‘I was dropped Into a few storylines right off the bat’
Actor Shane Quigley on his ‘whirlwind’ start to life in Fair City… By Keeley Ryan
shane Quigley Murphy has opened up about his“whirlwind” experience since joining Fair City. The Dubliner plays Gareth Boyle, who hit it off with Dearbhla following his arrival in Carrigstown over the holidays — and who is also Joan’s son that she put up for adoption, and the late Cian’s brother.
And Shane told Chic how “incredible”the experience has been since his character made his on-screen debut — and was dropped right into the drama.
He said,“i was dropped into a few storylines right off the bat. But it’s been great. The beauty of it is that it’s a really well-oiled machine, from the writers room through down to the sound, costumes, wardrobe, props, everyone.
“It’s crazy to see — all the fans usually see is the finished product, but it’s a joy to see all of the love and care that everyone has for the job on the ground.”
The actor added that it was “great”to be playing a character connected to so many other residents of Carrigstown.
He continued,“fortunately, I’m quite a reactive human being — and just coming off another job which was very high-stakes and physical — it was fun.
“It was really fun to come into scenes that were a lot more light-hearted and a little more playful; it was great.
“I’ve had the opportunity to work with more actors, like Geoff Minogue and Michael Sheehan. I’m getting to work with some top of the pops amazing actors — I can’t be more thankful at the moment.”
And things only look to get complicated for Gar in the weeks ahead, after Joan decided an elaborate inheritance scheme to secure his financial future — all without him finding out.
Gar was, understandably, sceptical when he got the call from a solicitor to tell him about the inheritance.
But after Tommy encouraged him to go to Joan for legal advice about the whole situation, it looked like Joan’s scheme may be a success.
Gar, however, isn’t so keen on the idea of accepting the windfall due to the links the inheritance has to his abusive adoptive family — and Shane told how there will be “some unearthing of the character’s past” and more information about his background
in the weeks to come. He continued,“we’ve seen Gar’s introduction, meeting Joan and Dearbhla and disappearing for a bit. Now that he’s back, he’s interacting with Dearbhla quite a bit — and we’ll see some further interactions between himself and Joan, too.
“There will also be some unearthing of the character’s past — and his background, as well.
“I think you’ll see it with the characters who come to Carrigstown for the first time, that they’re probably not used to the level of manipulation and divilment and busybodying, I suppose, that you see between characters there.
“It’s quite interesting to see it from his perspective, as a new member of the environment — and I like to think that my reactions to that are similar to how most people would react in the situations.”
Shane also opened up about his favourite part about playing Gar so far.
He explained,“i’d just wrapped on a film in London prior to starting Fair City, and it was quite enjoyable to transition from playing a villain to a multi-faceted yet normal/ordinary human being.
“I think that there’s a lot to play within the reality of the situations and the lower-stakes scenes are that bit more real; the things that happen to most people, or the things that people can understand. That’s what I’ve been enjoying the most.
“I know there’s going to be plenty of higheroctane stuff down the line and there will be plenty of drama down the line — but playing within that grey zone, that middle zone of high drama and ordinary drama, has probably been the most enjoyable part.” Shane added that Gar is a very different kind of character than the roles he’s played before — and praised his costars Maria Oxley Boardman and
Noni Stapleton. He continued,“my background would have originally been in theatre, then transitioning into film and screen roles.
“Because of my height and my build, a lot of the time I would end up playing generic, big bad roles — or I wouldn’t have the opportunity as much to play characters with a lot of emotional depth, just because it’s an aesthetic game. I’m really enjoying that.
“I’m really enjoying the people that I get to work with, too. I’m very fortunate to be working with Maria and Noni, who play Dearbhla and Joan — and if I’m being completely honest, it’s not much work on my end. I’m just reciprocating the energy that they’re giving me.”
As for whether he has a preference for being on the stage or the screen, Shane told how it was impossible to pick — but Fair City is like a“hybrid of both”.
He said,“it’s kind of like having your cake and eating it too — and I know it sounds quite greedy to say. It’s quite a simplified way of saying it.
“They’re two different arts, but at the same time, they are also two different sides of the same coin. Theatre requires different muscle memory and a little more supportive physicality — and that’s what’s really great about Fair City, it’s almost a hybrid of both.
“You’ll have the facial nuance performances for tighter shots.
But because a lot of it is shot wider, it’s also very important to have that supportive energy and intention within the body because it does read when you can see that someone is fully committed to it or when someone’s not comfortable within themselves.” ■
“There will be some unearthing of his past...”
Fair City airs on RTE One on Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.