Brendan Gleeson has always been "more interested in enjoying life" than worrying about his appearance

When asked if it's been "liberating not having to manage the loss of looks in the way that conventionally handsome actors do?", he told The Independent newspaper: "That's a really interesting question ...

"If you have a romantic movie, and these two sublime-looking people are looking at each other, the story is almost told in itself ...

"I was always more interested in enjoying life, in a way that allowed me to understand the lives of people who live in the world, as against the people who photograph themselves living in the world."

Gleeson went on to talk about Hollywood veteran Jack Nicholson, saying: "A lot of it has to do with his personality, but also he's a good-looking gent, and so all of that is a power."

The actor revealed he sees a similar magnetism in his In Bruges and The Banshees of Inisherin co-star Colin Farrell, adding: "It's really funny to see women's reactions to him. They literally blush.

"He only has to walk in. It's insane, but it's a gift to the world, because he's not a d***. He's actually a really cool person underneath it all."

Gleeson added: "People like Farrell and Nicholson are so great at what they do. They're such brilliant actors. And then this other thing helps. So if you haven't got that, you just do the other bits."

Gleeson previously admitted he thinks social media makes people seem "hideous" - voicing fears about online algorithms that seemingly work to isolate people and stressing the importance of spreading kindness and bonding through connections and experiences.

He told The Sunday Times' Culture magazine: "It's making people seem hideous to each other. If I do a project that makes people somehow feel less alone, that's the gift. I think most people want to be good people, I think they're happier when they are. Kindness always reverts to feeling better about yourself. "We need to keep reiterating this to young people."

Gleeson added that he has read untrue things about himself online and tries to get inaccuracies corrected.

He said: "I didn't actually train as an actor. Somebody put it up on Wikipedia. I told them to take it down a hundred times. I started doing it with a group of fellas in secondary school.

"And a group of the lads started up a theatre group afterwards. That's how I started doing it, building sets and seeing how lights work."