You saw her as sober Shiv in The Dry. Now she’s angry Janet in Sky Atlantic rom-com The Lovers. RTÉ Entertainment’s John Byrne meets up with Róisín Gallagher.
Friends and relations of Róisín Gallagher who warned her against taking up acting, or who ever asked her "When are you getting a real job, Róisín?" should look away now.
The Belfast-born thirtysomething’s doing fine. In fact, she’s doing fine on the double. After years building up her career on and off the stage, she’s got to a place where she’s currently starring in two – yes, two – top TV shows.
The Dry was a hit last year on the UK’s Britbox, before it landed on RTÉ One earlier this year, proving just as popular here. In no time, a second season of the dramedy was greenlit and was filmed on Dublin’s southside over the summer.
In that show, created by Nancy Harris and produced by Element Pictures, Róisín plays Shiv Sheridan, a woman recovering from alcoholism, returns home to her native Dublin after years in London to face a family who are not terribly supportive of her sobriety.
But from Thursday 7 September, fans of The Dry will be forgiven for having a double-take if they tune in The Lovers on Sky Atlantic.
There she is, once again gracing our TV screens, this time as Janet, a bad-tempered, hilarious, Belfast supermarket worker who couldn't give a monkey’s about anything much at all, - including, it seems, her own life.
This is a romantic comedy so - guess what? - someone steps inside her life and everything changes.
The someone is Seamus O’Hannigan (played by Johnny Flynn), a handsome, self-centred, political broadcaster with what looks to be a perfect London life and a celebrity girlfriend.
Set in Belfast, this is a love story about two people who appear to be utterly wrong for each other – yet may just be utterly right.
Conleth Hill also features in the series as Janet’s supermarket boss, Philip, and Alice Eve plays Frankie, Seamus’ girlfriend.
John Byrne: Hey Róisín! Isn't it great that a romcom is set in Belfast?
Róisín Gallagher: Yes, yes it is. It's brilliant. I'm delighted that the show is set in Belfast.
Sadly, the perception of the city for some is still one of conflict. But you’ve better things to be doing, eh?
Well, like falling in love, like having a great time, taking beautiful walks in a beautiful city and having great food. Yes, it's all there in Belfast and it's portrayed really well. The show is really reflective of the beautiful city that Belfast girl is. I’m very proud of it.
And the writer, David Ireland, he's a child of Sandy Row. So he knows the landscape.
Yeah, he does. He knows his stuff. He knows the experience of the Belfast people and he knows how to write a hell of a good romcom. Who would have thought?
So tell us a bit about Janet...
Janet is great. Janet is like a salt-of-the-earth supermarket worker from East Belfast who is about down on her luck when we first meet her. She's feisty, she says what she thinks, she's got no filter and she doesn't really care about an awful lot.
And she goes on quite a journey when she meets Seamus O’Hannigan, who is a political broadcaster journalist from London. And that's that's where the story starts,
Interesting that the English character has such an Irish name like Seamus?
So that's one of the lovely Easter eggs that David Ireland puts into the series. Where, as it develops, we find out that Seamus has a connection to Belfast. I can't give anything away about it, but it's a really lovely part of the story.
It's only a few months since I met you when The Dry was beginning on RTE One. Now it's The Lovers. Obviously, things are going nicely for you.
They’re going alright! John, I’ve had worse years. I'm not gonna lie to you!
I've met superstars who haven't been as busy as you have been in the last year or so...
It's been an incredible two years and I feel very lucky to have taken on the roles that I've that I've got and had the privilege of playing recently. And yeah, it's been amazing. Long may it last.
I'm sure there were people – friends and relations - who went ‘What are you doing taking up acting?’ back in the day, wondering would you not get a proper job?
Yes and no. They're very proud of me and just, you know, there's a little bit of relief in there as well because they're saying they've seen the struggle. They've seen me for many months and sometimes years not working and that's a real part of the job and a part of the industry.
So you've got to celebrate when the sunshine and make hay - they're very, very proud. Yeah.
Working on a romcom, you’ve simply got to get on with the actor who’s playing your love interest. Tell us about working with Johnny Flynn, who plays Seamus?
Johnny Flynn is a master of his craft. He is a very talented man, a very kind and generous actor and we really got on so well. He loved Belfast which was lovely. He kind of fell in love with it and it was just so nice working with him. We worked really closely and really intensely for the period of the shoot and I really enjoyed working with him.
And Conleth Hill’s there as well. He always comes across as a fun, larger-than-life character. You’re now going to tell me that he’s a wallflower of complete pain, aren’t you?
Oh, Conleth is fantastic. He’s really good craic. And we were treated to a little bloopers’ reel - some of the outtakes of the series - when we were at the wrap party and like 90% of it was Conleth.
He was always making other people laugh, just having a great time. He's very, very good to have around on set and I really enjoyed it. He sort of elevates any room that he's in.
And in a way that it makes people feel so comfortable and confident in their job. He's fab.
The Lovers creator and writer David Ireland
"The Lovers is a romantic comedy set in Belfast. People don't usually associate Belfast with romance. They usually associate it with petrol bombs and sectarian strife.
" That's all part of the world of The Lovers too but really it’s about a pair of unlikely people falling in love.
"Seamus and Janet couldn’t be more different – he’s English, she’s Northern Irish.
"He’s a wealthy member of the metropolitan elite, a hugely successful journalist and broadcaster. She works in a supermarket. He hangs out in the coolest places in London, she lives in the roughest part of Belfast.
"They shouldn’t be attracted to each other, and they certainly shouldn’t do anything about that attraction. But they’re unable to resist the temptation to have an affair."
Johnny Flynn plays Seamus
"Seamus gives this lovely speech to Janet at some point early on where he says, "You don't give a damn what anyone thinks about you. You're just always unashamedly you." And that's true.
"She's the most real person that he’s ever had a friendship with. There’s something just profoundly, undeniably real about her.
"What you learn about Seamus is that his past isn’t what it seems. He has a connection to this place that is revealed. I won’t go into details, but there’s something about Janet that also obviously speaks to his sense of self and something that he remembers from his childhood.
"When Seamus arrives in Belfast to host a new show, he doesn’t expect to meet bad-tempered supermarket worker Janet. Intent on ending her life, Janet might just end up saving his."
Conleth Hill plays Philip
"David Ireland is a terrific writer; I've directed two of his plays and two short films that he wrote but I'd never actually acted in anything that he had written.
"Like all great writers, he’s an excellent observer of the human condition. There is a lovely neurosis about his writing. It’s probably very torturous for him, but it’s very funny for us!
"Philip’s the manager of the supermarket where our female protagonist Janet works. She’s not an ideal employee.
"She is very lippy, but he’s very patient and understanding with her. He is fond of her and thinks there’s more to her than meets the eye."
The Lovers, Thursdays on Sky Atlantic and streaming on NOW
