NOW MIGHT BE TIME TO REJOIN THE RAT RACE
Actor Mcelhatton considers bringing back iconic character
HE’S one of Ireland’s most beloved comedy characters – and now Rats From The Flats may be set for a comeback.
Michael Mcelhatton, who wrote and played Rats for the hit spoof documentary Paths To Freedom, said he’s considering ways to bring him back on screen.
The award-winning actor, 60, added: “I am always thinking about it. Maybe we could look at him in a different format. Never say never.
“I adore him and I frequently do him myself at home. It’s quite comforting.”
In Paths To Freedom, Mcelhatton played Rats, a loveable but blundering fella from the inner city just released from Mountjoy Jail.
The Terenure actor, who trained at RADA, transformed his look for the character.
Following the success of Paths To Freedom, there was a spin-off Rats movie, Spin The Bottle.
Mcelhatton said: “It’s 24 years since Paths To Freedom.
“If I was to play Rats tomorrow, I would be Rats when he’s 60, while when we met him first it was Rats in his 30s.”
Mcelhatton, who also played Roose Bolton in Game of Thrones, spoke to the Irish Mirror as he joins the cast of sitcom The Dry.
He plays matriarch Bernie’s new boyfriend, Finbar.
It’s the second series of the hit RTE comedy-drama, about Shiv Sheridan, a reformed party-girl who comes back to Ireland from London at the age of 35.
When we last saw Shiv, she was back in AA after falling off the wagon spectacularly.
She was joined in recovery by Bernie, who realised she had her own issues with the bottle.
Now Finbar is set to shake things up, as a smug, former sociology professor who Bernie met while in therapy and has been dating her.
Mcelhatton describes Finbar as a “charlatan and an opportunist”.
He said: “He’s a pseudo-intellectual who inveigles his way into the Sheridan household.
“He’s a bit of a charlatan, as we find out. He immediately makes the house his own. Tom [Bernie’s husband, played by Ciaran Hines] is relegated to the shed outside and the children aren’t too impressed.”
But Mcelhatton revealed he has no redeeming, endearing side.
He added: “He’s a totally different character, if you’re comparing him to Rats. Rats is arrogant and full of himself and hasn’t got the highest IQ. He’s his own worst enemy, while this guy is an utter cynic.
“He’s an opportunist and a charlatan and he is hiding behind his sobriety and high standing in academia. It’s all pseudo stuff.
“Underneath it all, you should hate him, whereas you shouldn’t hate Rats.
“Finbar is an odd man, he’s bloody awful.” The Dry starts on Wednesday at 9.35pm on RTE One and RTE Player.
Maybe we could look at him in a different format. I adore him