Acting
Des McAleer
Born May 25, 1952 · Belfast, Northern Ireland (age 74)
Des McAleer is a Belfast born actor of film, TV and stage.
Known For
Angela's Ashes · 1999Angela's Ashes
★ 7.31999
MovieDrama
An Irish Catholic family returns to 1930s Limerick after a child's death in America. The unemployed I.R.A. veteran father struggles with poverty, prejudice, and alcoholism as the family endures harsh slum conditions.
My Week with Marilyn · 2011My Week with Marilyn
★ 6.72011
MovieDramaRomance
London, 1956. Genius actor and film director Laurence Olivier is about to begin the shooting of his upcoming movie, premiered in 1957 as The Prince and the Showgirl, starring Marilyn Monroe. Young Colin Clark, who dreams on having a career in movie business, manages to get a job on the set as third assistant director.
The Children Act · 2018The Children Act
★ 6.62018
MovieDrama
In the midst of a marital crisis, a High Court judge must decide if she should order a life-saving blood transfusion for a teen with cancer despite his family's refusal to accept medical treatment for religious reasons.
How I Live Now · 2013How I Live Now
★ 6.62013
MovieDramaRomance
An American girl, sent to the English countryside to stay with relatives, finds love and purpose while fighting for her survival as war envelops the world around her.
Butterfly Kiss · 1995Butterfly Kiss
★ 6.41995
MovieCrimeDrama
Deeply mentally unbalanced drifter Eunice roams grim northern Britain committing psychosexual serial murders of both men and women while ostensibly searching for an unknown woman named Judith. She spares the life of lonely but kind-hearted gas station cashier Miriam, who abandons her dismal life to follow her damaged new lover. While attempting to hide the evidence of her multiple crimes, Miriam tries to understand Eunice's bizarre quest.
I Want You · 1998I Want You
★ 5.61998
MovieThrillerCrime
A young boy and his sister are drawn into one man's obsessive pursuit of his former lover.
This Is the Sea · 1997This Is the Sea
★ 6.01997
MovieDramaRomance
The film is set in Northern Ireland shortly after 1994 cease-fire. Hazel is a Protestant and Malachy a Catholic. Romance between them is threatened by Rohan (leader in militant underground and pal of Malachy's brother Padhar), who wants Malachy to be recruited and fight for the cause and by Hazel's brother Jef, who spies on her meetings.
Hunger · 2008Hunger
★ 7.22008
MovieDramaHistory
The story of Bobby Sands, the IRA member who led the 1981 hunger strike during The Troubles in which Irish Republican prisoners tried to win political status.
Movies
Angela's Ashes · 1999Angela's Ashes
★ 7.31999
MovieDrama
An Irish Catholic family returns to 1930s Limerick after a child's death in America. The unemployed I.R.A. veteran father struggles with poverty, prejudice, and alcoholism as the family endures harsh slum conditions.
My Week with Marilyn · 2011My Week with Marilyn
★ 6.72011
MovieDramaRomance
London, 1956. Genius actor and film director Laurence Olivier is about to begin the shooting of his upcoming movie, premiered in 1957 as The Prince and the Showgirl, starring Marilyn Monroe. Young Colin Clark, who dreams on having a career in movie business, manages to get a job on the set as third assistant director.
The Children Act · 2018The Children Act
★ 6.62018
MovieDrama
In the midst of a marital crisis, a High Court judge must decide if she should order a life-saving blood transfusion for a teen with cancer despite his family's refusal to accept medical treatment for religious reasons.
How I Live Now · 2013How I Live Now
★ 6.62013
MovieDramaRomance
An American girl, sent to the English countryside to stay with relatives, finds love and purpose while fighting for her survival as war envelops the world around her.
Butterfly Kiss · 1995Butterfly Kiss
★ 6.41995
MovieCrimeDrama
Deeply mentally unbalanced drifter Eunice roams grim northern Britain committing psychosexual serial murders of both men and women while ostensibly searching for an unknown woman named Judith. She spares the life of lonely but kind-hearted gas station cashier Miriam, who abandons her dismal life to follow her damaged new lover. While attempting to hide the evidence of her multiple crimes, Miriam tries to understand Eunice's bizarre quest.
I Want You · 1998I Want You
★ 5.61998
MovieThrillerCrime
A young boy and his sister are drawn into one man's obsessive pursuit of his former lover.
This Is the Sea · 1997This Is the Sea
★ 6.01997
MovieDramaRomance
The film is set in Northern Ireland shortly after 1994 cease-fire. Hazel is a Protestant and Malachy a Catholic. Romance between them is threatened by Rohan (leader in militant underground and pal of Malachy's brother Padhar), who wants Malachy to be recruited and fight for the cause and by Hazel's brother Jef, who spies on her meetings.
Hunger · 2008Hunger
★ 7.22008
MovieDramaHistory
The story of Bobby Sands, the IRA member who led the 1981 hunger strike during The Troubles in which Irish Republican prisoners tried to win political status.
