Irish acting royalty Fionnula Flanagan charmed The Late Late Show audience as she appeared on Friday's show with a very special pal - her pet dog Betty.
Along with fellow Smother cast members Gemma-Leah Devereaux and Dean Fagan, she was a guest on this week’s show ahead of Sunday’s episode of the drama set amongst a family in the west of Ireland.
Ryan looked at Fionnula and then at her four-legged friend and said: "Fionnula, you’ve brought an unexpected guest to the proceedings."
"Betty’s been on many sets before, in fact," Fionnula explained. "She’s done two movies and she’s got many fans," she told Ryan.
"She’s 11, and she’s named after Betty Ford because, at the time we got her, Garret (her husband, psychiatrist Garret O'Connor) was working at Betty Ford Clinic and Mrs Ford said to me: 'You know, a lot of children have been called after me, but never a dog.’"
Fionnula also told Ryan about her upcoming Hunger Games movie, in which she does a spot of singing. "That was fun to do," she told him.
"I think that’s why they cast me, because the producer or the director had seen me in The Ferryman on Broadway and I had to sing five songs in that. And they were sort of enchanted with my singing."
Reflecting on he career, Fionnula also recalled when she worked with the late Angela Lansbury on her legendary US show, Murder She Wrote. "Angela used cue cards all the time," she said. "And she was so good, you never noticed."
As for Fionnula's Smother co-stars, Ryan described Gemma-Leah Devereaux’s character - much to the audience's amusement - as "a dose", she responded, saying: "I love Anna. She’s very different to me, but you have to love your character when you’re doing it. I will fight for Anna - I think she’s great."
Dean Fagan then told Ryan about his move from Manchester to the Welsh countryside as he was inspired by his time in Lahinch filming Smother, describing the Irish West Coast as "Being like the other side of the world, and still doing what I love. Do you know what? I’m going to make the plunge."
Also on Friday’s show, just back from his second BAFTA win, animator Richie Baneham was looking ahead to his second Oscar nomination - this time for Avatar: The Way of Water.
Richie brought his Bafta award on with him, and Ryan pointed out that his success would not have possible without the support of his mother.
"100%," Richie replied. "None of this would’ve happened without my mammy." He then explained his background.
"I left school at 14. I’m one of the kids that slipped through the cracks. And I hope the school system now has evolved enough to catch those kids. My mam kept saying constantly: ‘When are you going to do something with your art?’ Because I’d been drawing since I was a kid."
Then he took up a course in Ballyfermot College, was told he was dyslexic, and his life took on a new twist. He went from early school-leaver to animator to Oscar nominee.
Nowadays he’s someone who can look at an event like the Oscars and say: "The truth is it’s a great fun night, and it’s a lovely thing to be recognised by your peers. Win or lose, the recognition is there."
The Late Late Show, Fridays on RTÉ One
