Fair City actor Steve Gunn has opened up about bowing out of the soap after four years as Dan Keating, saying "it was emotional".
In dramatic scenes that aired on Sunday night, viewers saw Dan pass away in hospital after he said his final words to Robbie. He had been fatally injured after he was shot by Dr Oakley's flare gun during the siege at the O'Brien's house, jumping in front of Robbie to save his former best friend's life.
Speaking to RTÉ Entertainment, Gunn said that filming his exit scenes were emotional "because you’ve built strong, lasting friendships with the other actors so you’re saying goodbye in more ways than one", but added that he's looking forward to seeing how the episode goes down with viewers.
"I’m kind of excited about it", he said. "It’s a bit like being back stage for opening night, wondering how it’s going to go down with the audience."
Gunn admitted that it was hard to see any redemption for Dan after it was recently revealed that he had raped Aoife while she was dating Robbie years ago.
The Dublin actor, who has played Dan for the past four years, said it was interesting to see him depart in a slightly heroic fashion. "If there’s any sort of redemption, it’s the little small one just before he passes", Gunn said.
"With all the [Harvey] Weinstein stuff as well, it was interesting timing", the actor added of the sexual assault storyline. Gunn said that it was at times "tough going".
"Sometimes you’d be going home in the evenings after filming scenes and it’s hard to shake the little bit of darkness there that’s going on with the character", he explained.
Gunn agreed that it will be difficult for Robbie, Aoife and Karen, who only recently discovered Dan was her father, to come to terms with Dan's death.
"Bigtime. The ramifications of that are quite big so they’ll be banging on about Dan long after he’s gone I’m sure", he said.
The actor, who joined the RTÉ soap in 2013, said he has enjoyed his stint as Dan. "From day one when I joined the show I always knew this was a gig and you don’t know how long it’s going to last, and just enjoy it while you’re doing it", he said.
"I really had a great time doing all the stories and making great friends and getting stuck in. I’m really lucky to get a gig like that and get such interesting stories to work on."
He joked that he was glad to have a definitive closure from the character.
"To have an exit that is final, there’s something good about that as well", he said. "It would be in the back of your mind if you went off to England or something as the back of your mind you’d think ‘Maybe I’ll go back’ but now unless they do a dream sequence or a zombie episode, I’m done!"
The actor, whose previous credits include The Mario Rosenstock Show and Titanic: Blood and Steel, said he had one particular favourite scene he will always remember.
"I’d say running away from the exploding car was a highlight because you know when you’re a little kid and you’re watching TV, running away from explosions has got to be on everyone’s hit-list so I really enjoyed that", he said with a laugh.
"Outside of that, I’ve just been really lucky to have been able to do all the stories that I have done. When you set out as an actor, you’re lucky to get any old gig, and to get one as long-running and as interesting.
"I feel really grateful and lucky."
Gunn has also been flexing his creative muscles outside of acting. In 2015, he made his directorial debut with the short The Caller and he has since written and directed the short film The Five Obstructions.
As well as his acting ambitions, which include "more TV drama and film and stage", he would like to develop more of his behind-the-scenes projects.
"The writing and directing is something I’ve been developing a bit and I’d like to continue doing that too, more as an aside", he said.
"I guess you have to do what you love doing, and being involved in drama in any way, whether it’s writing, directing or acting, is something I have a passion for."
Fair City continues on Tuesday January 16 at 8pm on RTÉ One.
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