Hidden Agenda · 1990Hidden Agenda
★ 7.01990
MovieDramaThriller
In Ireland, American lawyer Ingrid Jessner and her activist partner, Paul Sullivan, struggle to uncover atrocities committed by the British government against the Northern Irish during the "Troubles." But when Sullivan is assassinated in the streets, Jessner teams up with Peter Kerrigan, a British investigator acting against the will of his own government, and struggles to uncover a conspiracy that may even implicate one of Kerrigan's colleagues.
When the Sky Falls · 2000When the Sky Falls
★ 4.72000
MovieDrama
Fact-based story about Irish crime-investigating reporter Sinead Hamilton, who invaded the Irish underworld and attempted to expose the illegitimate activities she found. Hampered by the system, a police consort is ineffectual at aiding her despite trying to step outside of the normal bounds. Kevin McNally plays her husband, who hates her activities and the danger in which she places herself. Nonetheless, he grudgingly admires her persistence and encourages her investigation.
The Penalty King · 2006The Penalty King
★ 6.72006
MovieComedy
Lee, a soccer player who descends into depression when he goes blind, is encouraged to take up the game again by a maverick American and the inspiration of Leeds Utd legend, Billy Bremner.
North · 2014North
★ 6.42014
MovieDramaFamily
Isolated on a farm and fighting against his family's decision, Aaron struggles to be heard as he watches his mother willingly die.
Out of Innocence · 2019Out of Innocence
★ 6.62019
MovieDrama
After a police investigation, a young mother, confused and scared, confesses to a crime she did not commit and is charged with murder.
Lost Lives · 2019Lost Lives
★ 6.02019
MovieDocumentary
This poignant testament to the physical and emotional cost of war, centres on the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
An Everlasting Piece · 2000An Everlasting Piece
★ 5.92000
MovieComedyCrime
Colin is a Catholic and George is a poetry-loving Protestant. In Belfast in the 1980s, they could have been enemies, but instead they became business partners. After persuading a mad wig salesman, known as the Scalper, to sell them his leads, the two embark on a series of house calls
Shoot to Kill · 1990Shoot to Kill
1990
Movie
Shoot to Kill is a four-hour drama documentary reconstruction of the events that led to the 1984–86 Stalker Inquiry into the shooting of six terrorist suspects in Northern Ireland in 1982 by a specialist unit of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), allegedly without warning (the so-called shoot-to-kill policy); the organised fabrication of false accounts of the events; and the difficulties created for the inquiry team in their investigation.
National Theatre Live: The Seagull · 2016National Theatre Live: The Seagull
2016
Movie
On a summer's day in a makeshift theatre by a lake, Konstantin's cutting-edge new play is performed, changing the lives of everyone involved forever. Chekhov's masterly meditation on how the old takes revenge on the young is both comic and tragic, and marks the birth of the modern stage. Adapted by David Hare whose stage plays include Skylight, Pravada, and screenplays include The Hours and The Reader, directed by Jonathan Kent (Gypsy, Private Lives).
Titanic Town · 1998Titanic Town
★ 5.31998
MovieDrama
Belfast 1972: The politically naive Bernie is trying to bring up a normal family in less than normal surroundings. Her best friend is accidentally shot dead by the IRA, and her neighbours are constantly raided by the army. In this climate of fear she stands up and condemns the murders. Criticising both factions, her call for a ceasefire is interpreted as an attack against the IRA, and as her peace movement takes momentum, she and her family are placed in the frontline.
Life After Life · 1995Life After Life
★ 10.01995
MovieTV MovieDrama
Leo Doyle, a convicted IRA murderer, is released into the community after 14 years in prison on a scheme to rehabilitate former terrorists. He soon finds that the ceasefire has robbed him of both purpose and identity. Relationships with his family are difficult and reach boiling point when they find that he has rekindled his affair with a former fiancee Roisin, now married with three children.
Four Days in July · 1984Four Days in July
★ 6.61984
MovieDramaTV Movie
Two couples, one Catholic, one Protestant, exist on two sides of the chasm that is everyday life in Northern Ireland.
Anne Devlin · 1984Anne Devlin
★ 7.01984
MovieDramaHistory
The story of Anne Devlin, who was caught up in the revolt of the Irish under Robert Emmett in 1803, told exclusively from the woman's point of view.
Deadlines · 2005Deadlines
★ 9.02005
MovieDrama
Alex Randal (Stephen Moyer), a young reporter on the make, decides, without knowing anything about the situation, to go to Beirut on October 23, 1983, when he hears a radio report about suicide trucks exploding on both an American base and a French base, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of soldiers. Seduced by a gifted and enigmatic photographer, Julia Muller (Anne Parillaud), Randal finds a capitol torn by civil war, where political, financial and strategic interests intertwine.
Coppers · 1988Coppers
★ 7.01988
Movie
Two bored twentysomethings buy a Vauxhall Cavalier kit it out with a siren and spend their evenings masquerading as police officers in this Screen One TV movie
Handmade - A Tale of Stop-motion · 2023Handmade - A Tale of Stop-motion
★ 10.02023
MovieDocumentaryAnimation
A documentary about an old animation technique and the film studio that tries to carry on the legacy. The worlds oldest animation studio still making film with stop motion technique is Nukufilm located in Tallinn, Estland. Here we can follow the work in the studio which was founded in the Soviet era and has survived heavy censorship and global competition.
