Fans of Gabriel Byrne may well see the Hollywood star wandering the streets of Dublin over the next couple of weeks… but you won’t see him in a coffee chain.
The 'Usual Suspects' star, who is back in town for his stage show 'Walking With Ghosts' at the Gaiety Theatre, said he loves tramping around his native city.
Sometimes he is pleasantly surprised by what he sees… and sometimes not.
The 'In Treatment' actor, 71, revealed: “When I come back the first thing I do is just walk around the city and see what’s changed and what’s the same.
“And then usually I go out into the countryside somewhere, Wicklow, Kilkenny, Cork or wherever.”
On recent visits he has been impressed with the huge range of food now available which he puts down to the influx of so many different nationalities.
He added: “But there are changes that you see and you think, God, I wish that hadn’t happened.
“You see that, in particular, with architecture where these hideous buildings go up.
“Even though I’ve been gone for years, when you feel part of a city you kind of have a bond to it and when you see things that are done you think, well, who gave permission for that monstrosity to go up?
“The Anglo-Irish Bank, for example, on St Stephen’s Green. That stands to me as a kind of metaphor for the uncaringness of people.
“You have a row of beautiful 19th century buildings and this hideous thing in the middle with a well-known coffee chain underneath.
“Is there any way of getting rid of these coffee chains? You see these changes and you realise in one way we don’t really have much of a say in what happens in Dublin.
“But I did see on the way to work this morning a sign that said, ‘Have your say about Dublin’s future development’.
“That was kind of hopeful and I hope people really pay attention to that and say, ‘We don’t want this, but we want that, and we want this kept and we don’t want this sold to some chain’.”
The actor has been busy rehearsing previews of his one-man show which opens on Tuesday night and runs for the rest of the week.
Described as a homecoming, 'Walking With Ghosts' covers the actor’s childhood through to his days as a star in Hollywood and Broadway as he reflects on his life journey.
Despite a career spanning five decades, Byrne said he would still be nervous before the opening.
He revealed: “I know musicians and a couple of footballers and they say being in the dressing room before you go out in front of an Irish crowd is nerve-wracking because it’s home.
“I started off in Dublin and I’ve never lost contact with the city. I’ve never taken out American citizenship, for example. I’m still an Irish citizen. But to be honest it’s a little bit nerve-wracking.
“I tried to examine it and think why would it be more so than doing something on Broadway which I’ve done?
“That’s nerve-wracking enough but there’s something about home because it’s an unpredictable audience.”
Extra tickets for the Gaiety went on sale last week following the lifting of Covid restrictions.
Meanwhile, the actor admitted he still misses his homeland.
He said: “I just miss the things I took for granted, the people, the sense of humour, the shared references.
“People know the same topics as you do. And the countryside, the landscape I miss.”
But he added he was thrilled to see a new wave of Irish actors making their name in Hollywood.
Byrne was one of the first Irish stars to conquer the movie world, along with Liam Neeson, Pierce Brosnan and Colm Meaney.
Stars such as Peter O’Toole, Richard Harris, Maureen O’Hara and Maureen O’Sullivan paved his way.
But now there are countless young stars making an impact like Saoirse Ronan, Jessie Buckley, Paul Mescal and Domhnall Gleeson.
Despite making more than 70 films the Excalibur star said he would be reluctant to give them any advice.
He added: “Advice doesn’t really address many situations that come up in a career.
“I would say, and I don’t say this with any real authority, but I do know from my own experience that life is more important than work.
“When you’re not working, take care of your physical and mental health.
“And I think that goes for any person that is temporarily unemployed because when you are unemployed your mind can become your enemy and you can get into negativity and depression. But everything changes and you have to have faith and optimism that things will change.
“But the rise of young talent is inevitable and it is wonderful to see.
“It’s really heartwarming to see young people succeed now because there’s an acceptance of Irish actors and actresses which wasn’t there before.
“When I started first, when I went to London, the only roles you could get were stereotypical Irish roles.
“And you had to endure – in my case a couple of times – English actors playing Irish parts and you think, ‘Why didn’t they cast an authentic Irish guy?’
“It’s because there was a resistance to Irish actors. They had them penned away in a little area that said, ‘Oh they’re Irish, they can play that but they can’t play this thing’. When I went to America the first picture I did [Miller’s Crossing], which was a big success for me critically, was made by the Coen brothers. I think that opened the door for quite a few people because they thought, ‘OK, let’s relook at what it means to be Irish’.
“Being an Irish actor now has a certain cachet to it and it’s one thing I’m really proud of. And there were other people who made big contributions as well. Liam, Pierce, myself and Colin Meaney were the first ones there.”
- Walking With Ghosts runs until February 6.
To get the latest breaking news straight to your inbox, sign up for our free newsletter.
