How Aiden Gillen went from a schemer to a rogue
TOWARDS the end of my conversation with Aidan Gillen I mention that I am professionally obliged to pester the actor about Game of Thrones.
I had fretted about this moment. Gillen, after all, has a reputation for not suffering idiots. At our last meeting, during a day promoting RTÉ’s Charlie Haughey biopic (Gillen played the opinion-splitting politician) he had been conspicuously on edge, grumpy even.
But today the 47-year-old is all smiles and self-effacing shrugs. We’re sequestered in a Dublin private members club, surrounded by framed portraits of random grandees. A fancy Dyson fan burbles in the corner; every centimetre of furniture appears to be quilted in leather.
The serene ambience is in contrast to the Haughey shindig last December when the actor faced a scrum of random hacks, upon whom he gazed with a mix of terror and disdain.
So yes, he’s amenable to discussing Game of Thrones, in which he plays Machiavellian wheeler-dealer Petyr “Littlefinger” Baelish. Albeit without giving away any spoilers.
THRONES INSIGHTS
The part has made Gillen internationally famous and given him the freedom to pursue a career based in Ireland with his family (many of his key scenes are shot around Belfast). On the other hand, it has also condemned him to spend his days swatting off questions from Thrones devotees.
The situation has become especially fraught since the latest season concluded on a massive cliff- hanger with the apparent murder of heroic Jon Snow (ask a nerd). Does Gillen have any insights that might assuage anxious Throners?
“I don’t know what is happening,” he says, hands flat on the table. “The books have come to a point where there are no books. And I haven’t seen any of the scripts.”
Gillen films Thrones approximately five months of the year (he is shortly to return to Westeros for season six).
I mention an interview in which the Irish actor Michael McElhatton (who plays pantomime bad-guy, Roose Bolton) revealed that, upon receiving the latest script, speed-reads it to confirm his character survives all the way to the end (Game of Thrones is notorious for the shock deaths of high-profile protagonists).
“Ha, is that was McElhatton does,?” laughs Gillen. “See if he gets flayed alive or whatever? No — I don’t do that. I just wait and see.”
IT’S ALL ABOUT THE SCRIPT
The degree to which Game of Thrones has elevated Gillen is demonstrated by his new movie, You’re Ugly Too.
It was largely thanks to the actor’s involvement that this quirky Midlands-set comedy-drama got off the ground in the first place — and because of him that it received a high-profile screening at Berlin Film Festival.
“I’m not quite sure what my influence is but having a name attached to the script does get a certain amount of attention,” he says. “It’s boring but it happens.”
In the film Gillen plays a roguish Dubliner just out of jail and trying to reconnect with his niece (Lauren Kinsella), following the death of her mother. It’s a demanding part, requiring a careful balance of playfulness and menace. Gillen’s character is a lark — but messed up too (he playfully steals an ice-cream for his niece but is soon helping himself to her prescription medicines) .
“I like to portray warm characters — I haven’t been doing that recently,” he says. “I wanted to play opposite a kid — to have a fragile, awkward relationship with one. In a way, it’s an obvious thing for me to do. My kids are teenagers now [he has a son and a daughter]. I’ve seen all that stuff — I can relate to kids in a way I couldn’t 15 years ago. Talking to kids — if you’re not familiar with it, you can over do it as an actor.”
“Aidan’s mother wanted to see him in a couple of lighter roles,” explains Mark Noonan, director of You’re Ugly Too. “I’m friends with Aidan’s brother and I remember his mother mentioning that he was really good at comedy. I wrote the [movie] with Aidan in mind. I emailed him the script and within two hours he had got back, saying he would do it.”
“I get sent plenty of stuff,” says Gillen. “Often I just don’t think it’s a good fit for me. I’m not always the right person to play the character. Some people try to tempt you by mentioning a bunch of names [attached to the project] – and they often end up not doing it. I’m never attracted to another actor’s names. It’s always about the script.”
“So many movies are made nowadays — it’s hard to get any attention,” says Noonan, explaining why Gillen’s involvement was vital. “This isn’t computer generated, it isn’t a franchise. Even classifying it is tricky — is it a comedy? Is it a drama?”
Gillen grew up in Drumcondra. He was born Aidan Murphy but took his mother’s maiden name because another Aidan Murphy was already registered with the Actor’s Guild.
QUEER AS FOLK
Having acted with Dublin Youth Theatre, he had his big break in the taboo-shattering Channel 4 drama Queer As Folk.
From there he went to America, where he played a corrupt politician in HBO’s The Wire. His turn drew a great deal of acclaim and he was cast in another series by the same network, a sword-and-sorcery curio entitled Game of Thrones.
He has also side-lined in domestic drama, portraying criminal John Boy Power in Love/Hate and, as mentioned above, Charles Haughey in Charlie — generally regarded as a sober and nuanced take on a complex figure.
Though his greatest successes have been on television Gillen hopes audiences will watch You’re Ugly Too on the big screen rather than wait for it on DVD or a streaming service.
“If people feel they want to support Irish film or the film industry, it’s important they go and see this in the first few days,” he says. “The degree to which a movie is backed [by cinema chains and distributors] depends on how early people go to see something. If they hold back it can get lost in the deluge. So for those who do want to see this, I would advise them to go as early as possible.”
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