INTERVIEW: ‘It’s not an easy living. It’s difficult, but then anything worth doing is difficult’

Slane native and actor Matthew O’Brien, aka James Rafferty, the scheming, lying, manipulating bad guy in Fair City, took time out of a hectic schedule to talk to ANNE CUNNINGHAM about – among other things - his love for his homeplace, the poems of Francis Ledwidge and the teachers who inspired him to go on and become an actor

AC: Tell us what it feels like to be James Rafferty, one of the most vilified men in Ireland?

M O’B: It’s great fun. Everyone loves a villain because he can do and say things they can’t. James knows how to coerce people into doing stuff they really don’t want to do. I’ve had people approach me in public saying things like “You’re an awful bowsie! Give Damian his money back!” But it’s all in good fun and people have been great.

AC: What’s it like to work on Fair City? Pros and cons?

M O’B: I’ve been acting for 20 years now and have done a lot of film and theatre, so when the Fair City call came I was delighted. We get the scripts about 2 weeks in advance of filming and it’s fast, busy work, you must be on the ball. Pros are working with such iconic people. The only con is the M50. We start filming at 7.30 in the morning but I’m usually there by 5, because I just can’t stand the traffic jams.

AC: Do you have friends in the cast you’d be closer to than others?

M O’B: I’m good friends with Sorcha Furlong (Orla) and Amy Kirwan (Mairead). Maclean Burke who plays Damian is also a good pal, along with Aisling O’Neill who plays Carol and my ‘Dad’ Liam Kearney, who plays Con Rafferty.

AC: Can you give us an idea of a typical day’s filming when you’re on duty?

M O’B: You’ve got to have your homework done in advance because scenes are not shot in chronological order. Start time is 7.30 am and by finishing time the traffic is thick on the M50. The sooner we get a train the better!

AC: Tell us about your Meath background, where you’re from, family, where you went to school etc.

M O’B: I’m a very proud Meathman from Gernonstown, Slane. I love where I come from. I went to primary school in Stackallen and secondary in St Pat’s in Navan, one of the best schools in the country in my opinion. As a Slane man, of course I love Francis Ledwidge’s poetry and I’ve been to his grave in Belgium. My grandparents on my mother’s side, the Kennedys, are buried on the Hill of Tara. I love Navan too. My brother is a mechanic like my Dad and my sister is an artist in NCAD. And any chance I get to fly the Royal colours, I grab it.

AC: Are there any childhood influences that led you to pursue a career in acting? Or any schoolteachers?

M O’B: Yes! I had cousins who had a mobile video rental library when I was a kid and I had access to every movie you can think of. That made a movie fan out of me and gave me a crash course in film. Star Wars really sparked my imagination and cradled my love for acting. I was too shy as a youngster to do drama, but my English teacher, Richie Ball in St Pat’s, was a big inspiration. He fostered my love for Shakespeare, he really brought texts to life and had a great sense of humour. Niall Boyle and Miss Cantwell were fantastic history teachers, they fostered my love of history.

AC: Can you give an outline of your career before Fair City?

M O’B: I got my acting degree in Swansea University and acted in London, Wales and on the continent. Then I came home and worked in day jobs, acting in the evenings when I could. At one point I used to leave my job in Navan and drive straight to Dublin to be on stage at 7.30!

AC: Some famous actors you worked with?

M O’B: Colin Farrell on The Lobster – I have a story or two there, but you couldn’t print them! He’s great fun. I’ve worked with loads of actors including Rachel Weiss, French actor Leya Seydoux, Jonathan Rhys-Davies, Richard Brake, Peter Coonan, the list is long.

AC: Did you work in any unusual Jobs?

M O’B: I used to do hen parties! I’d be suited and booted as a detective and I had to arrive and tell the bride that the groom had been kidnapped. But I think sometimes they were expecting a stripper! No way! I worked in McDonalds too.

AC: Have you favourite plays that you’d go to see repeatedly with different casts?

M O’B: Hamlet and Macbeth. Never tire of them. And I’ve been very lucky to have worked in both plays.

AC: Favourite movies?

M O’B: Sci-fi is my passion. Star Wars I already mentioned, Alien, Blade Runner, all of the iconic films in the genre. I also love crime movies like The Godfather. And I love the work of German director Werner Herzog.

AC: Who are your favourite actors?

M O’B: Cillian Murphy. I’d watch him butter bread! He’s got huge presence. Christian Bale, Harrison Ford, there’s a list of actors I love to watch.

AC: What playwrights do you like and why?

M O’B: Martin McDonagh. He can tap into the Irish psyche better than anyone. And his plays were rejected by the Abbey Theatre! Shakespeare too, of course, he’s devastatingly perfect. Milton. I know he’s not a playwright, but I always read Paradise Lost like it’s a play.

AC: What stage role would you really love to play but haven’t yet?

M O’B: I’ve not played the character of Macbeth and I’d love to. But I’ve been lucky, I’ve done a lot of Shakespeare.

AC: Which is your preference, stage or screen acting?

M O’B: Neither. I love both. Stage is live, of course, so there’s a beautiful intensity. I’ve had moments on stage I’ll still remember on my death bed. Screen of course is different. And it’s a lot more stilted, a lot more stop and start, an entirely different craft. But I love both equally.

AC: Are there any novels or stories you’ve read that you’d love to see made into a movie?

M O’B: Yes, I’d love to see a movie version of Paradise Lost. Some attempts have been made but not very successfully. And I was in a play last year called The Heart of a Dog, which I’d love to see as a movie. It’s been filmed in Russian but not in English.

AC: How difficult is it to play a baddie with apparently no saving graces?

M O’B: I don’t think James has no saving graces. I think he’s a product of how he was brought up and I hope the audience gets to see that at some time in the future. He has a lack of empathy for sure, but somehow he’s got a good relationship with his mother. His ruthlessness may be because of his father?

AC: Can you give us an idea of what James will be up to in the future?

M O’B: I think James is an unknown quantity, but I think maybe we’ll see different facets of him in the future.

AC: Finally, do you have any advice for youngsters who would love to be actors?

M O’B: Don’t! Only kidding! When I started out, there was no internet, phones were like bricks, I had to go abroad to get my qualification. That’s all changed now. But I do think the internet is saturated with wannabes and that’s not such a good thing. I’d advise any interested youngster to join the local drama group, get on stage as much as possible, read lots of scripts and read widely, but be realistic about it. It’s not an easy living. It’s difficult, but then anything that’s worth doing is difficult. It’s also very exposing – you put a lot of yourself into acting and you need to keep something back just for you. Mind yourself, take care of your mental health and keep yourself grounded. I happen to have two beautiful children who keep me grounded, along with their beautiful mother, Lorna. Have something else you enjoy doing besides acting. Have a hobby. Or maybe study something that makes you money!