How agreeable are you?
I’m very agreeable. I value harmony, empathy, and co-operation very highly, and I think it’s important to base relationships on trust and respect. It doesn’t take much to listen and empathise with another person and hopefully find some resolution to something. Bullies need to be talked to on terms that they understand, or to be completely ignored if possible. Generally I seek peace.
What’s your middle name and what do you think of it?
My middle name is Pól. As a child, I wasn’t totally happy with being named after what I thought was a lamp-post, but it’s a great name; strong and rounded. It gave me a connection to my dad, whose name is Paul, and my love of the Irish language.
Where is your favourite place in Ireland?
Dooey Beach in Co Donegal – it still feels untouched. It’s vast and expansive, the kind of beach that you can lose yourself on and feel the wilderness of the west.
Describe yourself in three words
Curious, persistent, adaptable.
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When did you last get angry?
In terms of when I last felt anger, it was when I looked at the news. What Israel is doing at the moment is called genocide. The Israeli government are war criminals, they’re starving innocent people on purpose, and that’s ethnic cleansing. Whenever I see injustice in the world, I’m always inspired by Martin Luther King jnr’s quote: “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.”
What have you lost that you would like to have back?
What I would like to have back in some way would be friends who’ve passed away over the last few years. I’ve had the pleasure of knowing some really beautiful and very artistic people, and I think even just seeing them for a few hours again would be lovely.
[ Dave Tynan: ‘I was approaching it like it might be the only book I ever write’Opens in new window ]
What’s your strongest childhood memory?
Every summer when I was a child, I would spend my time with the New Point Youth Players, which was run in Newry, in the Sean Hollywood Arts Centre. It was a summer school of acting, improvisational games and constructing drama. It was there that I learned all the basics of stagecraft and fell in love with theatre.
Where do you come in your family’s birth order, and has this defined you?
I’m the youngest of four, so having three elder brothers definitely defined me. It has made me adept at reading a room in terms of knowing the mood. It has also given me respect for my siblings in terms of seeing them go out into the world before me and maybe trying to learn from their mistakes or to admire their successes.
What do you expect to happen when you die?
I’m content with the idea of nothingness and that my body goes back to the earth, that I cease to exist. I don’t think there’s anything when we die, just the memories you leave behind and the impact you’ve had on the world. I think that’s quite liberating and beautiful rather than having to depend on some kind of afterlife or some god to make it all worth it.
When were you happiest?
The correct answer to this is when I fell in love with my wife. I got married last November, so we’re not even a year married. When you fall in love with someone, it’s that kind of stupid love where you’re laughing more than you’re eating, you’re delirious, almost, with happiness. The sharpness and the phase of that initial falling-in-love period – there’s nothing like that.
Which actor would play you in a biopic about your life?
I doubt there ever will be a biopic, but if there were, I would get Nicholas Cage to play me. He is simultaneously the greatest and worst actor of our time, so I think he would deliver an interesting portrayal.
[ How one of Canada’s richest women transformed the island of her birthOpens in new window ]
What’s your biggest career/personal regret?
There are lots, but I’m not sure they qualify as a regret that I can hold on to because I see them as mistakes that were necessary in order to learn and to grow. I’ve not always acted by the highest standards I hold myself to, but I think that in making those mistakes, I was able to become a better, kinder, and more empathetic person. I love animals, so in terms of right now, something I regret not having done is that I don’t yet have a dog.
Have you any psychological quirks?
I can be a bit obsessive with work. With writing, that can become a compulsive behaviour in terms of not being able to switch off. I guess that’s the life of a freelance writer, director, isn’t it? I know a lot of actors and writers like that, so at least I’m in good company.
Good with Faces, by Oisín Kearney, runs at Project Arts Centre, Dublin, from Saturday, September 6th until Saturday, September 13th, as part of the Dublin Fringe Festival
In conversation with Tony Clayton-Lea
