Ed Speleers says he's glad he didn’t have to tackle an Irish accent in his new film Irish Wish in which he stars with Lindsay Lohan.
The English actor, who has previously appeared in Downton Abbey, Outlander and You, plays photographer James Thomas in the rom com, which was filmed in Wicklow, Westport Town and the Cliffs of Moher.
The Netflix film sees Mean Girls star Lohan play book editor Maddie, a woman who puts her feelings aside when the love of her life gets engaged to her best friend.
Just before the big day in Ireland, she cute meets James and becomes part of a bizarre and very Irish love triangle.
Speaking to RTÉ Entertainment via Zoom, Speleers said, "I’ve done an Irish accent before when I played Stephen Bonnet in Outlander, he was Irish. I’m big into accents and trying to understand them and develop them.
"The good thing about this movie is that I didn’t have to do an Irish accent in front of any Irish crew. That’s a whole different beast. That would have been more the fear I think."
Following brief visits to Ireland to research his Outlander role and a weekend in Dublin with mates, Irish Wish was the actor’s first extended time to the country.
"I loved it," he says. "It was such a beautiful country, wonderful people. It rained a bit here and there but as a man who lived in the west of England, I’m used to a bit of ran. I had a lovely time out there.
"We were in Wicklow which was absolutely stunning and having grown up on the coast, to be in this amazing area where you have mountains on one side and coastline on the other, I was in my element definitely."
Irish Wish is a movie which fully and with a wink embraces Irishisms and Speleers says he was ready to go full Irish himself
"I think it is embracing it but it’s a funny story. It’s a moment of escapism. It’s a light entertaining story where we can take you on this journey and you can really see what Maddie’s story is going to be. It’s about maybe trying to discover something you didn’t realise you wanted."
He was particularly impressed by Lohan’s talent for physical comedy and Maddie has plenty of pratfalls and awkward moments in the film.
"The physical comedy is a really interesting part of her forte as an actress," he says. "And I don’t think people realise how good she is at that, she is formidable. We got on really well, very quickly we built up a rapport and trust.
"I was honoured to be working with her because this kind of movie is her bread and butter - she knows rom coms inside out and is really able to deliver and for me it was an eyeopener to work in that sphere."
Next for Speleers is a role in the upcoming BBC/ZDF Famous Five TV adaptation and a role in the new film about Beatles manager Brian Epstein.
Irish Wish is on Netflix from Friday, 15 March
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