TV Shows
Silent Witness · 1996Silent Witness
★ 7.61996
SeriesCrimeDrama
A team of exceptional forensic pathologists and scientists investigate heinous crimes and use their skills to catch the people responsible.
The Crown · 2016The Crown
★ 8.22016
SeriesDrama
The gripping, decades-spanning inside story of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the Prime Ministers who shaped Britain's post-war destiny.
The Crown tells the inside story of two of the most famous addresses in the world – Buckingham Palace and 10 Downing Street – and the intrigues, love lives and machinations behind the great events that shaped the second half of the 20th century. Two houses, two courts, one Crown.
Casualty · 1986Casualty
★ 6.21986
SeriesDrama
Drama series about the staff and patients at Holby City Hospital's emergency department, charting the ups and downs in their personal and professional lives.
Screen Two · 1985Screen Two
★ 7.11985
SeriesDrama
Series of single made-for-television dramas.
Heartbeat · 1992Heartbeat
★ 7.21992
SeriesCrimeDrama
Set during the 1960s in the fictional North Yorkshire village of Aidensfield, this enduringly popular series interweaves crime and medical storylines.
The Bill · 1984The Bill
★ 6.81984
SeriesCrimeDrama
The daily lives of the men and women at Sun Hill Police Station as they fight crime on the streets of London. From bomb threats to armed robbery and drug raids to the routine demands of policing this ground-breaking series focuses as much on crime as it does on the personal lives of its characters.
Between the Lines · 1992Between the Lines
★ 5.51992
SeriesDrama
Detective Superintendent Tony Clark is an ambitious member of the Complaints Investigation Bureau, an internal organisation that investigates claims of corruption inside the police in England and Wales. Along the way Clark overcomes strong influence from his superiors and problems in his private life, most notably the break-up of his marriage following an affair with WPC Jenny Dean.
How to Get to Heaven from Belfast · 2026How to Get to Heaven from Belfast
★ 7.02026
SeriesMysteryComedy
Three lifelong pals embark on a chaotic quest to solve the mystery of their old friend's suspicious death and keep their own dark secret under wraps.
Hope Street · 2021Hope Street
★ 5.22021
SeriesDramaCrime
The arrival of DC Leila Hussain sets tongues wagging – what brings this big city girl to a sleepy Northern Irish seaside town? Warm-hearted detective drama in a stunning setting.
The Paradise Club · 1989The Paradise Club
★ 6.21989
SeriesDramaCrime
Focuses on brothers Frank and Danny Kane. Their mother is the matriarch of a South London criminal gang, assisted by Danny. Frank has become a priest but leaves the church; he inherits The Paradise Club following the death of their mother and returns to London to try and steer Danny away from crime.
Wuthering Heights · 2009Wuthering Heights
★ 7.12009
SeriesDrama
Young orphan Heathcliff is adopted by the wealthy Earnshaw family and moves into their estate, Wuthering Heights. Soon, the new resident falls for his compassionate foster sister, Cathy. The two share a remarkable bond that seems unbreakable until Cathy, feeling the pressure of social convention, suppresses her feelings and marries Edgar Linton, a man of means who befits her stature. Heathcliff vows to win her back.
Touching Evil · 1997Touching Evil
★ 7.61997
SeriesDramaCrime
Follow the exploits of the Organized and Serial Crime Unit (OSC). Maverick Detective Inspector Dave Creegan is the newest member of the unit, an elite, rapid-response crime squad. The OSC uses their diverse crime-fighting skills to bring justice to society.
Death and Nightingales · 2018Death and Nightingales
★ 6.22018
SeriesDrama
Fermanagh, Irish countryside, 1885. On her 23rd birthday, Beth, who lives on a remote farm with Billy Winters, her tyrannical stepfather, whom she can barely stand, prepares to flee from such a suffocating life with the help of the seductive Liam Ward, without being aware that her decision will unearth deeply buried secrets a long time ago.
My Mother and Other Strangers · 2016My Mother and Other Strangers
★ 6.42016
SeriesDrama
Drama series set in 1943 following the Coyne family and their neighbours as they struggle to maintain a normal life after a US Army Air Force base is set up in the middle of their rural parish.
Trainer · 1991Trainer
★ 6.01991
SeriesDrama
Trainer was a British television series transmitted by the BBC between 1991 and 1992.
Filmed in and around the village of Compton near Newbury, the series was set in the world of horse racing. It starred Mark Greenstreet as Mike Hardy, an aspiring horse trainer keen to set up his own stables. Other major characters included local gambler John Grey and widow Rachel Ware.
Trainer lasted for two series and was the last TV project for producer Gerard Glaister. The theme song, "More to Life", was performed by Cliff Richard. The song was written by Simon May and Mike Read.
The first series of 13 episodes was given the prime time Sunday night slot on BBC1 which had previously been occupied by another Glaister creation Howards' Way and a horse-racing storyline from that earlier programme provided much of the inspiration for Trainer. However, with ratings of around 6 million, the second series was reduced to ten episodes and shown on Wednesday evenings.