“This is Ian McKellen’s toilet,” says Owen McDonnell enthusiastically. “Go in and have a look.” Sure enough, there’s a sign on the door of what looks like a broom cupboard that says “Ian McKellen’s WC”. Inside, the walls are plastered floor-to-ceiling with pictures of great thespians – Mark Rylance, Dame Maggie Smith, Dame Judi Dench – with a cut-out of McKellen taking pride of place, tiara perched upon his head.
McDonnell is giving me a tour of the Harold Pinter Theatre, where he’s starring in a revival of The Weir opposite Brendan Gleeson. “You can feel the history of the place,” he says as he leads me through a series of labyrinthine corridors. We make a few more twists and turns and emerge into an Irish bar. This is the set of The Weir, Conor McPherson’s seminal play about loneliness, connection and community in a remote Irish village.
“I used to work in pubs in the 1990s, when the play is set,” says McDonnell. “So I was making suggestions about what towels they should have and what should go where to make it feel really authentic.” You can almost smell the cigarette smoke and disinfectant.
After pointing out more of the impressive features, he leads me off the stage and into one of the theatre’s wood-panelled bars. The Galway-born star – who, with an unruly mop of dark hair, looks younger than his 50 years – is one of those actors whose name you might not recognise but whose face you probably will. He’s appeared in some of the biggest shows of the last decade, including Killing Eve, the latest season of True Detective and Bad Sisters.
I wrote in Brendan Gleeson’s card on our opening night: ‘They say you should never meet your heroes but it seems to be fine!’ – Owen McDonnell
All three of those are famously female-led, starring, among others, Sandra Oh, Jodie Comer, Jodie Foster and Sharon Horgan. Is he drawn to productions featuring strong women?
“Not consciously,” he says. “But it’s obviously amazing – the industry is tough for women, they have to work so much harder. I’m just basking in their glory.”
Who was his favourite to work beside? “They’re all so different,” he says diplomatically. “Sandra really dives into the detail of stuff, interrogates every single syllable of texts, whereas Sharon’s written the show, so she’s like, ‘Yeah, I know exactly what I’m doing.’ She’ll be rewriting a scene one minute then giving this incredible performance the next. Jodie Foster has this amazing presence but she’s also very humble.”
Theatre represents something of a homecoming for McDonnell, who describes the stage as “what I love and know best”. He’s clearly thrilled to be working on a play as enduring as The Weir, which has taken on an almost mythical status since it was first staged in 1997.
“I saw it in the West End when I was in my early twenties but I didn’t realise how much there was to it until I actually read it. This is the first time Conor’s directed it, and he’s been tweaking it a little bit, not changing it massively, but adding some gags. It’s funnier than I remember and I think you need that humour because you’re dealing with some dark material. In Ireland, quite often how we deal with dark stuff is to laugh about it.”
Brendan Gleeson and Owen McDonnell in The Weir
When Jez Butterworth’s modern classic Jerusalem, a surreal parable about Britishness, returned to London after 13 years, it had taken on a whole new meaning in the wake of Brexit. Does The Weir hit differently after nearly three decades?
“Oh, of course. Ultimately it’s not a play about the supernatural or faith or religion, it’s about people. It’s five people in a bar talking to each other. There are no mobile phones and, in a world of social media and ‘likes’, where a lot of the interactions we have are impersonal, it champions personal connections. When Conor wrote it in 1994 or 1995 he didn’t know there was going to be a Facebook. I don’t even know if Friends Reunited existed then!”
The Weir also deals with loneliness, which has become an increasingly important part of the cultural conversation in recent years.
“Loneliness is something the characters have almost accepted as part of life,” says McDonnell. “It’s not necessarily something they beat themselves over the head with – they acknowledge it and then enjoy the times when they’re not alone. They acknowledge we can’t avoid hardship in our lives. I think it’s healthy to be able to say, ‘This is a bit shit’.”
Part of the attraction of The Weir was working with co-star Brendan Gleeson. “He’s always been a hero of mine, dating back to The Treaty, a series on Irish television years ago about the formation of the Irish state, where he played Michael Collins, a big political figure in Ireland. I didn’t have any expectations of Brendan, exactly, but any I did have were completely exceeded. He’s the embodiment of generosity. I wrote in his card on our opening night: ‘They say you should never meet your heroes but it seems to be fine!’”
I ask if there’s anyone else he would like to work with and, after furrowing his brow for a few seconds, he says: “I would have loved to have worked with Philip Seymour Hoffman. He was such a brilliant actor. I met him once and he was really self-effacing, kind of awkward. I was telling him how much I loved his work and he was just like, ‘Okay!’”
I don’t think an actor’s opinion is worth any more than someone else’s. But if you have a platform and you have a deeply held belief, then you should be able to express it – Owen McDonnell
Our interview fell a few days after the Emmys, at which several actors had spoken out in support of Palestine, with Javier Bardem making headlines for saying he wouldn’t work with anyone who “justifies or supports the genocide”.
I wonder how McDonnell feels about actors speaking out on political and humanitarian issues? It’s one of those questions that can make people clam up but McDonnell answers with the same good-natured frankness he’s shown throughout the interview.
“It’s important that actors should be allowed to express their opinions,” he says. “I don’t think an actor’s opinion is worth any more than someone else’s. But if you have a platform and you have a deeply held belief, then you should be able to express it. Do I think there should be a ceasefire in Palestine? Absolutely: I think what’s going on there is not right.”
For the most part, though, McDonnell seems to fall into that category of British and Irish actors who are genuinely happy to let their work do the talking. He says he’s more than content with his level of fame, which allows him to star in blockbuster productions with the world’s biggest stars while still going unmolested on the school run.
“My idea of success has always been to be working and to be able to give my kids the opportunities they need, you know? The bank owns most of my house but at least I can pay the mortgage!”
And with that, he’s off, back through the bar and into the warren of corridors to prepare for The Weir’s press night. With a cast as talented as this, I’m sure it will be worth the wait.
• The Weir starring Owen McDonnell is on at the Harold Pinter Theatre until 6 December