Brian Gleeson
One of the stars of RTÉ’s watercooler drama, Taken Down, Brian Gleeson, talks to Michael Doherty about the hard-hitting series
The Dublin actor is making waves in Taken Down and The Bisexual. Michael Doherty catches up with him
Success can be a double-edged sword. With Love/Hate often described as the finest TV drama ever made in this country, showrunner Stuart Carolan was always going to be judged through the prism of that award-winning series when it came to his follow-up project, Taken Down. Comparisons are even more inevitable, given that Love/Hate director David Caffrey is behind the camera and a number of Love/Hate alumni, including Lynn Rafferty and Brian Gleeson, take on leading roles.
A six-part, ripped-from-the-headlines murder story, Taken Down revolves around the controversial issue of Direct Provision. Two episodes in, one of RTÉ’s most-watched autumn dramas in years continues to intrigue audiences, as the cast of suspicious characters continues to grow. These include Wayne (Brian Gleeson), the manager of the Dublin Provision centre at the heart of the story. For the popular Dublin actor, Taken Down is an important story that unfolds on a grand canvas. “I think this drama is even more ambitious than Love/ Hate,” he explains. “This is set in Dublin but shows us parts of the city many will never have seen. It has a lot of moving parts and it’s important that we see all of the angles.”
Those angles have been analysed by critics and audiences alike, particularly on social media. It’s a discussion which pleases the actor. “All that debate is very welcome,” he explains. “All you can hope for, apart from entertaining people, is to get them talking about it. This is one of those issues that people haven’t really been bothered to talk about. So to get audiences talking about what it is like for people to be going through the process of being chewed up by institutions is very important.” When we first encountered Brian Gleeson’s character in the opening episode, he seemed like an affable if disorganised chap. By the end of last week’s episode, Wayne had turned into a more sinister individual, with connections to some really unsavoury characters. “That’s true,” says Brian. “As the show goes on, it opens up the murky world of human trafficking and how people are brought through the centres with a view to making them part of this process. Wayne isn’t necessarily an underworld figure, or anything, but it’s clear after two episodes that he is somehow tied to it. How much he is involved in the really bad aspects of it remains to be seen, but it’s clear that he is hiding something.”
While filming Taken Down, Brian was pleased to reconnect with so many of the cast and crew he had worked with on Love/Hate. “It was a great feeling to work again with the likes of director David Caffrey and writer Stuart Carolan,” he says. “But it was also a great feeling to work with Jimmy Smallhorne [Gar], whom I had never met. As soon as we saw each other, we knew what is was about and we got on very well. There’s a shared feeling and responsibility that was there on Love/Hate and it’s definitely there on Taken Down, too.”
Taken Down isn’t the only watercooler show currently featuring Brian Gleeson. He also takes the male lead in Desiree Akhavan’s genre-defying comedy, The Bisexual. “It’s almost an avant garde piece,” he says. “There’s no easy answer or message to the series. It’s about poking at labels that people apply and asking what’s behind them. It’s a hard
show to pin down and that comes from Desi being involved in so many aspects, writing, directing and starring in it. I was thrilled to be involved.” Also popping up in e Bisexual are a number of other Irish actors, including Niamh Algar, Caoil ionn Dunne and Eva Birthistle. So why are there so many of our own in this piece? “Desi said they instantly loved every Irish actor who walked into their meeting,” Brian explains, “so that bodes well. We produce lots of great actors and people are obviously noticing.” Also noticed in e Bisexual were the Dublin actor’s karaoke skills, when he was called upon to deliver his rendition of the song, I Drove All Night, during one memorable episode. Will he ever listen to that particular Roy Orbison song again without getting a slight chill? “ at was a tough day’s shoot,” he laughs. “I spent all day singing Roy Orbison in front of about ten 21-year-olds. I’ll be staying away from the karaoke machine from now on!”
If e Bisexual o ered Brian the welcome chance to work with fellow Irish actors on a UK series, he’ll get another one when he lines up for the new season of Peaky Blinders. But he won’t be doing a Brummie accent. “I’ll be Glaswegian,” he says. “It’s a funny set up because there are a lot of Irish actors walking around set with di erent accents. It’s great to have so many familiar faces around and I’ve always wanted to work with Cillian [Murphy] so I’m looking forward to that.”
With so many Irish actors making their mark on the international stage, is it a golden age for Irish actors? e Dubliner agrees. “I think that is the case. In terms of that global appeal, we were so lucky to have had all those guys who went over and made it in the States: people like Gabriel Byrne and Liam Neeson and Colm Meaney.”
Not to mention Brendan Gleeson.
“Yes. ey all laid the groundwork for the rest of us to follow. It’s also a very lucky time to be an actor in terms of all the good content that is being made. Irish actors are generally instinctive, making them di erent to other actors. I think the English and the Americans really respond to that.”
Finally, what would Brian Gleeson like audiences to take away from Taken Down? “I hope that the indi erence we have seen shown to date in regards of Direct Provision will be no more,” he concludes. “ e more we get into the show, the more people will see the human consequences of the whole system. If that strikes up a few conversations, that’s all we can hope for.”