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Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘The Penguin' dominates the 2025 Critics Choice Super Awards heading into the Emmys
The Penguin waddled to the front of the pack at the 5th Critics Choice Super Awards. On Thursday, the Critics Choice Association (CCA) revealed the winners of the awards show that celebrates fan-favorite movies and TV shows in superhero, sci-fi/fantasy, horror, and action genres. More from Gold Derby Peter Bergman leads Daytime Emmy predictions for Best Drama Actor, but Dominic Zamprogna is gaining momentum 'The Bear' star Jon Bernthal on the 'real gift' of doing 'maniacal, insane work' HBO's The Penguin was the biggest winner, dominating all four categories for which it was nominated: Best Superhero Program, Colin Farrell for both Best Actor and Best Villain, and Cristin Milioti for Best Actress. This news comes about a month before the 2025 Emmys, where The Penguin is nominated for a whopping 24 awards. Four movies tied for the most wins at two apiece: Deadpool & Wolverine, Dune: Part Two, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, and Sinners. Additional movie stars that eked out victories include June Squibb (Thelma), Florence Pugh (Thunderbolts), Demi Moore (The Substance), and Hugh Grant (Heretic). Emmy favorite Shōgun also impressed on Thursday, winning three prizes for Best Action Program, Hiroyuki Sanada for Best Actor, and Anna Sawai for Best Actress. The eligibility period for scripted features and TV series is from Jan. 1, 2024, to July 31, 2025. Content may be delivered to audiences theatrically and/or by broadcast, cable, or online apps and services. Here is the complete list of winners for the 2025 Critics Choice Super Awards: FILM BEST ACTION MOVIECivil WarThe Fall GuyX — WINNER: Monkey ManRebel RidgeWarfare BEST ACTOR IN AN ACTION MOVIEX — WINNER: Tom Cruise — Taron Egerton — Carry-OnRyan Gosling — The Fall GuyDev Patel — Monkey ManAaron Pierre — Rebel RidgeJack Quaid — Novocaine BEST ACTRESS IN AN ACTION MOVIEEmily Blunt — The Fall GuyAna de Armas — From the World of John Wick: BallerinaKirsten Dunst — Civil WarCailee Spaeny — Civil WarX — WINNER: June Squibb — Anya Taylor-Joy — Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga BEST SUPERHERO MOVIECaptain America: Brave New WorldX — WINNER: The People's JokerRobot DreamsThunderboltsVenom: The Last Dance BEST ACTOR IN A SUPERHERO MOVIEDavid Harbour — ThunderboltsTom Hardy — Venom: The Last DanceX — WINNER: Hugh Jackman — Anthony Mackie — Captain America: Brave New WorldLewis Pullman — ThunderboltsRyan Reynolds — Deadpool & Wolverine BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPERHERO MOVIEEmma Corrin — Deadpool & WolverineVera Drew — The People's JokerLady Gaga — Joker: Folie à DeuxJennifer Garner — Deadpool & WolverineJulia Louis-Dreyfus — ThunderboltsX — WINNER: Florence Pugh — BEST HORROR MOVIEBring Her BackHereticLonglegsNosferatuX — WINNER: The Substance BEST ACTOR IN A HORROR MOVIENicolas Cage — LonglegsDavid Dastmalchian — Late Night With the DevilHugh Grant — HereticX — WINNER: Michael B. Jordan — Bill Skarsgård — NosferatuJustice Smith — I Saw the TV Glow BEST ACTRESS IN A HORROR MOVIELily-Rose Depp — NosferatuWilla Fitzgerald — Strange DarlingSally Hawkins — Bring Her BackX — WINNER: Demi Moore — Wunmi Mosaku — SinnersNaomi Scott — Smile 2 BEST SCIENCE FICTION/FANTASY MOVIEAlien: RomulusCompanionX — WINNER: Kingdom of the Planet of the ApesMickey 17The Wild Robot BEST ACTOR IN A SCIENCE FICTION/FANTASY MOVIEAustin Butler — Dune: Part TwoX — WINNER: Timothée Chalamet — David Jonsson — Alien: RomulusRobert Pattinson — Mickey 