A new lesson plan

IN the fourth “Harry Potter” book, “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,” J.K. Rowling introduced fans to the latest Hogwarts Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Mad-Eye Moody. Mad-Eye was a former auror (a specialized wizard) who had lost an eye and a leg in his battles with the dark side and “He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.”

Moody possesses a swiveling blue eye that seems to have a life of its own and, always on the lookout for evil forces, he tells his students to be constantly vigilant.

Bringing Mad-Eye vividly to life in the new “Harry Potter” film is burly Irish actor Brendan Gleeson, 50, a former teacher who has given memorable performances in such films as “Braveheart,” “Michael Collins,” “Artificial Intelligence: AI,” “Gangs of New York” and “Kingdom of Heaven.”

Gleeson’s breakthrough was in John Boorman’s acclaimed 1998 film “The General,” in which he played the infamous Irish criminal Martin Cahill. He’s since worked with Boorman in “The Tailor of Panama” and “In My Country.”

A graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, he was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company. The Dubliner also has a cameo in Neil Jordan’s new film, “Breakfast on Pluto,” which opens Friday, and he recently finished Robert Zemeckis’ production of “Beowulf” in Los Angeles.

Is it true you’re the first “Harry Potter” cast member who plays a teacher who actually was a teacher?

Yeah! That was quite a bit of fun, actually.

Did you feel like you were returning to your teaching days?

It was kind of bizarre because I found myself kind of playing teachers I had myself, rather than -- hopefully -- myself as a teacher.

So you had teachers as off-the-wall as Mad-Eye in school in Dublin?

Oh, yeah. They weren’t necessarily priests. Most of the real lunatics were laymen.

Did you teach the same age students as Harry, Ron and Hermione?

I did, actually. It was all boys from about 12 to 18. You know, that interesting time of life!

What did you teach?

I taught English and Irish -- Gaelic. I had a good 10 years [as a teacher], and I really did enjoy it. You kind of make great friends with some of the kids too. It is a time in their life they prefer to forget, but if you like them to begin with, it kind of helps.

Weren’t you acting while you were teaching?

When I left college, we had started a kind of theater company. I was working for about three years and went back to college after that. I met some people in college, and we were doing [theater] as well. But acting was something I wanted to keep separate. I didn’t want to have to make money on it to live. In one way, maybe there was a lack of confidence, but I didn’t think it was a kind of life that was destined for me. It never really dawned on me until I started working with a chap called Paul Mercer in the 1980s. We started packing larger halls and then started moving into established theaters and going for, like, 10-week runs. It grew bigger and bigger.

That final year [I was teaching], I was nominated for a best actor for something. I thought this was a bit embarrassing, that I am not a full-time actor -- maybe I should be.

Were you familiar with the “Harry Potter” books and movies before being cast as Mad-Eye?

I have four lad boys -- they are not kids anymore, either. The youngest is 16 now. But they were mad for the books. There was a big shout when they heard there was a possibility of it, even.

It was a fascinating thing to take on. When I got the script first I kind of felt, “I’m reading this, but I don’t know if it is there or not in the script.” I went to the boys, and they more or less told me what he was [about in the book]. It was a real help that their impression of him had been so much fuller than what I read in the script.

He’s kind of a father figure, and he’s that kind of mad lunatic on your side, and he always seems to be there whenever you are in very bad trouble. And then the fun of the eye and his madness....

Your mad eye was just a hoot.

I’m glad you liked it. There were so many different ways to go with that. I always felt from discussions with Mike [director Newell], we kind of wanted this man to be the man of the road, and he had his various wars with the dark side and he had been out in the wilderness and had gone slightly barking mad. We devised that notion he was self-sufficient and he would have almost everything packed in that big coat of his that he needed, and he would fashion the eye himself with a little bit of magic. But also, it should look handmade and a little bit rough. It was one of the things that impressed me most about the whole setup over there. They do an awful lot of that. The props departments and the effects people, before they get near the computers, they do an awful lot of handmade stuff. There is a sense of the old craftsmanship, making things work mechanically.

Will you be doing the next “Potter” film -- “The Order of the Phoenix”?

I haven’t seen the script yet. We are still talking about it. I haven’t signed up for the second one. I don’t know what’s involved yet, really. But the experience was great, and I hope to be back.

-- Susan King