Actress Alicia Silverstone has revealed that she had a few "naughty moments" on the DART when she was filming her new drama series in Ireland.
The Clueless star is currently starring in Irish Blood on Acorn TV, a new series about a women who comes to Ireland to track down her father, who abandoned her when she was only ten years old.
Silverstone spent three months shooting the series, which she also produced, in Dublin and she stayed in Dalkey during her time here.
Speaking on the Brendan O'Connor Show on RTÉ Radio 1 on Saturday morning, Silverstone said that she loves the city’s DART train service but admitted that it took her a while to figure out how to use it properly.
"I love the DART. I had a few moments on the DART that were a bit naughty," she said. "The train comes for Dalkey and you don’t have a ticket because you can’t figure out how to get a ticket because you’re jetlagged and tired so I got on the train and I thought ' s***, I don’t have a ticket’ and I thought that when I got off I could just pay for it but it doesn’t work that way.
"I saw some cops and I went over and said, 'hey, I’m so sorry but I don’t know what happened but . . . ' they were very kind. The funny thing is that one time the DART got stopped and all the little old ladies on the train were so p***ed off . . . they were going on about how terrible the train service is but I love it."
Speaking about shooting Irish Blood in Ireland, she added, "I have always loved the Irish. I came to Ireland with my son’s dad when we first together. We went to the MTV Music Awards. We flew to Shannon and then drove slowly all the way to Dublin. I wanted to move there! I thought this is the greatest place on earth.
"Many times, I went to Ireland for different fun reasons and this time I lived in a sweet, lovely place which I just adore - Dalkey. Most people left me alone and when they didn’t it was very kind and lovely and it’s just such a beautiful place.
"I remember back in the day being at Bono’s house and I really loved the area and I would always go there on the DART."
In Irish Blood, Silverstone plays Fiona Fox, a woman who arrives in Ireland determined to put some old ghosts to rest but ends up getting involved in a series of mysteries around her missing father.
The cast also includes Jason O'Mara, Wendy Crewson, Dearbhla Molloy, Simone Kirby, Ruth Codd and Leonardo Taiwo and filming took place in Dublin and Wicklow, as well as the Causeway coast in Northern Ireland.
"Fiona is broken person; she has some issues because her dad left but she is a tough cookie but Ireland softens her a bit," Silverstone said.
"She witnessed something, or she thought she witnessed something, when she was ten years old. When someone leaves you and they’re the love of your life . . . she’s just broken hearted. She can’t make any sense of it and her mom can’t help her make any sense of it.
"Fiona probably had some relationships in high school where she got heartbroken again and so she is done with that. Love is not in her vocabulary anymore. It’s sad but when she gets to Ireland she gets involved in all kind of mystery and she’s solving crimes and it’s all very dramatic, while also being light and quirky."
Silverstone has had a long and varied career in film including roles in Batman & Robin and The Killing of a Sacred Deer but her most famous role remains high school student Cher in coming-of-age teen comedy film Clueless.
Based on Jane Austen’s Emma, the era-defining movie, directed by Amy Heckerling, turns thirty this year and Silverstone is set to reprise her role in a new TV show version of the 1990s film.
However, she admitted that she had no idea that the original movie would become such a hit.
"I loved playing that character," she said. "It was a very different person than I was, it was a very interesting part to take on. I don’t think anyone could have imagined the cultural phenomenon it became.
"It’s just such a joy that people are still moved by it. The one thing I did know is that Amy Heckerling had done Fast Times at Ridgemont High, which was so brilliant, and it was her cleverness that made the film. Jane Austen is not too shabby either and Amy brilliantly adapted her novel.
"Kids and adults watch it over and over again," Silverstone added. "I just saw a thirtieth anniversary screening of it at the Academy and every single scene had some sort of hilarious bit. It’s very satirical."
You can listen back to the Brendan O’Connor Show on RTÉ Radio 1 here.
