Domhnall Gleeson: ‘Cillian Murphy is my acting hero – he made me embarrassed’ — To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web
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If you run into Domhnall Gleeson over the next few weeks, don’t be surprised if he’s whistling because he’s on top of the world right now.
The 43-year-old star has two new movies set for release; he’s just starred in a Taylor Swift music video, and most excitingly (for me at least), his hit sitcom The Paper is back for a second season.
In fact, Domhnall is having such a moment that some have even gone so far as to brand it the ‘Summer of Domhnall’.
Not that the famously humble Dublin-born actor would agree with that rather grand title.
And when Metro caught up with him for the release of The Paper season two, he was the spirit of modesty, especially when we brought up his encounter with a certain Oscar-winning actor on Graham Norton’s glitziest sofa ever.
Specifically, Cillian Murphy described Domhnall’s performance as Ned Sampson – the idealistic editor-in-chief of the Toledo Truth Teller and the main character of The Paper – as ‘magnetic’.
‘I don’t know if it’s an Irish people thing, but we’re not very good at handling a compliment and definitely get a little bit embarrassed,’ he told us, slightly suppressing a smile.
‘But Cillian would be one of my acting heroes. He is exceptional at everything, in every way, and so that meant a huge amount.
‘I definitely got a bit shy, which is weird when you’re being filmed, but it made me feel good but also embarrassed at the same time.’
Still, just because Cillian Murphy thinks he’s great doesn’t mean Domhnall doesn’t have things to learn, and in season two of The Paper, he’s learned to relax a little.
Or at least that’s what he told us when we reminded him of an anecdote his co-star, Chelsea Frei, told Esquire.
Chelsea joked with the publication that Domhnall made the rest of the cast look bad with his diligent preparation for season one, which saw him basically act as an unpaid intern in a real newsroom.
‘I think I have learned to relax a little bit,’ he laughed before immediately contradicting himself by adding: ‘but also all that work was already done.’
‘That’s the amazing thing about coming back on something. You feel like you know who the person is in your bones, and so coming back to it, that’s, that’s one of the great joys.