17Jack Quaid — CompanionMiles Teller — The Gorge BEST ACTRESS IN A SCIENCE FICTION/FANTASY MOVIENaomi Ackie — Mickey 17Lupita Nyong'o — The Wild RobotCailee Spaeny — Alien: RomulusX — WINNER: Sophie Thatcher — Alicia Vikander — The AssessmentZendaya — Dune: Part Two BEST VILLAIN IN A MOVIEAustin Butler — Dune: Part TwoEmma Corrin — Deadpool & WolverineX — WINNER: Hugh Grant — Jack O'Connell — SinnersLewis Pullman — ThunderboltsDenzel Washington — Gladiator II TELEVISION BEST ACTION SERIES, LIMITED SERIES OR MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE9-1-1Black DovesThe Day of the JackalThe GentlemenReacherX — WINNER: BEST ACTOR IN AN ACTION SERIES, LIMITED SERIES OR MADE-FOR-TV MOVIESterling K. Brown — ParadiseTheo James — The GentlemenEddie Redmayne — The Day of the JackalAlan Ritchson — ReacherX — WINNER: Hiroyuki Sanada — Ben Whishaw — Black Doves BEST ACTRESS IN AN ACTION SERIES, LIMITED SERIES OR MADE-FOR-TV MOVIEAngela Bassett — 9-1-1Viola Davis — G20Keira Knightley — Black DovesLashana Lynch — The Day of the JackalZoe Saldaña — LionessX — WINNER: Anna Sawai — BEST SUPERHERO SERIES, LIMITED SERIES OR MADE-FOR-TV MOVIEAgatha All AlongThe BoysFalloutThe Last of UsX — WINNER: Superman & Lois BEST ACTOR IN A SUPERHERO SERIES, LIMITED SERIES OR MADE-FOR-TV MOVIECharlie Cox — Daredevil: Born AgainX — WINNER: Colin Farrell — Walton Goggins — FalloutTyler Hoechlin — Superman & LoisPedro Pascal — The Last of UsAntony Starr — The Boys BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPERHERO SERIES, LIMITED SERIES OR MADE-FOR-TV MOVIEDanai Gurira — The Walking Dead: The Ones Who LiveKathryn Hahn — Agatha All AlongX — WINNER: Cristin Milioti — Erin Moriarty — The BoysElla Purnell — FalloutBella Ramsey — The Last of Us BEST HORROR SERIES, LIMITED SERIES OR MADE-FOR-TV MOVIEAnne Rice's Interview With the VampireEvilFromX — WINNER: True Detective: Night CountryWhat We Do in the Shadows BEST ACTOR IN A HORROR SERIES, LIMITED SERIES OR MADE-FOR-TV MOVIEKevin Bacon — The BondsmanMatt Berry — What We Do in the ShadowsMike Colter — EvilMichael Emerson — EvilX — WINNER: Pedro Pascal — Harold Perrineau — From BEST ACTRESS IN A HORROR SERIES, LIMITED SERIES OR MADE-FOR-TV MOVIENatasia Demetriou — What We Do in the ShadowsX — WINNER: Jodie Foster — Katja Herbers — EvilMelanie Lynskey — YellowjacketsNiecy Nash-Betts — GrotesquerieBella Ramsey — The Last of Us BEST SCIENCE FICTION / FANTASY SERIES, LIMITED SERIES OR MADE-FOR-TV MOVIEX — WINNER: Black MirrorDoctor WhoDune: ProphecyFantasmasSeverance BEST ACTOR IN A SCIENCE FICTION / FANTASY SERIES, LIMITED SERIES OR MADE-FOR-TV MOVIENcuti Gatwa — Doctor WhoWalton Goggins — FalloutX — WINNER: Diego Luna — Adam Scott — SeveranceTramell Tillman — SeveranceJulio Torres — Fantasmas BEST ACTRESS IN A SCIENCE FICTION / FANTASY SERIES, LIMITED SERIES OR MADE-FOR-TV MOVIEAdria Arjona — AndorCaitriona Balfe — OutlanderKathryn Hahn — Agatha All AlongX — WINNER: Britt Lower — Cristin Milioti — Black Mirror: USS Callister: Into InfinityMichelle Yeoh — Star Trek: Section 31 BEST VILLAIN IN A SERIES, LIMITED SERIES OR MADE-FOR-TV MOVIEVincent D'Onofrio — Daredevil: Born AgainMichael Emerson — EvilX — WINNER: Colin Farrell — Takehiro Hira — ShōgunJulianne Nicholson — ParadiseJesse Plemons — Blac Best of Gold Derby 'Australian Survivor vs. The World' premiere date and cast photos: 'King' George Mladenov, Cirie Fields, Parvati Shallow … 'Five new life forms from distant planets': Everything to know about 'Alien: Earth' as new trailer drops Everything to know about 'The Pitt' Season 2, including the departure of Tracy Ifeachor's Dr. Collins Click here to read the full article. 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Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Robert Pattinson's The Batman II to begin filming in 2026: Release date, plot and more
