Fra Fee: The Irish actor starring in Netflix's epic Rebel Moon sequel
Fra Fee is one of the stars of Rebel Moon Part Two: The Scargiver, on Netflix. (Photo by Noam Galai/Getty)
He’s been on a fair few movie sets in his time, but Irish actor Fra Fee was nevertheless impressed when he first set eyes on the dramatic world created by Zack Snyder for his space fantasy movies.
There among the massive sets and hundreds of people, he saw the sheer scale of the production that would provide the firepower for the first two Rebel Moon films for streaming giant Netflix.
“This is as big as they get really which is so thrilling - you feel as if you're a kid going into this unbelievable playground. You dream of working in Hollywood, and this was my first time literally working in Hollywood, in LA. Some of the locations were in those desert landscapes, so hot but so visceral and alive,” says the actor who uses the shorter version of his name, Francis Martin Fee.
Fee, from Killyman near Dungannon, plays his character Balisarius in his own accent, which is part of a growing trend among Irish actors. In recent weeks, we’ve seen Jessie Buckley go full Killarney in Wicked Little Letters, and Liam Cunningham using his Dublin brogue in the new sci-fi series 3 Body Problem. Over on Disney+, Cork star Máiréad Tyers brings her lilt to her great comedic performance in the new series of Extraordinary.
“It's something that I've noticed as well,” says Fee. “I think we're really owning our voices in a way that we never have before. Whenever I get a casting through now, most of the time I'm asked to audition in my own accent, which is just such a thrill.
“I used to struggle performing in my own accent because I always wanted to distance myself, to be as far away from my own self as possible. I guess that was just the actor in me who was insecure about my own voice.
“I love performing in my own voice and I think it's great to hear Irish voices on the international stage. It's certainly an exciting time to be an Irish actor, that's for sure.”
In Rebel Moon, Part Two: The Scargiver, audiences will be reacquainted with Fee’s formidable character. “It's interesting because we shot these two movies back to back and out of order and it's a process that I've never quite done before in that I'm playing a character over the course of 30-ish years,” says the actor.
“The first flashback in Part One is him when he's abducting Cora, and that's him at his youngest that we see. Then in the present day I'm sporting this awesome-looking, full grey beard that I wouldn't be able to grow even if I tried my very best. I've got quite a long timeline and Zack was able to explain in detail to me where he's come from.
“We suspect he's come from a more dispossessed planet and has managed to find his way to the upper echelons of society and this unbelievably powerful position as Regent of the universe.”
There is a reason behind the vast age arc of the character, adds Fee. Snyder has plans for several other stories within the universe he has created - including a spin-off about the origins and rise of the character played by the Irishman.
“I'm sporting this beard that ages me by 30 years for most of the films, and that's no accident. It's Zack's wish to tell Balisarius’s story of how he got to this position of power. I would be extremely excited to do it because while I have been given an idea of what that journey is, it would be wonderful to get to play it on screen and for audiences to enjoy it.
“If for no other reason, there’s the start of his journey on a planet in which I suspect everyone talks like they're from County Tyrone - that's obviously a TV series that I want to watch!” he laughs.
Fee has worked as an actor for several years and also studied music, establishing himself in musical theatre productions such as Dirty Dancing. He also starred on a stage production of Les Misérables, and recalls a Sam Mendes production of The Ferryman as a big turning point in his career.
“The Ferryman, an Irish play by Jez Butterworth is set in County Armagh in 1981. It's a stunning play,” he says. “We started at the Royal Court in London, went to the West End and then were on Broadway for six months.
“Aside from the friends that I met on it, telling a story from Northern Ireland at that time - although I was born in 1987, it was more my parents’ lived experience, but it was in my blood and it was in my in being - was just such a seminal moment and definitely was a shift in my career, because it was such a well-received play and got a lot of attention.”
Fee had been acting since he was a youngster, and says he benefited from a thriving local theatre scene when he was growing up. “Although I always said I wanted to be an actor when I grew up, I'm not sure if I ever thought that I'd actually achieve it, because it was just such a dream. But my parents were unbelievably supportive.
“My dad who turns 78 next next month just performed The Ferryman with our local theatre group, the Bardic Theatre group in Tyrone, and I went to see him. It was very, very special, a full-circle moment for me certainly.”
Fee went on to star as Courfeyrac in the big-screen adaptation of Les Misérables and in recent years he has had a remarkable run of success, starring as the mercenary Kazi in the Disney+ series Hawkeye. On stage, he took over from Eddie Redmayne in the acclaimed revival of Cabaret in London, and recently played Edmund in a well-received production of King Lear.
This year, he will film on the new Apple TV+ thriller Prime Target, while he will shortly be on our screens in a major new BBC series, playing the co-lead.
“Lost Boys & Fairies we filmed in Cardiff. It’s by Welsh writer Daf James and it's a semi autobiographical (story) about two men going through the adoption process, and it was the most beautiful experience shooting it with Sion Daniel Young who plays my partner,” he says.
“It was my first time actually playing a gay character in my whole career, which when I say that out loud seems mad. I think for that reason, it so resonated.
“I don't necessarily know if I want to have kids, but to immerse myself in that possibility, imaginatively, was a really moving experience. The show is tender and emotional, funny - I really couldn't be more excited for it to go out into the world and to see how people take to it.”
Fee has spoken in the past about the difficulties he experienced in coming out as a young man. Would it have been important for teenage him to see a story like this on screen? “Yes. Absolutely. When I was a teenager, there was very little representation on screen of gay characters. Now to have Lost Boys & Fairies, shows like Heartstopper, the most heartwarming gorgeous story.
“It would have meant the world and I know that it means so much for young queer kids at the moment because their voices are being heard and they can relate to these characters and they don't feel quite so outside of the norm.”
- Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver launches on Netflix on Friday, April 19
