Gillen’s Haughey neither a hero nor villain

Actor Aidan Gillen has said he tried not to pass judgement on Charles Haughey when playing the controversial taoiseach in RTÉ’s upcoming mini-series, Charlie.

The three-part series chronicles Haughey’s divisive political career, from his rise to power in the late 1970s to his ousting in 1992. Gillen said he did not approach Haughey as either hero or villain, but as a larger than life individual with an extraordinary story to tell.

“I was conscious of not being judgmental. Haughey has been judged over and over, particularly in the last decade. It was not my intention to do anything underhand. I’m an actor playing a role. I would be sensitive to playing a character who is a real person.”