Robert Pattinson is all set to return as Bruce Wayne in The Batman II, scheduled to hit the theatres on October 1, 2027. A letter that was received by Warner Bros. Discovery's shareholders officially confirmed that Matt Reeves' The Batman II will begin filming this spring. Shooting of The Batman Part 2 will begin this spring(X/@Batman) Since the release and commercial success of The Batman in 2022, DC fans have been waiting for the second installment of the Matt Reeves-directed movie. 'The Batman II (2027) is preparing to begin shooting next spring among several other projects in development,' the shareholder note received by Deadline read. The Batman II production According to the Production List, The Batman II has already entered pre-production, with principal photography scheduled to begin on January 1, 2026, at Warner Bros. Studios in London. While Robert Pattinson, 39, will reprise his role as the Dark Knight of Gotham, director Reeves has confirmed that Colin Farrell, 49, will return as the villain Penguin in the upcoming movie. Barry Keoghan, 32, will also reprise his role as the iconic Joker in The Batman Part 2. Also read: After long wait Matt Reeves confirms finishing script for The Batman 2 starring Robert Pattinson In The Batman, the Riddler's bombs destroy the seawall and devastatingly flood Gotham. As Production List reports, The Batman Part 2 will chiefly focus on Gotham's recovery from the flood in the first installment. And while we are at it, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav confirmed that James Gunn is already 'preparing to write the next installment in the Super family'. Gunn's Superman, which was released in July, has already earned $560M worldwide. The Batman Part II plot and cast The second part of the Batman franchise could follow the aftermath of the floods unleashed by the Riddler. The plot could also follow up from the TV series The Penguin, which explored the origins of Oswald Cobblepot and how he became one of Gotham's biggest criminals. As of now, Robert Pattinson is set to return as the Caped Crusader. Colin Farrell will reprise his role as The Penguin, Deadline reported. There is no confirmation on whether Cristin Milioti, who played the role of Sofia Falcone, Catwoman's half-sister, will return. At the end of The Penguin, she was back in Arkham Asylum due to The Penguin's plot. There is no confirmation on whether Zoe Kravitz, who played Catwoman, and Barry Keoghan, who made a brief appearance as The Joker, will reprise their roles, Empire reported. As of now, there are no details about which villains could feature in the new Batman movie. FAQs: Is there going to be a Batman Part 2? Yes, The Batman Part 2 is scheduled to hit the theaters on October 1, 2027. According to Deadline, the filming of the movie will begin this spring. Who will be the villain in Batman Part 2? As of now, Colin Farrell and Barry Keoghan will play the antagonists against Robert Pattinson's Batman. Will Ferrell will return as Penguin, and Keoghan will reprise his role as the notorious Joker. Why is Batman Part 2 taking so long? Warner Bros. Pictures and DC Films are currently occupied with several projects, including Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow (2026), Clayface (2026) and the next Wonder Woman. As a result, it is taking them some time to get The Batman Part 2 done and out. Who will play the Joker in Batman 2? Barry Keoghan will return as the Joker in The Batman Part 2.
