‘If I could be the kind of man my father is I’d be happy’
Domhnall Gleeson opens up about growing up ‘guarding’ his dad and also his pride in his parents
tice. When I’m looking at roles I’m considering, I never want to read something and say, “I know how to play that character”.
‘You want to read it and say “uh, oh, I’m not sure I can do that, maybe someone else could do that better.” And then that’s when you get your hooks in and start imagining a world where you could try and take it on.
‘Certainly that’s what I’ve found with this profession. There was so much that was different to my life and who I am, so many different experiences.
‘Who the director is is incredibly important to me. I love auteurs. I love strong directors and I love that all of the directors I’ve worked with are all so different to each other – that’s really important to me as well. ‘I also love the background feel of a movie being different, like the ‘home’ of how it feels, and to try to fit into that and exist in the same world as the world of the film, and then do your bit inside there.
‘That’s my favourite way to contribute to a film and that’s how I try to decide what I’ll do.
‘Ex Machina was an amazing experience, so was The Revenant. I’m thrilled to be offered such an interesting selection of roles.’
Goodbye Christopher Robin sees Domhnall play the part of AA Milne, the author of the beloved Winnie the Pooh series and other books.
‘It’s a role that has not only caused him to think deeply about fatherhood and his father in particular, but also about the emotional significance which children’s toys can have for people at any age in their lives.
‘I had a brown toy dog called Bran and a scarecrow called Bosco which my godmother knitted for me. I loved them both and took them everywhere with me.
ISTILL have them! I didn’t read Winnie the Pooh when I was a kid. We had Irish language books that we read more than English language books, but I do remember Winnie being around.
‘I do remember reading and loving the Sue Townsend books, The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, the fake diaries of a 13 year old and his new stepmother crossing out the word Pooh and writing in “shit”. I remember laughing at that.’
‘My first time reading Winnie the Pooh properly was on this job. It’s a perfect world and I found refuge in this book. It’s a very safe place to go in your mind.’
Dublin is still his base when he’s not shooting and he retains a great love of the city.
He’s just finished a movie The Little Stranger directed by Lenny Abrahamson as well as an animated movie Peter Rabbit for Sony and there seems little prospect of the work drying up any time soon.
Everything though circles back to being the son of Brendan Gleeson...
‘I’m so lucky to be my father’s son. He’s an amazing father and an amazing man. I consider him to be exemplary, not just as an actor, [but] as a man. And if I could be the kind of man my father is, I’d be very, very happy. And he can answer all my questions about acting, so that’s even better! I just love him – that’s the bottom line.’