Captain Ronald Dreyfuss (Aaron Staton), Rose Coyne (Hattie Morahan) and Michael Coyne (Owen McDonnell) in the miniseries "My Mother and Other Strangers," which is set in Northern Ireland during World War II.
PHOTO COURTESY OF PBS
By Karen Butler
Galway-born Owen McDonnell says he was happy to star in the five-part series, "My Mother and Other Strangers," because it tells a tale from an era in Northern Irish history seldom seen on the screen.
The fact that it was written by former Horslips front-man Barry Devlin was icing on the cake.
Talking to the Irish Echo in a recent phone interview, the actor recalled the day he picked up the screenplay for "My Mother and Other Strangers."
"I loved it," McDonnell, who is known for his work in the film "Conspiracy of Silence," and the TV shows "Paula," "Single-Handed," "Wild Decembers, "Mount Pleasant," "MI-5 (Spooks,)" "Silent Witness" and "An Klondike,"
His co-stars are Aaron Staton, who was a regular on every season of the iconic AMC show “Mad Men,” and prolific London-born actress Hattie Morahan.
"I was excited when I saw the name 'Barry Devlin' because I was a huge fan of the Horslips, which was a band that Barry was in in the 1970s and '80s,” McDonnell said. “So, that was exciting and then when I started reading it, I was like, 'Oh!' Particularly the part of Michael. I thought, 'Actually, I kind of understand this guy and where he is coming from and what a struggle it is sometimes to keep things together.'
“And I just thought they were lovely stories to come out of that part of the world. What we've seen for the past 10 to 20 years has been so mired in the Troubles, whereas this is a less polarized version of Northern Ireland that we are not used to seeing. I love them and I think Barry is a fantastic storyteller. Sometimes you get a script and you just kind of go: 'Yeah, I understand that. I can see it in my mind's eye.' That's how I felt about this."
The chance to learn more about the role Ireland played in the Second World War was also appealing, he said.
"I never really understood that Northern Ireland had been so occupied by American, British, French forces during the war, and I think it's really interesting to see those two worlds of a rural, Irish backwater, basically, colliding with -- I suppose to the locals' minds -- the brash, modern Americans coming over, so I thought that was fascinating," the actor noted.
The arrival of loads of foreign airmen in the fictional village of Moybeg has a profound impact on McDonnell's character Michael Coyne since it means not only new patrons for his businesses, but also handsome flyboys to flirt with his British wife Rose and their teen-age daughter Emma, played respectively by Hattie Morahan and Eileen O'Higgins.
"What I find very interesting about doing period stuff like that -- and it's especially pertinent to Michael -- is how little time people had. There was no convenient way of doing things. Work took up a huge amount of their time. Obviously, he fell in love with Rose, they got married, they had a family, but, over the years, their time together has become less and less. They really only get to see each other at mealtimes or after church on a Sunday. They are just working so hard, just to keep things going -- there's a farm, there's a pub, there's a shop. She's teaching," McDonnell explained. "What's very interesting as an actor is to kind of juggle all of those elements and I know Michael comes off as a bit cranky and a bit grouchy, but he's just trying to do the best he can for his family, really. He's knackered!"
The actor emphasized it is essential viewers like and empathize with Michael, so they can understand why Rose doesn't immediately leave him for Captain Ronald Dreyfuss, played by Aaron Staton, despite the fact they have much in common.
"When we spoke about this before we started shooting -- Adrian [Shergold] the director and the three of us at the center of that love story -- we said, 'Yes, but, you know, if Michael was some brute that she didn't care two figs for then, of course, she would go off with Dreyfuss because it would be an obvious choice.' But the fact that she loves [Michael] authentically and he has done nothing wrong, other than possibly not make the time that he could do, is what makes that love triangle -- for want of a better word -- interesting at the center of that. I think it's important that we see glimpses of why they are together as the show goes on and that they do have fun together and, also, that he is aware that he does disappoint her sometimes and that weighs heavy on him, even though he may not speak about it."
The fifth and final episode of "My Mother and Other Strangers" is to air on PBS Sunday night. The series may also be viewed on PBS.org.
