'I count my lucky stars': Cork's Alex Murphy on Young Offenders success ahead of film's re-release
Alex Murphy as Conor in The Young Offenders.
Cork actor Alex Murphy, best known for playing Conor in has opened up about how the show and the movie, which was released 10 years ago, have changed his life.
Both Murphy and his co-star Chris Walley, who plays Jock, are celebrating 10 years since the release of the movie of the same name with a re-release of the film on National Cinema Weekend.
Sitting down with the Murphy reflected on the past 10 years and spoke about how an opportunity at the age of 17 changed the course of his life.
When asked how life-changing being cast in has been, Murphy said: “I’ve never failed to look back on it, and just count my lucky stars that it came about at such a perfect time. If the film was being made a year earlier, I probably would have been too young to do it. If it was a year later, I would have been doing the Leaving Cert, and I wouldn't have been allowed to do it because The Young Offenders wasn't a thing, so it's not like we could have known.
“So it just came about at the perfect time with the perfect people and when we made it that summer of 2016, the idea that we'd still be making it 10 years later and people still would be enjoying it… we just would not have expected that in a million years. It’s the gift that keeps on giving, we call it.”
Speaking about how he has grown as an actor in those 10 years, Murphy said he finds joy in seeing his progression as Conor in by looking back on previous episodes of the show.
“At every age that you are, you think you know it all. I know when I watch a bit of season two, I'm like, he thought he knew it all, and then I watch season three and I’m like, he thought he knew it all. So it's just kind of seeing how I've grown over the years, and how that reflects in the character as well, and how I went about playing the role. Then you have the physical changes. We watched the film together – me, Chris, Peter [Foott] and Hilary [Rose] – for the 10-year anniversary in Galway, and to see my spotty 17-year-old face running around Cork was nice.”
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Touching on how his character Conor has changed over the years, Murphy said: “His aspirations have changed. Earlier on, he was just happy plodding along, and didn't have any real goals for the future other than maybe in the film… becoming a millionaire and buying a mansion in Cork City. I think over the course of it, as we all do when we reach our early to mid-20s, you're like, God, what is this all about? So in the later seasons, he wants to get his life kind of back on track. Maybe he wants to live more by the book and by the law, but then Jock comes back from Colombia and pushes him back onto the route of crime, because unfortunately that is where more of the comedy lies – in breaking the law rather than upholding the law.
“But the way his brain works hasn't changed a whole lot over the years. He's very unfiltered. He says the first thing that comes into his head, and his logic isn't always wrong. He just goes around all the houses before he gets to his point, which I can be guilty of myself.”
As for the support that the lads get from fans of both the movie and the show, Murphy said he found it a little overwhelming at first but that he now loves getting to meet fans, acknowledging that people like to say hello to the character they and their family might be watching.
“I think there was a period, maybe in my early 20s, when I was 20 and 21, I think it just made me a lot more anxious going out, people knowing me, but I think that was just maybe immaturity or not knowing how to deal with people recognising me or having eyes on me,” Murphy explained.
“There was a time when I found it a bit tricky, but I think as I've gotten older I can just appreciate that I'm in people's front rooms. And, of course, it's nice to say hello to the character that you and your family might be watching. I love it. I mean, if you don't have anything nice to say you can leave me alone,” he laughed.
Over the years, Murphy's methods for getting into character ahead of each new season have evolved. “When it all kicked off, when I was 17, we put in a lot of time. We had a lot of rehearsals and character development because we just didn't know who these lads were. Me and Chris would be hanging out together and staying in character, trying to figure out what we would be like.
“We'd be walking around the city as Conor and Jock, but no one would know who that was. Trying to figure out what they'd wear and how they'd walk and how they'd talk, and then I think when it came back for season one, we had to dip our toes in again and kind of go right, if we're doing this again, we better reevaluate.
“But then over the course of five seasons, you know, we shot season five last year, and there wasn't a whole lot of, let's meet up and discuss our characters. We know where we're at. The more time that goes on, the easier it is to slide back into it, put on the gormless face and tracksuit and get the haircut and you’re good to go.”
re-release will be shown at cinemas this weekend as part of National Cinema Weekend, an initiative offering cinema-goers the opportunity to enjoy a wide range of films at reduced prices which takes place this weekend.
Touching on the importance of cinema and the initiative running this weekend, Murphy said: “You've got this weekend where it [the cinema] is accessible to everybody, and because it is, it means the cinemas will be will be packed, and to go see a film with a packed cinema audience is just such a magical experience. I even like going to see old films or re-releases because that means you're sitting in a room with people who know they love this movie.
"So the energy is just so much fun, and like I've seen, I've seen Brendan Fraser's in cinema, and and you're you're you're sitting there with fans. I just think it's a really fun weekend, maybe to remind yourself of how fun the cinema is, because lots of people don't go very often anymore.”
Touching on the popular TV show on screens at the moment that has everyone talking, Murphy voiced his support for one contestant in particular.
Fionula Linehan, who is already making her mark on the show as one of the OG traitors, featured in movie and many episodes of the show.
Describing Linehan as “an old friend”, Murphy said he thinks she has what it takes to go far in the show.
“Fionula is an old friend at this stage. She was in the movie. She's been in multiple seasons of the show. I've done a play or two with Fionula. We did together in the Opera House a good few years ago now.
“And when I sat down to watch episode one, I couldn't believe it. She's perfect for it. I don't think I'd suspect her. She's good at putting on the act of ‘sure, I don't know what's going on’. Hopefully she goes far,” he said.
- Cinema audiences across Cork can enjoy the big-screen experience for less this weekend, as cinemas join the nationwide National Cinema Weekend celebration on Saturday, September 5 and Sunday, September 6. Participating cinemas will offer admission prices starting from just €4 throughout the weekend.
