Glen Hansard

Musician Glen Hansard of The Swell Season performs during Day 2 of the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival 2011, at the Empire Polo Club on April 16, 2011 in Indio, Calif.

One of Ireland's most highly-regarded musicians, Hansard was behind the bands The Frames and The Swell Season, and the Oscar-winning film "Once," which has since become an award-winning stage musical.

By CBSNews.com senior producer David Morgan

Born in 1970, musician Glen Hansard started busking on the streets of Dublin at age 13.

He told CBS News correspondent Anthony Mason that he used to play on Grafton Street during the day, then come back after the pubs closed at night.

"It's a tougher gig, but you make more money," said Hansard. "Everyone's drunk!" He added, "It's a lot more dangerous."

A 2010 portrait of The Frames: Colm Mac Con Iomaire (keyboards, vocals, violin), Glen Hansard (vocals, guitar), Rob Bochnik (guitar, vocals), Joe Doyle (bass guitar, vocals), and Graham Hopkins (drums, backing vocals).

Founded in Dublin in 1990, The Frames released six albums and have also performed with The Swell Season.

A documentary by Conor Masterson about the band's 20th anniversary tour, called "In the Deep Shade," will be released in 2013.

Glen Hansard (far right) appeared in Alan Parker's 1991 "The Commitments," about an Irish band's struggle to stay together while struggling to make it.

Musician Glen Hansard from the band The Frames performs at the Coachella Music Festival, April 28, 2007 in Indio, Calif.

Glen Hansard, photographed in Seoul, South Korea.

Marketa Irglova and Glen Hansard began performing as a duo in 2005, with their first album, titled "The Swell Season," released in 2006. They subsequently took on that name for their performances. In addition to their followup album "Strict Joy" (2009) and the soundtrack of "Once," they also played on the soundtrack of the 2007 film "I'm Not There," covering the Bob Dylan song, "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere."

In the 2007 film "Once," Glen Hansard plays a street busker who develops a relationship with a young musician (Marketa Irglova), whom he recruits to help record a demo tape. The simple narrative, effective performances and emotional songs helped make "Once" a truly memorable and moving love story -- a rarity these days.

"I think part of what made 'Once' on the screen kind of work was that there was always this energy between us," Hansard said of his costar, Marketa Irglova. "You'd be a fool to deny it."

Director John Carney with Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova while shooting "Once."

The movie won the World Cinema Audience Award (Dramatic) at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival.

Born in the Czech Republic, singer-songwriter-musician Marketa Irglova first met Hansard in 2001, when her father was organizing a music festival and invited The Frames. She told Radio Prague that while visiting her family's home, Hansard asked the then-13-year-old Marketa to play for him, and he encouraged her to write her own songs.

"I think what helped me most actually was just the fact that he [had] faith in me, and saw some kind of potential in me," she told Radio Prague. "He couldn't have been more generous with his encouragement."

Scott Wintrow/Getty Images for Tribeca Film Festival

Musicians Marketa Irglova and Glen Hansard perform during the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival, April 30, 2007 in New York City.

Marketa Irglova and Glen Hansard perform at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival, April 30, 2007 in New York City.

Brad Barket/Getty Images for Tribeca Film Festival

Musician Glen Hansard signs a guitar at the ASCAP Tribeca Music Lounge, held at the Canal Room during the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival, May 1, 2007, in New York City.

Marketa Irglova and Glen Hansard perform at the Global Green 5th Annual Awards Season Celebration at Avalon on February 20, 2008 in Hollywood, Calif.

Marketa Irglova and Glen Hansard perform their song "Falling Slowly," from the film "Once," during the 80th Annual Academy Awards, February 24, 2008 in Hollywood, Calif.

Marketa Irglova and Glen Hansard accept the Oscar for Best Song, "Falling Slowly," during the 80th Annual Academy Awards at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood, February 24, 2008.

Marketa Irglova and Glen Hansard perform at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, held at the Empire Polo Field on Friday, April 25, 2008, in Indio, Calif.

Glen Hansard of The Swell Season performs during Bluesfest 2010 at Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm, April 2, 2010 in Byron Bay, Australia.

Musicians Marketa Irglova and Glen Hansard of The Swell Season perform at the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, April 16, 2011 in Indio, Calif.

The two began a romantic relationship during the making of "Once," and continued to tour, even after breaking up a few years later.

"It was hard," Hansard said. "And it was something we addressed all the time. It was like, 'Are you still enjoying this?'

"If you said to me, you could have all this success or you could just have a great relationship with Mar, I'd have took the relationship," he continued, "because it was the most profound and beautiful thing I had been through."

Steve Kazee performs "When You're Mind's Made Up," from the musical "Once."

Hansard said he was reluctant when first asked to turn the film into a Broadway show. "I remember being very nervous, and honestly I was against it," he told Mason. " 'Course, you're tempted by the idea of people saying, whispering in your ear, going, 'Do you know if this does well, like, you're gonna be seriously rich?' That was never why we did this."

Hansard relented - and the musical "Once" debuted in 2012. "They did treat it with grace," he said. "They did treat it with respect. They did get the right people."

Glen Hansard and Steve Kazee on stage at the Broadway opening of the musical "Once," based on the film, at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre on March 18, 2012 in New York City.

"Once" went on to win eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Direction, Best Actor in a Musical (Kazee), and Best Book.

Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for Sundance/AEG Europe

From left: Glen Hansard, author Nick Hornby and musician/producer T-Bone Burnett are seen backstage at "An Evening With Robert Redford And T. Bone Burnett," during Sundance London at Indigo at O2 Arena, April 26, 2012 in London, England.

Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Walt Disney Studios

From left: Director Peter Hedges, Glen Hansard and Oprah Winfrey attend a special screening of "The Odd Life of Timothy Green," at the Crosby Street Hotel on June 27, 2012 in New York City.

Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova attend the 66th Annual Tony Awards at The Beacon Theatre on June 10, 2012 in New York City.

Glen Hansard busking on the streets of New York City, 2013.

For the past few years, over Christmas he's returned to Dublin to busk for charity with other Irish artists, like Sinead O'Connor and Bono.

Anthony Mason suggested, "I get the sense . . . you'll always be at home playing a guitar on the street."

"Yeah, you're never more than a step away from it," Hansard said. "You can climb all the levels of success and of celebrity or fame. But you're never more than a step away from the guy who's just making his money for the day."

Glen Hansard's first solo studio album, "Rhythm and Repose," released in 2012.

For more info:
glenhansardmusic.com
The Frames (Official site)
The Swell Season (Official site)
"The Swell Season" - Documentary (Seventh Art Releasing)
"Once" - The film (Fox Searchlight)
"Once" - The musical (Official site)
Photographer Conor Masterson
"In the Deep Shade" (Documentary)
Photographer Piper Ferguson

By CBSNews.com senior producer David Morgan