Los Angeles Times
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Digital cover story: ‘The Penguin'
Hey, folks! I'm Matt Brennan, (relatively) newly minted editor in chief of The Envelope, and this is my first letter from the editor. Don't worry — you'll still receive the entertainment digest you've come to expect most other Wednesdays of the year. But I hope this special edition newsletter, accompanying each new issue, will become your guide to highlights from the Los Angeles Times' awards magazine — our must-read profiles, trend stories, episode breakdowns and more, plus the occasional cockamamie scheme I've been cooking up. Here are a few snapshots from our Aug. 7 issue: High and low. That's the combination that led HBO's limited series 'The Penguin' — a richly observed mob drama drawn from the pop! whiz! bang! pages of DC Comics — to 24 Emmy nominations last month. So it was fitting to see stars Colin Farrell and Cristin Milioti mirror the same dynamic on set at the Los Angeles Times for The Envelope's inaugural digital cover shoot. The former, nominated for disappearing into his role as rising Gotham power broker Oz Cobb, walked onto set barefoot, in a T-shirt and thrifted slacks; the latter, nominated for her acclaimed turn as wild-eyed heiress Sofia Falcone, wore a floor-length black dress with a striking electric blue stripe. (And heels.) As in Lauren LeFranc's 'Batman' spin-off, their contrasting sartorial approaches fit together like a glove. To LeFranc's 'unusual perspective, burrowing deeply into new histories of twisted, impassioned characters,' Michael Ordoña writes in his digital cover story on the limited series, Farrell, Milioti and co-star Deirdre O'Connell 'enthusiastically bought in.' There have been guides aplenty to the oeuvre of one of our greatest living filmmakers — but as Tim Grierson writes in his new field guide to Scorsese's screen appearances, he's an indelible onscreen presence in his work and others'. Taking the director's Emmy-nominated guest role on 'The Studio' as his jumping-off point, Grierson takes us on a tour of some of his most memorable roles, from 'Taxi Driver' to American Express and much more in between. No word yet on whether we'll be able to add a cameo in 'Kool-Aid' to the list in time for 'The Studio' Season 2. If you've ever had a car commercial interrupt a rom-com meet-cute or a tearful dramatic monologue, you'll be nodding your head to Times culture critic Mary McNamara's column on the many indignities of ad-supported streaming. Poorly placed, low-quality, repetitive ads are more the scourge of streaming than they ever were of broadcast prime-time, she writes, and if this is the business model of the next generation, a fix is urgently needed. Hollywood executives reading this, we're begging you!
Irish Times
02-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Brendan Gleeson: ‘I can't go into a pub any more. I really miss it'
'It was an odd experience,' Brendan Gleeson says with a smile. Seated in a rehearsal space in a leafy part of Dublin, the Irish actor is reflecting on the episode he hosted in 2022 of Saturday Night Live, the US television sketch show that likes to have stars deliver questionable comedy skits to a studio audience. 'I didn't have experience of it, and I first said, 'No, absolutely not.' Then Colin Farrell said, 'You should do it,' and I know him well enough to trust him – that he's not a surfacy person, that there was something that was worth doing,' Gleeson says. 'The whole process was fascinating. They don't really want an act, and yet you're not yourself. They only make up jokes that week. You get things that half-work. It's very gruelling. And you don't know who the audience are. I didn't really want to watch it back.' It's a measure of Gleeson's popularity that, although his hosting of the show with Farrell attracted a few nitpicky reviews, for many it felt akin to watching a beloved groom give a wedding speech after a long engagement. We were on his side, willing to live through the cringy bits in the service of seeing the show acknowledge a simple truth: Gleeson is a star. READ MORE With roles in The Guard, Paddington 2, The Tragedy of Macbeth, In Bruges, Joker: Folie à Deux, Calvary and The Banshees of Inisherin , Gleeson is one of Ireland's most prominent and charismatic actors. At 70, the Malahide resident – father of his fellow performers Domhnall and Brian Gleeson – is in the remarkable position of being busier than ever. Or, as he puts it, 'I haven't time to wash my face.' We're meeting today because Gleeson is returning to the stage after a decade's absence, specifically to the 3Olympia Theatre in Dublin, followed by the Harold Pinter Theatre in London, where he will make his West End debut as