Where to watch
Each link opens a search on that service. Checked 13 October 2026.
Streaming data from JustWatch
The Guard
2011
· Movie
· 96 min
B
MEANRANK
77/100
Where it ranks
- Mean Score #1160
- IMDb #1508
- Google retired #885
- Rotten Tomatoes #844
- Metacritic #980
- Letterboxd #1505
+8 more
- Rotten Tomatoes Critics #517
- Rotten Tomatoes Audience #1560
- Metacritic Critics #822
- Metacritic Audience #1548
- Criticker #910
- Kinopoisk #983
- AlloCiné #2403
- Trakt #1580
Every rating
59–94
out of 100
Split
Lowest is Criticker on 59, highest is Rotten Tomatoes critics on 94.
See the most agreed on films →An unorthodox Irish policeman with a confrontational personality is partnered with a straight-laced FBI agent sent to Ireland to investigate an international drug-smuggling ring. The Garda's crude humor and local methods clash with the agent's by-the-book approach, but they must work together to take down the dangerous criminals operating in his small coastal town.
Details
- Director
- John Michael McDonagh
- Writer
- John Michael McDonagh
- Released
- 7 July 2011
- Country
- Ireland, United Kingdom, United States
- Language
- English, Irish Gaelic
- Runtime
- 96 min
- Rated
- R
- Budget
- $6.0M
- Box office
- $19.6M
- Awards
- 17 wins, 23 nominations
This title elsewhere
Cast
Full cast (21) →
Awards & nominations
See all 40 →1 major award won · 17 wins from 40 nominations across 20 ceremonies
| Berlin International Film Festival 2011 | Best Debut Film – Honorable Mention | The Guard | Winner |
| BAFTA Award 2012 | Best Original Screenplay | John Michael McDonagh | Nominee |
| Golden Globe Award 2012 | Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy | Brendan Gleeson | Nominee |
| Sundance Film Festival 2011 | World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic | The Guard | Nominee |
| Australian Film Critics Association Award 2012 | Best Overseas Film (English-Language) | The Guard | Nominee |
| BET Award 2012 | Best Actor | Don Cheadle | Nominee |
| Black Reel Award 2012 | Best Supporting Actor | Don Cheadle | Winner |
| Casting Society of America 2012 | Outstanding Achievement in Casting – Feature – Studio or Independent Comedy | Jina Jay | Nominee |
Awards from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA.
More like this
Beyond the numbers
All lists →
30 October 2026
Denzel Washington is more than an actor: a global Black cultural icon
How global visibility, artistic freedom and a commanding public presence gave his career a meaning that reaches beyond the films.
8 October 2026
Leonardo DiCaprio's films, ranked—and the performances inside them
Twenty-one selected films, with a closer look at the acting: comic timing, self-invention, wounded authority and the effort that sometimes shows.
8 October 2026
Batman movies ranked: the films behind the scores
Twelve theatrical films, from Adam West to Robert Pattinson, and the different claims they make for the mask.
7 October 2026
Why do films and TV shows keep taking God’s name in vain?
A Christian viewer’s objection, the Marvel language notes and the difference between portraying doubt and treating a name as disposable.
30 September 2026
The most popular film genres? What the ratings actually show
Drama leads the total, but volume, a typical film’s attention and average score tell different stories.
29 September 2026
Films rated 4.7 on Google: a 59-film archive
A historical selection, with a closer look at spectacle, sequels and what a high audience average leaves out.
Just released
See all →
Coming soon
Trailer — The Guard
×Full cast — The Guard
×
40 awards — The Guard
×
Berlin International Film Festival
1 nomination, 1 won
| Best Debut Film – Honorable Mention | The Guard | Winner |
BAFTA Award
1 nomination
| Best Original Screenplay | John Michael McDonagh | Nominee |
Golden Globe Award
1 nomination
| Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy | Brendan Gleeson | Nominee |
Sundance Film Festival
1 nomination
| World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic | The Guard | Nominee |
Irish Film and Television Award
9 nominations, 5 won
| Best Actor – Film | Brendan Gleeson | Winner |
| Best Director – Film | John Michael McDonagh | Winner |
| Best Film | Chris Clark, Flora Fernandez Marengo, Ed Guiney and Andrew Lowe | Winner |
| Best Script – Film | John Michael McDonagh | Winner |
| Best Supporting Actress – Film | Fionnula Flanagan | Winner |
| Best International Actor | Don Cheadle | Nominee |
| Best Production Design (Film/TV Drama) | John Paul Kelly | Nominee |
| Best Sound (Film/TV Drama) | Robert Flanagan, Michelle Cunniffe and Niall Brady | Nominee |
| Best Supporting Actor – Film | Liam Cunningham | Nominee |
Dinard British Film Festival
4 nominations, 4 won
| Audience Award | John Michael McDonagh Reprisal Films | Winner |
| Coup de Coeur | John Michael McDonagh Reprisal Films | Winner |
| Kodak Award for Best Cinematography | Larry Smith Reprisal Films | Winner |
| Silver Hitchcock | The Guard | Winner |
Evening Standard British Film Award
3 nominations, 3 won
| Best Actor | Brendan Gleeson | Winner |
| Best Screenplay | John Michael McDonagh | Winner |
| Peter Sellers Award for Comedy | The Guard | Winner |
Satellite Award
4 nominations, 1 won
| Best Editing | Chris Gill | Winner |
| Best Actor – Motion Picture | Brendan Gleeson | Nominee |
| Best Director | John Michael McDonagh | Nominee |
| Best Original Screenplay | John Michael McDonagh | Nominee |
Black Reel Award
1 nomination, 1 won
| Best Supporting Actor | Don Cheadle | Winner |
Sarajevo Film Festival
1 nomination, 1 won
| Audience Award for Best Feature Film | The Guard | Winner |
Valladolid International Film Festival
1 nomination, 1 won
| Best Actor | Brendan Gleeson | Winner |
British Independent Film Award
3 nominations
| Best Actor in a British Independent Film | Brendan Gleeson | Nominee |
| Best Screenplay | John Michael McDonagh | Nominee |
| Douglas Hickox Award | John Michael McDonagh | Nominee |
London Film Critics Circle Award
3 nominations
| Breakthrough British Filmmaker | John Michael McDonagh | Nominee |
| British Actor of the Year | Brendan Gleeson | Nominee |
| British Film of the Year | The Guard | Nominee |
Australian Film Critics Association Award
1 nomination
| Best Overseas Film (English-Language) | The Guard | Nominee |
BET Award
1 nomination
| Best Actor | Don Cheadle | Nominee |
Casting Society of America
1 nomination
| Outstanding Achievement in Casting – Feature – Studio or Independent Comedy | Jina Jay | Nominee |
Chlotrudis Award
1 nomination
| Best Original Screenplay | John Michael McDonagh | Nominee |
Crime Thriller Award
1 nomination
| The Film Dagger | The Guard | Nominee |
NAACP Image Award
1 nomination
| Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture | Don Cheadle | Nominee |
San Diego Film Critics Society Award
1 nomination
| Best Actor | Brendan Gleeson | Nominee |