TALK TIME:Versatile actor of stage and screen, about to appear in the third series of RTÉ's rural cop drama 'Single-Handed' and on the Abbey stage
Later this month you're opening in a new play in the Abbey Theatre. It's about a "playboy taoiseach". Is he based on anyone in particular?It's called Only an Apple and it's a madcap, off-the-wall play by Tom MacIntyre. It's about a taoiseach, I won't say who. And into his world come these fantasy creatures Grace O'Malley and Queen Elizabeth I. My role is the taoiseach's press secretary. Is my character anything like PJ Meara? (laughs) I'll leave that up to the general public to decide.
The character that you're still most closely associated with, of course, is Rats, the hapless ex-con from 'Paths to Freedom'. Does that become a burden at any point?No, I don't feel it's ever a burden. Rats is a character that certainly touched a chord with the public and that's obviously a good thing. But it's not like I've become typecast or anything. In fact, I suspect that only I would have cast myself as Rats to begin with. Had it been up for audition, I don't think I would have gotten it.
After the success of 'Paths to Freedom', you did 'Fergus's Wedding' which wasn't so well received.A handful of critics didn't like it.
Were you hurt by the harshness of some of that criticism?Yeah, I suppose I was. I think the backlash was a little bit extreme. Sure, the series had its flaws. But then it reached a much bigger audience than Paths to Freedom ever did. If we'd wanted to make another series of it, I'm sure we could have.
What did you learn from the experience?Look, we deliberately set out to do something that was very different to Paths to Freedom. But maybe what we did was a little rushed. Still, it was something that a lot of people really liked and still talk to me about. It's a pity you can't get it on DVD. The producers decided not to bring it out. So I suppose the thing I learned is not to get put off by a few negative reviews.
Do you plan to go back to writing?I'm developing a few other things at the moment which I don't really want to talk about. The thing with Paths to Freedom and Fergus's Wedding is that they both happened in a very short time frame – from pitching an idea to seeing it on the screen took less than a year in both instances. There's no way that would happen again. Momentum is a very good thing but that isn't there now. So projects take a little longer to develop.
You're also about to appear on our screen as a garda in the rural cop drama 'Single-Handed'.That's right, it's filmed in Connemara, which is just an absolutely stunning part of the world. My nemesis in the series is a former paramilitary who killed my boss. He has since become a respectable public figure, but he's secretly running a huge drugs operation. I've been trying to nail this guy for many years. Without giving too much away, my character ends up taking matters into his own hands.
Your Abbey co-star Don Wycherly gave an interview recently in which he spoke about the financial realities of being an actor in Ireland.Don was complaining, was he? (laughs)
He said that, despite all his success, he still has to take non-acting jobs occasionally. I was surprised to hear that.The thing about our profession is that you can suddenly hit these dry patches, even though you're well established. The point I think he was making was that, when people see you on television, they tend to automatically assume that you're getting paid a fortune. Which isn't always the case. I mean, look at Single-Handed, which is only being screened now. That was made a year ago. So sometimes you can hit a rut and enter a long period of doing nothing. Certainly, you never have a tonne of work lined up.
Is that a stressful way to live your life?Well, that's the life I chose, like Don, nearly 20 years ago now. You just accept it. In a funny way, it makes us well equipped to deal with the current economic climate. I know people who are getting laid off from nine-to-five jobs who are completely freaked out about it, don't know what to do. Whereas for an actor, it's a fact of life. You just deal with it, know what I mean? So you can never, ever rest on your laurels. Or there's only a very tiny percentage who can, at any rate.