Jack in The Weir, which is being directed by its writer, Conor McPherson . A tale of friends meeting for a drink in Co Leitrim when a stranger among them reveals an emotionally engulfing personal story, the play features little surface action yet delivers a remarkable punch. The Weir: Brendan Gleeson with fellow cast members Seán McGinley, Owen McDonnell, Tom Vaughan-Lawlor and Kate Phillips. Photograph: Rich Gilligan As I slip into the rehearsal space at Wesley House in Ranelagh, Gleeson and the rest of the cast are into their second week of line reads and stage preparations. They're not sweating it yet. Or not quite yet. Playing the part of the oleaginous estate agent Finbar, Tom Vaughan-Lawlor has thrown away his playbook to summon up the words from memory. So has Seán McGinley , in the role of bachelor Jim. Both have monologues to give. There are rueful chuckles as occasionally a prompt is needed or a line flubbed. Gleeson is sitting between them, on a bar stool, his white shirt and suit jacket on, hair slicked back, a spider web of lines tracing his forehead, inhabiting his role with earthy precision. Across the room, McPherson, inscrutable in a cap and glasses, is a quiet, watchful presence for all the actors, who also include Kate Phillips and Owen McDonnell. 'I'm trying to allow them to be as close to themselves as they can be,' McPherson says later. 'Brendan has a huge presence. He's very powerful, very funny, but he can give you lots of depth. It's a pleasure. It's like if you get into a very expensive car: you don't have to do very much; it's just, 'We're going.'' 'I'm bad for the planet?' the actor huffs amicably when I quote the expensive-car line back to him. But he's smiling. 'Ah, that's nice.' He enjoys collaborating with directors and has a healthy respect in particular for the Irish theatre-makers he has worked with over the years. 'In America, in a lot of TV, tailoring the dialogue is almost taken for granted. A lot of actors would take control of what they're doing themselves. But with somebody like Conor McPherson or Martin McDonagh , the rhythm of the language is so important; everything is so precise. You'd be an idiot to try and mess with it.' Gleeson loves The Weir, which was written nearly three decades ago, and is set entirely in the bar where the group meet, for how it portrays us as Irish people. The stories that are told are pithy and revealing, a simulacrum of life in Ireland in the 1990s. 'Lads would come down to the pub, and the level of conversation that used to go on in those places: underestimate these people at your peril,' Gleeson says. 'There was an incredible beauty in the way people informed themselves. In England you'd go into a pub and you didn't strike up a conversation the way you would over there. In Ireland there was too much drinking; it was no harm for that to shift. But the pub was a centre whereby people touched base. It was like the postman coming, the small community, the ties that bind.' There may be a certain irony for Gleeson in that the play is all about the quiet pint, something the actor no longer feels able to enjoy. He sighs when the subject comes up. 'I can't go into a place any more in terms of pubs, because it turns into selfie country. I really miss [it], particularly going into music sessions. You mightn't believe me, but people will do amazingly dumb things about interrupting you. I draw the line at funerals.' I wonder if it's his roles in global film franchises – in the Harry Potter series he plays Mad-Eye Moody; in the world of Paddington he appears as the winningly abrasive chef Knuckles McGinty – that have made the difference in the past decade. Not so, Gleeson says. It's the mobile phones and the likelihood of people texting their friends to let them know if Gleeson might be sitting in on a session. 'The mobile phones mean you can do nothing. I'm not an elite musician. I was always running after the bus that way. But before you'd hear of a few quiet tunes somewhere, and you could go and you'd get a couple of hours spare [playing]. Now somebody has texted, and it's rammed within half an hour.' Does he feel isolated? 'I would, certainly. It does make the world smaller. Being able to drop into a place and just do the crossword and talk to somebody, you can't do it any more.' A memory surfaces: the opening night of Enda Walsh 's Ballyturk at Galway International Arts Festival in 2015. Following the play, which starred Cillian Murphy, the Gleeson family went with other theatregoers to an after-show gathering at a nearby hotel, where they clustered fireside in the lobby. You could feel the implicit plea from them in the ether: to be allowed to enjoy a night out without being bothered. I did leave them alone, but I will admit it was hard work pretending to ignore them. Gleeson nods when I mention seeing them. 