Domhnall Gleeson talks “Frank” and “Star Wars” – plus music video!
Domhnall Gleeson has been busy recently promoting his new film, Frank, and filming his role in the new J.J. Abrams Star Wars. In this new interview with Vulture, he talks about his roles in these films, performing live, and more.
With his co-stars from Frank, Domhnall appeared on The Colbert Report in the guise of their fake band from the film. Here’s what Domhnall had to say about the appearance:
It was a big deal, you know! We all had such a great time. I heard it afterwards, and I think it could have sounded a little dirtier, but I think it was a pretty decent performance, which is nice. The rush I got from performing onstage was tempered slightly by the fact that my keyboard skills were purely developed for this movie. I’ve got severe boundaries on that! We made the film a year and a half ago, and I hadn’t played keyboard since then, so it was hilarious to go back into rehearsals, not having touched a keyboard for that long.
You can watch a video of the performance below:
Domhnall also talks about making the film and discusses some of the more absurd moments:
There’s a quick clip in a montage of Frank chasing me with a shovel, and they just needed a shot of Michael running in a field. I was there watching him because I enjoy watching Michael work, and he ran into a boat. They kept rolling because it was too good not to film, and then he gestured at me to run into the frame… and as I got close to him, he pulled this shovel out of the rowboat and tried to hit me with it. [laughs] That’s when I started running away! He was wearing this big head and couldn’t see very well, and he’s sprinting after me with a shovel, and then he jumped on my back, and I gave him a piggyback ride. It was absolutely crazy. At the end of that day, I thought, ‘What just happened?’ If somebody had asked me, ‘What did you do last Tuesday?’ I would have had to say, ‘I got chased around in a field by Michael Fassbender, and I thought he was going to kill me.’
On success, the actor comments,
If someone complains about having success, you might think, ‘What the hell are you talking about?’ You’d want to laugh. But the reality of it is that when I was younger, and we’d go out, you’d get somebody who’s drunk who’d come up and wouldn’t leave [my dad] alone, or who’d try to take photos of us when we’re out as a family. I did find it stressful sometimes, and I found it annoying that he couldn’t go certain places because of what people would do. But the reason he’s well known is because he does very high-quality work, and people like what he does, so it may be a futile thing to have a problem with.
Further he says on the idea of being recognized himself in the street:
Something like Star Wars… you think about how it will affect your life, and then you realize you’re overthinking it. I was in Harry Potter, and nobody on the street recognizes me from that. Nobody on the street has ever stopped me from Harry Potter!
He also talks about the way he perceives himself:
When I was younger, my father told me not to pigeonhole the way that I perceive myself. I’m not always that confident in the way I look — that was a much bigger thing when I was younger — but my dad said, ‘Don’t decide you can’t be in a romantic comedy,’ for example. ‘There are other people in the world who will decide that for you, so don’t decide it for yourself ahead of time.’
On keeping Star Wars secrets he says,
My brother gave me some really good advice about it. He said, ‘Don’t tell anybody because if you tell one person, it won’t feel as bad to tell a second person. If you tell no one, everything will be okay.’ So I’ve told no one, and it’s working out fine. I do feel a wave come over me when I hear those two words, ‘Star’ and ‘Wars,’ said together. I feel tense, shut up, and stare into the middle distance.
Check out the full interview here!
Have you seen Frank, yet? Are you looking forward to Star Wars?
