Gentleman Theo’s nod to Irish wife for ‘gas’ enlightening
THEO James, star of the new Netflix adaptation of The Gentlemen, proudly admitted this week that he’s picked up some of his Irish wife’s sayings.
The English actor, who plays aristocrat Eddie Halstead in the Guy Ritchie series, says he now uses a cúpla focail, thanks to Ruth Kearney, who is also an actor.
The pair met at Bristol’s Old Vic Theatre School where they both appeared in the stage production, Man of Mode, and married in 2018.
Speaking ahead of The Gentlemen’s release, James says that while a few Irishisms have now slipped into his vocabulary, they don’t sound the same with a British accent. He told the Irish Mail on Sunday: ‘My wife is Irish, and she obviously loves Ireland, and we love Ireland. I mean, there’s lots of Irish that goes around the family. I’ve taken on saying “that’s gas”, which as a British person with a British accent sounds terrible. Because it’s obviously an Irish thing, that’s gas, but I’m like, “That’s a gas. I find that very gas.”
‘Then we also say, for you know, in the morning, especially with kids, you’re like, oh, do you
want some porridge? But my wife thought the Irish for porridge was “paróiste” [parish]. But I think that’s actually a priest or something.’
However, co-star Daniel Ings has reassured James that his Irish accent doesn’t sound that terrible, saying: ‘It sounds cool when you do it like that though, man. Yeah. You sounded really young and cool.’
Ruth grew up in Monkstown in south Dublin and while the duo are private about their
personal life, she often posts about being ‘home’ on social media. The couple have two children aged three and one.
James has also been open about how challenging it can be trying to keep a relationship private when you’re in the limelight, previously telling the Evening Standard: ‘It’s interesting being together this long because we have navigated through the very beginnings of our careers. That can be hard at times, but also that brings certain strengths to a relationship.’
The
Gentleman is a crime-comedy series based on Ritchie’s Matthew McConaughey-led gangster film of the same name.
The 2020 crime caper was a hit for the British auteur, grossing more than €140m worldwide against a €20m budget.
While set in the same world as its featurelength predecessor, the new version will centre on a host of new characters and follow a brand-new, original storyline set in Ritchie’s unique vision of England’s criminal underbelly.
Ritchie directed the opening two episodes of the series and served as executive producer and co-writer alongside Peaky Blinders’ Matthew Read. The stellar cast also includes Ray Winstone as career criminal Bobby Glass, and Kaya Scodelario as Susie Glass, Bobby’s ruthless daughter.