How agreeable are you?
I’ve developed my skills over the years to see things from a range of perspectives, which is very useful in my job. When you’re making decisions on classifications, seeing things from different perspectives and being open to being persuaded on different points of view is important.
What’s your middle name and what do you think of it?
Francis. I was lucky enough to go to Assisi, and while I wouldn’t be a very religious person, it’s a very spiritual place. The other St Francis that I came across was St Francis de Sales, who is the patron saint of journalists and writers. I don’t know whether it was one or the other who inspired my parents, but maybe it was the premonition of the work I was going to do in the future.
Where is your favourite place in Ireland?
Anywhere along the west coast I have a real love for, and especially the offshore islands. I’ve been lucky enough to go to most of them, but if I had to pick one place, it probably would be Kilkee in west Clare. Some years ago, I was lucky enough to get involved in scuba diving, and Kilkee has got world-class dive sites at the mouth of a beautiful bay.
Describe yourself in three words.
Curious, gracious, affable.
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When did you last get angry?
When I think about anger, I think about The Incredible Hulk. In the context of that character, anger is about uncontrollable rage and destruction. I’m much more comfortable with things that I find annoying, frustrating, or that make me sad.
What have you lost that you would like to have back?
Youth. The energy and the optimism of it. As you get older, you get more aware of the physical dangers around you, and you certainly can’t do as much as you could. Take scuba diving, for example. After a dive, I find it harder every year to haul myself up on to a dive boat. I’m still managing to do it, but I wish I were in my 20s when I was able to just jump up and get straight back on the boat.
What’s your strongest childhood memory?
My mother telling me during an episode of Blankety Blank that my grandfather had died suddenly. He lived with us, so he was a constant fixture. He always had time to chat with you. He used to sit on the couch, read a book, smoke a pipe and watch for people coming into the shop – he had a butcher’s shop, but at this stage it was very much winding down. I remember the smell of tobacco smoke, and him reading the Poldark books …
Where do you come in your family’s birth order and has it defined you?
I’m the fourth of six. One of the things about being part of a large family is that there was never any sense of somebody else trying to steer your direction or your career path. My mother, who loved books, television and cinema, often told me that I watched too much TV, and here I am watching movies for a living. She’d get a laugh out of that if she were still with us.
What do you expect to happen when you die?
I expect to be scattered at sea with the Saw Doctors’ song Carry Me Away playing in the background. There’s a lovely line in it where it says, “Scatter me forever where I’ve felt most alive”. To be left to the sea would be great because, for me, the underwater environment is a magical place.
When were you happiest?
One of the places where I find the most peace is if I’m underwater and there are perfect climate conditions. You don’t often get that, but sometimes, when people ask you to envisage a perfect moment, for me it generally comes from some time when I was underwater.
Which actor would play you in a biopic about your life?
I know how hard it is to get money together to make something, especially something that’s non-commercial, so if anyone were to make a biopic about my life – and I don’t think anyone would – they would surely struggle to raise the budget.
What’s your biggest career/personal regret?
I don’t really do regrets because I’m a glass-half-full person, and you can’t change the past. We have a lot of agency to tell ourselves our own stories, and while you’ve got to be aware of the negatives, in my view it’s critical to focus on the positive.
Have you any psychological quirks?
My children say that I can’t stay still. They may be right – I’m constantly trying to do too much rather than do one or two things.
In conversation with Tony Clayton-Lea
