In the past I've worked with directors who saw very much their scene in their head and knew exactly how they were going to cut it.
As an actor, my background is in the theater and I feel that my strong suit is period work, but I actually didn't do much of it at all, until the last three or four years. I'm loving it!
It's interesting because I haven't done a lot of period work in the past, but I always wanted to because I'm interested in history.
I've always been a character actor, you know, and you always get your share of character actors who are bad guys. So it never surprises me. And if it's good writing, you can find your way into the part well enough.
Well, I've always been a character actor, you know, and you always get your share of character actors who are bad guys.
I love doing comedy. You don't get many good comedy scripts. They're rare. But, I do love playing comedy. Even in drama, I like to try to find the humor because I think it's very human.
Talking about the show reminds you of things that you went through. So it's fun. When the show was on, I couldn't have handled it. I didn't want that direct connection.
I do probably 80 or 90 per cent of the cooking at home.
There's no reason not to be in television now. You get to live at home and you're not on the road all the time, they pay you decent money, and the writing's good. You're not compromising for it, you know.
As an actor, I like to get a bit of momentum going with a character and kind of work a bit quicker. I mean, not crazy-fast, but, you know, five or six pages a day is a nice pace.
Even in drama, I like to try to find the humor because I think it's very human. Even in the depths of dreadful situations, there's usually something rather comic, or something you can laugh about afterwards, at least.
I suppose I look for humor in most situations because it humanizes things; it makes a character much more three-dimensional if there's some kind of humor. Not necessarily laugh-out-loud type of stuff, just a sense that there is a humorous edge to things. I do like that.
I do like working on independent films where it is a smaller budget and less pressure. The pace is also quicker than that of a big budget film. You are shooting at a fairly fast pace. Sitting around for three or four days can be quite draining. So I guess in terms of film or television, I would say filming an independent feature.
I usually look at things like that from an audience perspective first, then have a closer look at the specific character they're talking about me for.
Colin Morgan gives a stunning performance in Parked; he plays Merlin in the BBC TV show and he says the two characters are like night and day. Watch him. He’s got everything it takes to be top notch.
Even in the depths of dreadful situations, there's usually something rather comic, or something you can laugh about afterwards, at least. So, I do look for the comedy in those things.
You never know when the publicity people will feel it is a good time to release the film.
If you're playing the a historical character that's in the public consciousness, then obviously you've got to make an effort to look like that person and there's a huge amount of historical record there that you have to kind of comply to.
I do go back to Ireland, and I'll probably be doing a film in Ireland in January, and I guess that kind of keeps me classified as 'the Irish actor,' but the last four or five projects that I've been in are either American or English, so I don't feel terribly trapped in that. But sometimes, yeah, you would like to not be called 'the Irish actor.' You'd prefer to just be called 'the actor.'
My old manager of the Irish National Theatre said 'Don't worry about being a star, just worry about being a working actor. Just keep working.' I think that's really good advice.
I usually read a script from an audience perspective first, and then look more closely at the character only.
Normally when I'm sent a script I'll read it through to see how it hangs as a story and then I'll go back and read it through again and look at the character.
The digital revolution has changed the way we do things because you're not under that pressure that film is precious and film is expensive.
I kind of have an interest in all history. And I suspect it comes from being Irish - we like stories, we like telling stories, which makes a lot of us lean towards being writers or actors or directors.
There are so many burning issues to be dealt with that it's completely understandable and natural that a character is struggling with these issues themselves. In that struggle, you inform the audience. The thing about this writing is that it's very easy to learn. Good writing always is.
Which is good, in a way, because the danger in doing something like STAR TREK is that you end up in that pigeonhole and you're doing that the rest of your life.
I'm not a big method actor. I'm much more superficial.
I played trombone for 10 minutes, and then I was in an accordion band in school for even less.
A good comedy's very hard to make, so good comic writing I really enjoy.
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