We sat down with the Irish acting legend to talk zombies, Brummie gangsters and the best time to get off your mash.
The party in The Party is a bit of a disaster. What’s the best party you’ve been to in real life?
Oh man, I’ve been to a lot. I guess the best parties are the ones that aren’t planned. They just happen. They’re spontaneous and all of sudden you’re with great people in a great spot. The ones that are over planned and overthought tend to be a bit rubbish. It’s better when you end up having a party on a Tuesday night for no reason.
You don’t get to use your own accent in films very often. Was this a nice change?
“It was actually. When Sally [Potter – the director] sent me the script I said I thought he should be Irish and she said she was thinking the same
It adds to his outsider status as this financial dude in a room full of intellectuals. As an Irish person who’s lived in London for a long time I know what that felt like.
’28 Days Later’ is 15 next month. Do you miss working with zombies?
It was a brilliant experience making that film. It was a real game changer for me, working with Danny Boyle and Alex Garland. I don’t really watch zombie stuff but we were the first people to make them run and it changed everything, so it holds a very special place in my heart.
What can you tell us about the new series of Peaky Blinders?
A lot of surprises. People will be very surprised by the twists and turns that it takes. What’s always been great about the show is its brilliant writing. That’s its strength above all. It’s our job [as actors] to give the writing the production it deserves. That’s always been my impulse, just to do justice to the writing.
The Party is in cinemas now