'It's only the last couple of years I've realised it's uncomfortable for everyone. It alters the equilibrium. So you just say, 'Okay, I've got this far. I'm 70 now, so I should really not be going into those places anyway.'' Gleeson has the complicating virtue of having come to acting relatively late. Formerly a teacher at Belcamp College in Balgriffin, in north Dublin, Gleeson was 34 when he was cast as Michael Collins in the RTÉ drama The Civil War. His ascent was far from assured in the early days: casting agents wanted him for character roles, but whether playing the Dublin criminal Martin Cahill in John Boorman's The General, Mel Gibson's sidekick in Braveheart or the lead in McDonagh's Oscar-winning Six Shooter, Gleeson had an ease in front of the camera that meant directors wanted to work with him. Ask the average Irish person about a Gleeson film and they might mention Hollywood big-budget affairs such as Joker: Folie à Deux or the Sundance TV series State of the Union , for which Gleeson received an Emmy nomination. But they're just as likely to wax lyrical about home-grown films such as The Guard, directed by John Michael McDonagh, or The Banshees of Inisherin, directed by Martin McDonagh, in which Gleeson riffed beautifully off Farrell as his forlorn former friend. The Banshees of Inisherin: Brendan Gleeson with Colin Farrell in Martin McDonagh's film. Photograph: Jonathan Hession/Searchlight Then there are the children's films, such as the glorious Paddington 2 , that Gleeson cherishes making. 'I grew to like movies as against films,' Gleeson says. 'Especially kids' films. Why would you underestimate children? Their little worlds, their beliefs, when you see kids watching something, their big eyes out on saucers, they're living this. It's important, so you do it properly if you can.' [ Brendan Gleeson the American is not nearly as agreeable Brendan Gleeson the Irishman Opens in new window ] When The Weir transfers to London, Gleeson will spend time with the junior members of the Gleeson tribe. 'It'll be exciting in terms of the lads are over there,' he says. 'I'll get to see my grandkids.' He doesn't talk much about his wife or four children, but it's obvious they're a tight-knit crew. That last stage performance 10 years ago was with his sons Brian and Domhnall in The Walworth Farce , another of Enda Walsh's plays. 'I find myself asking more and more questions of them and to give me an insight into things I'm blind to or things I don't quite understand,' he says about their acting skills. He sounds proud of them. 'I am.' The Walworth Farce: Brendan Gleeson with his sons Domhnall and Brian in Enda Walsh's play. Photograph: Photograph: Patrick Redmond Gleeson could big up his sons or name-drop all day if he wanted, but it's obvious he chooses his words in interviews with care. 'I'm moaning a lot,' he says at one stage before course-correcting. It makes it all the more endearing to hear the warm delight in his voice when he occasionally allows in some discussion of his career high points, such as his Academy Award nomination, for best supporting actor, for The Banshees of Inisherin in 2023. 'I was thrilled to get an Oscar nomination,' he says. 'When I walked in and saw the people that were there in one room. I mean, you've Spielberg over there, all these film-makers.' Gleeson worked with Steven Spielberg on the 2001 film AI Artificial Intelligence , a dystopian tale of robotic intelligence that has more resonance in today's bot-driven world than ever. The actor has recently been dealing with a deepfake version of himself that has been circulating on the internet, touting a cream that 'totally eliminates pain'. 'Two people sent it to me. I'm not on any of that stuff,' he says about social media. 'So I was blissfully unaware, and thought it was a joke. But then I realised, 'Jesus, are they asking people to actually press a link?' So I just wanted to say that I don't endorse anything other than support for the hospice.' [ Despair among young people 'really, really scary', Brendan Gleeson says at hospice fundraiser Opens in new window ] Gleeson is a long-time campaigner for improved resources at St Francis Hospice in Raheny, in north Dublin, where both his parents spent their final stages of life; his galvanising social conscience is an important part of his character. It has caused more than one person to question if there's a role for him in politics. Or, say, in the Áras when the presidential role comes free? [ 'I would be dead now if it hadn't been for the hospice' Opens in new window ] 'I'm quite opinionated,' Gleeson counters. 