It s a peculiar set-up to be sure. And yet it is, in many ways, one that perfectly captures the physical, somewhat slapstick nature of the duo s latest black comedy, Frank Of Ireland, which will air on Channel 4. Written by Peaky Blinders actor Brian Gleeson and his brother, Ex Machina and About Time star Domhnall Gleeson, alongside Your Bad Self creator Michael Moloney, Frank Of Ireland is a curious blend of physical comedy underpinned by delightfully dark humour. It is a physical, slapstick and . we were talking references earlier - if you grew up watching Jim Carrey in Dumb And Dumber, I think that element of it is important to us and is definitely there, says Brian, 33.
Domhnall: Yes! Brian?..
Brian: Can I?! Probably not!
Frank Of Ireland is a physical, slapstick comedy about an arrogant fantasist called Frank Maron who s in his thirties at home with his mother. He has a best friend called Doofus, who is too good for him, an ex-girlfriend he hasn t moved on from, and a mother who wants him to move out. That s what he s contending with over the six episodes..
How did the project come about?
Domhnall: Brian and I had worked together on a few things before, and wanted to do something new. Brian suggested we write something funny together to act in, which was a little bit scary. I d written sketches with Michael Moloney over the years, who s a great writer, and the two of us had been looking to do something in longer form. So we all got together.
It s a peculiar set-up to be sure. And yet it is, in many ways, one that perfectly captures the physical, somewhat slapstick nature of the duo s latest black comedy, Frank Of Ireland, which will air on Channel 4. Written by Peaky Blinders actor Brian Gleeson and his brother, Ex Machina and About Time star Domhnall Gleeson, alongside Your Bad Self creator Michael Moloney, Frank Of Ireland is a curious blend of physical comedy underpinned by delightfully dark humour. It is a physical, slapstick and . we were talking references earlier - if you grew up watching Jim Carrey in Dumb And Dumber, I think that element of it is important to us and is definitely there, says Brian, 33.
By Danielle de Wolfe
(L-R) Domhnall Gleeson as Doofus, Brian Gleeson as Frank, Liz Fitzgibbon as Nicola Picture: PA Photo/Channel 4
Written by and starring the Gleeson brothers, dark new comedy Frank Of Ireland is every inch the comedic delight, as Danielle de Wolfe discovers. Standing at a church altar, the Gleeson brothers find themselves in character, contorted into a peculiar kind of stranglehold which also involves fingers in mouths, two MMA enthusiasts and a guitar. It s a peculiar set-up to be sure. And yet it is, in many ways, one that perfectly captures the physical, somewhat slapstick nature of the duo s latest black comedy, Frank Of Ireland, which will air on Channel 4.
Saturday, 10th April 2021 at 9:00 am
Domhnall Gleeson can’t stop laughing at his brother’s jokes. Throughout our interview, the actor shrieks with laughter whenever Brian Gleeson delivers a dry quip (which is often). When I ask Domhnall how he’d feel if his Star Wars character General Hux was ever digitally de-aged in the distant future (as The Mandalorian opted to do with Mark Hamill), younger brother Brian interrupts: “I thought you meant only a few years younger; in which case, I’m your man.”
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“You look more like Ewan McGregor than you look like me, Brian,” Domhnall counters, when he’s recovered his breath. (Answering my question, he adds: “I don’t know if they’d be allowed to do that. Hopefully, they’d have to talk to me first…”)