer: Peter O'Toole

Up to 2006, Peter O'Toole had received no less than eight Oscar nominations for Best Actor without actually winning in that category. At the Academy Awards ceremony in 1973, his nomination for 'The Ruling Class' (1972) was beaten by Marlon Brando with 'The Godfather' (also 1972), but ironically Brando declined the award in protest at the treatment of Native Americans.

In 2003, the Academy gave O'Toole an honorary award for the whole body of his work, which he accepted reluctantly - saying that he was "still in the (acting) game" and still hoped to win an Oscar for Best Actor "outright".

Answer: Alison Doody

Doody was the youngest ever Bond girl, at 19, when she played the role of Jenny Flex in the 1985 film 'A View to a Kill'. Although subsequently tipped as one of the 12 most promising actors in 1986, her career was limited firstly by her refusal to accept roles with nudity and high sexual content (one of the roles she was considered for was Catherine Tramell in the 1992 film 'Basic Instinct'!), and then by her decision to return to Ireland to marry.

In 2004, after her marriage ended, she returned to acting, alongside Patrick Swayze, in 'King Solomon's Mines'.

Answer: Sleeping with the Enemy (1991)

All of the films star Julia Roberts of course, but it's 'Sleeping with the Enemy' that portrays Dublin-born Bergin in the role of wife-beating obsessive Martin Burney. The film has a special resonance for me as I share Burney's obsession about straightening tins in cupboards, and 'Symphonie Fantastique' is my favourite piece of classical music too. Similarities, however, end at that point!

Answer: Jonathan Rhys Meyers

Jonathan Rhys Meyers is the bad boy of Irish film stars, having - by 2010 - checked in to rehab clinics for alcohol issues no less than four times, along with a series of airport disturbances connected to him being drunk. On the plus side, his performances in films like 'Ride with the Devil' (1999), 'Bend It Like Beckham' (2002), 'Mission: Impossible III' (2006), and as King Henry VIII in the 2007 television series 'The Tudors', have marked him out as an outstanding actor.