'I just think I'm not a good politician. I can't get to the place. I love Michael D Higgins for what he's done, what he's doing, his reckless energy and his positivity. Everything about what he does fills me with inspiration. I'm not good at that. I do get upset about things that are patently wrong, but I'm not the fixer of those issues. I just hope we can allow people to have a place to live. I think profit-making on homes is immoral.' If politics is partly about the exchange of ideas, art can spark similarly big conversations. The Weir comes to Dublin at the same time that The Pillowman , by his friend and collaborator McDonagh, runs across town at the Gate Theatre. It's a controversial play that tackles themes of violence against children. When I tell Gleeson that I found McDonagh's play tough to watch, his gaze sharpens. [ The Pillowman review: Anthracite-black comedy. The most appalling crimes Opens in new window ] 'I heard there were people getting upset in the audience,' Gleeson says. 'Some people in particular places in their lives may not be able to handle it. Part of art is to face the brutality of the truth. That's why we keep Auschwitz. The idea of sheltering everybody from horrible consequences, it's like, if you've never been to an abattoir, that's where you go. 'Early on with Martin, I challenged him on something. I said, 'Are you just pushing the envelope for its own sake?' I said you've got to really know what you're doing. And he said, 'Everything I write is about love.' I realised with his work you don't hate anyone; you find the humanity. 'I did the same with John Boorman with The General. You go into a place where you're saying, 'This is inhuman.' No, this is human. This is humanity, I'm afraid.' Gleeson puts himself through the wringer as an actor. In addition to his work on the forthcoming film adaptation by Emma Donoghue of H Is for Hawk and the TV series Spider-Noir, Gleeson has recently returned from Atlanta, where he was filming The Good Daughter, by the crime author Karin Slaughter. 'It was emotionally demanding and traumatising,' he says. 'I was wasted when I got back, in a head-space sense.' The Weir will represent a palate-cleanser. It's a play that contains quiet truths; that suggests more than it shows. 'At the time of life I'm at, and in the zeitgeist where there's so much apocalyptic desperation, this is a beautiful piece of work,' Gleeson says. 'It's very profound.' The play is likely to be the hottest ticket in town. Anne Clarke of Landmark Productions , its coproducer, is worried about one thing only: how to distribute the guest-list tickets on opening night. 'It's like Irish theatre royalty,' she says, laughing. 'Everybody wants to come. We're having these big meetings about how we can manage it.' [ Landmark's Anne Clarke: 'Every producer, if they're honest, is a control freak' Opens in new window ] As for Gleeson, he's fretting about his lines. Well, that and the prospect of getting a break at some point. He smiles when he hears a Leonard Cohen lyric: 'I ache in the places where I used to play.' Seventy is treating him reasonably well, he says. But the body is creaky sometimes. 'I'm wiping the slate clean. I have to take a break. This year and last year was too much. I'll take time to smell the coffee, because you can run around and not see what you're looking at.' Gleeson knows he's in the right place spiritually, in part because of the distance he has travelled in his life. 'I think I was okay as a teacher,' he says. 'When I found acting, I just knew. When I was writing down in my passport under occupation, and I wrote down 'actor', I felt: I'm home.' The Weir opens at 3Olympia Theatre, Dublin, on Wednesday, August 13th, with previews from Friday, August 8th. It runs until September 6th, then transfers to the Harold Pinter Theatre, in London, where it runs from September 12th until December 6th
Times
01-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
Meet Eimear O'Grady: Stuntwoman to the stars
T here's a scene towards the end of The Banshees of Inisherin in which Colin Farrell as Pádraic Súilleabháin walks up to a cliff edge to wave goodbye to his sister. Farrell was hundreds of feet above the sea and inches from doom on the island of Inishmore. 'Colin's toes were over the edge,' Eimear O'Grady says. 'What happens if anything goes wrong? We had him rigged up with safety lines and he was fine.' As one of Ireland's foremost stunt co-ordinators (and formerly stuntwomen) O'Grady creates thrilling moments that propel film storylines. As well as Farrell, she has been responsible for the safety of Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler in Murder Mystery, Mel Gibson and Sean Penn in The Professor and the Madman, Christina Hendricks in Small Town, Big Story and Dakota Fanning in The Watchers.
