Sam Keeley, who played unhinged criminal Eric "Viking" Kinsella in the hit Irish crime drama KIN, has said that "anything could happen" with the character if and when the show returns for a new series.
The drama about a fictional Dublin gangland family the Kinsellas ran for two acclaimed seasons on RTÉ and is now enjoying a new lease of life on BBC and Netflix but there is still no sign of it making a return after its production company BRON filed for bankruptcy in July 2023.
Speaking via Zoom from New York, Tullamore actor Keeley said: "I would love to develop Viking's storyline and narrative in a way that is worthy of him, he is such a big character and everything he does is so extra and so out there.
"I would really like to pursue that and see where he’s going down this rabbit hole because when we left him in season two it was so open-ended."
He added: "I’d love to see him interact more with the family, having to deal with Amanda directly if he’s going to be running his own thing. That could be an exciting prospect if he has his own business running alongside the main family. That could be interesting drama."
Viking is a man-child with a touch of Travis Bickle meets Max Cady. He is madder than a man bun and that’s precisely what makes him so compelling.
"He’s a livewire and the way Peter McKenna writes him is so exciting," Keeley said. "Every time Viking is on the screen, you don’t know what he’s going to do and that unpredictability is why people responded to him in such a positive way.
"At the end of season two, he’s still going so season three is wide open. Anything could happen and I’d love to explore that."
Keeley’s latest role on Irish TV couldn’t be more different.
Earlier this week, the 33-year-old IFTA award winner made his debut as Alex in the second season of The Dry, the RTÉ comedy-drama about recovering alcoholic Shiv and her battle to stay sober on her return to Dublin from London.
Alex is a hardworking north sider who runs his own café business and is also a potential love interest for Shiv.
"He’s just a normal very chill guy," said Keeley, who worked with a dialect coach for the role. "There’s nothing chaotic about him in terms of his emotional and practical life."
The second season of The Dry, written by BAFTA-nominated screenwriter Nancy Harris and directed by Paddy Breathnach, picks up seven months on and it seems the dysfunctional Sheridan family is relatively content.
Joining The Dry sees Keeley reunite with Ciaran Hinds after they both starred in KIN but he admits to nerves about joining an already well-established cast. "Yeah, for sure," he said.
"It’s always nerve-wracking joining a cast that is well-known on Irish telly but I couldn’t have felt more at home after the first day. Everybody was so lovely and welcoming and the vibe on that set was so light and fun."
And as we see in episode two of the new season, we may be seeing more of Sam than usual when Alex agrees to become a life drawing model at Shiv’s OAP art class - as we are told, "there is a lot more to Alex than meets the eye".
What can they possibly mean by that?
"Ehhh, take from that what you will... I think that... ehhhh... there’s definitely... Haha," Keeley laughs. "You’ll have to see the episode but Alex does the honourable thing and steps in to help Shiv but they all get a bit more than they bargained for. Hahaha.
"I had to take my clothes off but thankfully we’re on top of the whole modesty situation. I didn’t embarrass myself or anybody else."
Since the success of KIN, Keeley is more in demand than ever and reflecting on what is a golden age for Ireland’s creative industries, he says: "Ireland has never had a shortage of talented people and we’ve always been an incredibly artistic little island so to see us have our moment right now is amazing.
"And I’m very super proud to be from Offaly. I’m an Offaly man through and through."
The Dry, Wednesdays at 9:35pm on RTÉ One. All episodes from seasons 1 and 2 are on RTÉ Player now.
