4. How did you get into entertainment?
In 2008 myself and my children suffered a personal tragedy in the form of losing my wife – their Mum – very suddenly and unexpectedly. This made me realize how short life can be, and that if you have a dream, it’s a sin not to chase it. As I said, I’d always wanted to act, so this tragedy caused me to finally gain the courage to chase that dream.
5. What are your other passions in life?
Apart from acting, I’ve trained in the Martial Arts since I was a kid – over 40 years now – and I was teaching for over 25 years, so I’m still very passionate about that. Also, six years after the loss of my wife, I met someone very special (above, with myself and the awesome Chad Oakes), and for only the second time in my life, I fell in love – so I’m very passionate about my (now) fiancé Tracy, and our amazing kids.
6. What do you do when you are not acting?
Obviously I love watching movies because of my chosen craft, but I also love spending time with my partner and our kids – and believe it or not, I quite enjoy helping out around the house – folding the laundry, filling and emptying the dishwasher, helping to raise my partners little ones as well as my own – that kinda thing.
7. What was your experience like on Hell On Wheels playing an Irishman?
It was a wonderful experience from beginning to end – the experience I gained, the friendships and connections I made, and the way I was treated. As far as playing an Irishman goes – I’ve always been a good mimic, so the accent wasn’t much of a stretch for me, and I absolutely loved playing the character “Paddy Quinn” – he was a good, solid character, who had a lot more interaction with the show’s hero, Cullen Bohannen, played by the wonderful Anson Mount, than a lot of the other characters on the show..
8. How did you prepare for you roles?
Short answer – in the mirror.
Long answer – as a fan of the show, I didn’t want my viewing pleasure to be compromised, so I would simply look through the script until I saw my character name, then I would just concentrate on those scenes and lines. That way, although I’d prepared my lines and scenes, I wouldn’t necessarily know the entire storyline for those episodes, and I wouldn’t have my viewing pleasure spoiled.
9. What other projects have you been a part of recently?
Straight after we finished filming the final season of Hell On Wheels, I worked on two post-apocalyptic films – one was called “Marauder”, and the other was “The Northlander” – which has actually been selected for this years Cannes Film Festival.
10. What are some of the struggles you face in entertainment?
The nature of this business, is that if you’re not acting, essentially you’re unemployed, so this is something you need to prepare for. Also, if you win one out of every ten auditions you go for, you’re doing pretty well – so you can’t take things personally if you don’t win a role, and you have to stay positive and have faith that the right role is on it’s way to you.
Rising Star Q and A