A question of taste - Shane Casey

Shane Casey is from Cork and stars in The Young Offenders, in cinemas from tomorrow, September 16. He has also been touring with God Bless The Child, finishing its current run tonight at the Pavilion Theatre, Dun Laoghaire.

Best recent book: Either Beatlebone by Kevin Barry, or Distress Signal by Catherine Ryan Howard.

Best recent film: A Date For Mady Mary.

Best recent show/exhibition/gig you’ve seen: Brian Crotty’s exhibition, ‘Eggs Again’, at MART in Dublin.

What formats do you access music? I mostly use YouTube.

Best piece of music you’ve been listening to lately (new or old): I’ve been listening to a lot of Joe Brown. He’s a multi-instrumentalist, but was best-known for playing the ukelele in the 1950s and ’60s.

First ever piece of music that really moved you: I remember somebody gave me a tape of The Doors, when I was about nine. I was probably a bit young for them, but I found them really fascinating and a bit frightening.

The best gig or show you’ve ever seen: Stevie Wonder, in Dublin, in 2010. It was a surprise present from a friend, and he was superb. You never know if we’ll even get a chance to see him again.

Tell us about your TV viewing: I’ve recently got Netflix, so I’m catching up on a lot of things, like Peaky Blinders, and documentaries.

Radio listening: I listen to a lot of Newstalk when I’m in the car. Also, I’m living in Dublin at the moment, but when I get back to Cork, I listen to a lot of stuff like Neil Prendeville [Red FM], and Oldies and Irish [96fm].

Name three of your acting heroes: Samantha Morton; Ulrich Mühe, the German actor from The Lives Of Others; and Gary Oldman — I’ve been watching a lot of his earlier stuff.

Your best famous celebrity encounter: Paul Newman told me I shouldn’t name-drop! Seriously, though, I got to work with Ken Loach on The Wind That Shakes The Barley, and found him to be a really impressive person, and so modest. Fiona Shaw is another person that stands out — she has so much charisma.

Favourite ever item of clothing: A pair of Timberland boots that I used for walking in south-east Asia.

Unsung hero — individual or group you think don’t get the praise they deserve: Any of the suicide-awareness or mental-health charities — it really is a major issue.

You are king for a day — what’s your first decree? Homework off and a half-day on Friday! And I’d bring in the type of six-hour working day that they have in Norway.