Stephen O’Leary: 'As soon as you book a flight in this industry, that’s when you’ll get a call!'

From LA to Lisbon, Stephen O'Leary reflects on unforgettable travels.

Sat, 27 Dec, 2025 - 01:00

Jennifer McShane

Fair City actor and Cork native Stephen O’Leary is no stranger to fast-paced schedules and new horizons – whether it’s on set or on the road. With filming underway and panto season in full swing, he’s planning his most exciting trip yet: a long-awaited adventure to Australia. But before that, he reflects on unforgettable travels from LA to Lisbon, and why there’s no place quite like the west of Ireland. Catch Stephen on stage this Christmas in The Snow Queen at The Helix.

Favourite childhood holiday memory

I’m from a big family – seven kids growing up – so it was always a big thing to try and plan trips when I was younger. My first cousins also have a large family of kids – our two families used to get together, pile into cars, and take the ferry to the south of France. It was like a mobile home park, where we had maybe three or four mobile homes for all the families. I just remember the drives from home to Rosslare; it was such a simple time. It wasn’t every year – maybe once every three years – but I’m very lucky to have those memories of everyone together.

Most memorable trip

One of the first trips I took with my girlfriend, Lauren, was to the United States for a month. It was my first time in the States as an adult. We started in New York for ten days, then went to LA for ten days, and spent three nights in Vegas. We stayed with my uncle and aunt in San Francisco for another week. Just thinking back, being in the States for the first time as an adult – it was beyond my expectations. After New York, LA, and Vegas, we crawled to my uncle’s house saying, “Please feed us – we’ve spent all our money!”

Most surprising destination

We were in the Philippines just over a year ago, and never having been there before, it was a completely different world. We island-hopped, and I was amazed at how different and how beautiful it was, and how friendly the people were.

There was one island called Siargao that wasn’t as touristy as the others, and we found this gorgeous Airbnb, rented a moped, and it was very freeing to be that far away from home.

Favourite city

Probably Lisbon. It’s all about culture – why I love it so much. I love a food market or a vintage market, and Lisbon is full of them.The city is buzzing all the time. Every time I turned a corner there was amazing artwork on the walls outside, on the streets.

Favourite hotel

We took a drive along the Wild Atlantic Way a couple of years ago – spending a week driving up the entire west coast and finishing in Ballina, Mayo. The Ice House in Ballina was stunning. The rooms are amazing, the view is incredible – the wall is pure glass looking out over the river. I didn’t think we knew what we had at our doorstep. At the end I thought, that’s one of my favourite holidays ever, and we only drove for a few days. It was freeing too – realising you can just get in your car for an hour or two and have the best time ever.

Most memorable food experience

We were in LA, walking around looking for food, and came across this ramen restaurant on Melrose Avenue. There was a massive queue, and we weren’t even thinking about getting ramen, but we joined to see what everyone was queuing for. To this day, we still say it was the nicest Asian food, the nicest bowl of ramen and one of the nicest plates of food I’ve ever had.

"To this day, we still say it was the nicest Asian food, the nicest bowl of ramen and one of the nicest plates of food I’ve ever had"

Favourite thing to do while travelling

The thing we love most when we’re away is trying to immerse ourselves as much as possible – meeting locals, getting involved in the culture. When we visited Marrakech last year, we booked a private walking tour with a local guide who spent the entire day with us. We became friends with him; he brought us into shops, introduced us to people, told us about the history and the best food spots. We felt part of the culture. I just love that feeling of connection.

Bucket list trip

We’ve been talking about Australia for so long. We’ve tried to plan it a few times, but it’s hard to take time off. As soon as you book a flight, that’s when you’ll get a call! We’re planning to go in February when I finish the Helix Panto and Lauren the Gaiety Panto – she’s a dancer. Lauren would go for six months; I’ll do two or three and then come back for auditions. We’re talking about a camper van for a few weeks then settling in Sydney for a few more. As an actor, it’s good to take yourself away – to live,explore, and learn about yourself and new places.