Interview - Domhnall Gleeson

The son of one of Ireland’s most pre-eminent acting exports (Brendan Gleeson, in case you didn’t guess) 26 year old Domhnall Gleeson has been making a name for himself in recent years, turning up in supporting roles in True Grit, Never Let Me Go and the final two entries in the Harry Potter saga. He’s got plenty more blockbuster treats on the way (including the reboot of Judge Dredd) but this month, he’s back in Ireland for local film Sensation, from writer/director Tom Hall. Here, we talk to him about realities of the sex industry in Ireland, balancing entertainment with drama and performing intimate acts in front of sheep.

CLICK: How did you come to be involved in the film?
DG: I knew Tom (Hall – writer/director) from before, we had worked together. He told me he had an idea for a film about two people in a room having sex and I said ‘I would like to be both of those people!’ which is the line I’ve been using, but it’s true! And he informed all the way through about how the script was coming and then they got the money together.

CLICK: Was it a case of just wanting to work with him again?
DG: We share a similar kind of sense of humour and a similar love of the same sorts of films and the type of film that we wanted to make because there hadn’t really been an Irish movie about sex, I don’t think. I mean I can’t really think of any that are about Irish people being sexual beings. And the comedy that’s inside of that and the awfulness inside of being repressed basically. Also I’d wanted to play a lead, so that was reason enough to do it. And then the fact that I really loved the script and felt that I’d be really safe working with Tom – they’re the only reasons you need really to make a movie.

CLICK: This is your first lead role, was that intimidating or just something you really wanted to do?
DG: No like I say because I felt safe with Tom, because I liked the script so much and I knew that it was strong. I would have been terrified if the script wasn’t up to scratch or if it was just a kind of a sex film or I didn’t trust Tom but I wasn’t because I knew that we were on the right track.

CLICK: Was it very different to your normal work flow?
DG: Well we actually shot it two years ago I suppose so it was early enough on. I’d started work on Harry Potter and it was very strange to go between the two. I’d done Never Let Me Go before that and Studs but yea it was my first lead. But there’s a lovely thing of walking on a set and this film is on your shoulders. Whereas on Harry Potter, the only thing on your shoulders is your jacket. And you’re just in the background… there are 80 people ahead of you on the call sheet. It’s lovely walking on and you’re first and if you don’t get it right the film is screwed. I'm nervous of course but really excited!




CLICK: I read that the plot for Sensation was based partly on a real case. Did you feel any need to investigate that?
DG: No because Tom didn’t. Tom very purposefully heard this news item just about a guy who’d been on trial for setting up a brothel on a farm. And basically he heard from that the guy pleaded that this awful sexual woman came in and made him open a brothel! So if that’s the end of the story what’s the beginning? He didn’t want to know the real beginning of that story. So I didn’t do any research into that, the only thing I did do is go on message boards online to see how the people who hire prostitutes talk to each other. Because my character is on these boards all the time but has never actually hired one. So just to make sure that you’re not going to try to make something entertaining and funny out of it when there are truly bleak and dehumanising aspects of it. I read a lot of stuff and that opened my eyes an awful lot.

CLICK: What was the process like? Did you go on Irish message boards?
DG: Yea because it’s a particularly Irish movie, about Irish people and sex so there’s no point looking at what the Australians feel about it because they’re probably…

CLICK: Hopefully more liberal!
DG: [laughs] Yea! But actually these Irish guys seem to be very liberal because their faces aren’t on the boards. So they’re comparing reviews of real life people and what they did and what she was good at and what she wasn’t good at in the most explicit terms. And they’ve just gotten back and it’s really, really odd. And those women go on tour! They announce a tour – like ‘playing Ennis next week’ basically and you make your appointment. People will say ‘I was with her in Dublin, she’s great, she seems like your type’, this kind of bizarre thing. It was mad. So reading that you realise that this is not beyond the realms of possibility. As ridiculous as that sounds, these things happen so why not investigate it a little bit and try to make an interesting story about that.

CLICK: With films like The Guard doing so well internationally and this being a film that might be a little unusual for Irish audience, I was wondering how it’s played overseas? I understand it was co-financed by a Dutch company?
DG: Yes that’s right. And we had a fantastic Dutch cameraman on it as well – Benito Strangio, what a name! Yea it’s done the festival circuit, I’ve seen it at festivals in Toronto and America and other places. And I can honestly say it went down a storm, with lively debate and a lot of laughs. But actually what you really want to see is how Irish people respond to it because it’s about our nature in a certain way. So that fact that it was received so well in other places makes me interested to see how it works here. Luckily so far it seems very positive.

CLICK: You’ve written and directed shorts yourself. Which side of the camera do you prefer to be on or are you still trying to figure that out?
DG: As an actor I’ve worked with very fortunate to work with some of the best people, in my opinion, in the world. People who make the movies I want to see. And that’s going reasonably well at the moment and I want to keep on developing in that way. The writing and directing thing… yea I did this short Noreen with my dad and my brother so I got to work with two amazing actors on that. And it’s going to show on RTE now this Christmas which I’m really excited about. That’ll be cool. But I'm not nearly as developed in that way as I am becoming hopefully as an actor. So the acting is very much where my focus is on at the moment.

CLICK: You shot Sensation nearly two and a half years ago, is it strange to look back at a younger version of yourself? Are you happy with the performance?
DG: Yea it was summer 2009. I haven’t seen the film in a couple of months but it is interesting. Thank god I'm still proud of it, the fact that I’m proud of it now I think is good. It’s not like when you’re just finished something and you’re always in love with it. I do think that we’ve made a really good film and I feel like I'm happy with my performance in it is guess.

CLICK: If we can talk about Dredd for a minute – you shot earlier this year for a 2012 release. Can you talk about your character in that at all? I couldn’t find much about it at all!
DG: Yea, I’m not sure if I’m allowed to say anything, I think I signed some stuff! I only did two weeks on Dredd – it’s not a huge role but I feel in some way he could represent the troubled heart of that kind of world. This awful society where Dredd’s a figure of hope is really interesting. So I was really proud of working on this. I love Alex Garland [screenwriter on Dredd] as well. So my character is very important actually. Also I’ve got mad makeup and things.



Not this Dredd...


CLICK: And do you get to do any action?
DG: No not action stuff. I got to be dragged around and tortured a little bit basically but that’s about it. I had a ball on it because the cinematographer was Anthony Dod Mantle [28 Days Later, 127 Hours] who is just gifted.

CLICK: I understand the film is shot in 3D – what was that process like on set – as an actor and possibly a future filmmaker?
DG: Yea I think 3D is really integral to how we’re telling this story, it’s actually really important in terms of the nature of the story – I think it will become clear when it comes out. And also because you’ve not just got a guy who know how to use 3D but you’ve got Anthony Dod Mantle in doing it. And the scope of his movies is just amazing, he’s just really interested by light. Having an artist behind the camera is really important. It was kind of wonderful, it was really freeing. And I’ve just been working with Seamus McGarvey [Anna Karenina] and I’ve also worked with Roger Deakins! [True Grit] It’s kind of amazing. So that’s been really, really exciting working with all those guys.

CLICK: Are you working on anything else at the moment? I’ve heard At Swim Two Birds might finally be going ahead.
DG: Yea there’s no point making that movie with less money than it needs so we’re just trying to get that together to do it properly. I really hope that happens… you never know but I’m hopeful. And then Shadow Dancer is coming out next year which I'm really excited about and also Dredd and Anna Karenina which I’m shooting at the moment, hence the beard. This isn’t a personal choice! So I’m really excited about everything!

Sensation is in Irish cinemas from the 4th of November.