In an
recent interview to collider actor and comedian Chris O’Dowd talked about the
series Moone Boy, a semi-autobiographical story about a young boy and his 30
year old imaginary friend and the highly anticipated Thor: The Dark World.
Excerpt:
“How
did this show come about? Did somebody come to you with the possibility,
or was this something you had started working on, on your own?
CHRIS O’DOWD: I did a little short film for
Sky TV, and it was a very open brief that said, “Write a little short film
about something funny that happened to you, as a kid at Christmas.” I had
come across this photograph at home, of me in Santa’s grotto, and my crotchel
area was looking very soiled. I asked my mom what had happened and she
said, “Well, you pissed yourself because you were terrified of Santa
Claus.” I had no recollection of that, but then as I started to think
about it, I remembered my fear of Santa Claus. I just didn’t like the
idea of a weird man in our house. Also, I used to get really shit
presents, so it had no great pay-off because I was the youngest of five.
So, that went well. We made the short and it was fun, and the network was
happy with it. They said, “Would you be interested in writing a sitcom?”
I think their idea was that I would write a show where I was the dad, or
something like that, but that didn’t really appeal to me. But, I liked
the character and the world that we created in that short, so I thought, “Maybe
I’ll just expand on that,” and they were very up for it.
Since
this is semi-autobiographical, did the storylines stem from specific aspects of
your own life that you wanted to address and explore, or did you start with the
character first, and then branch things out from there?
O’DOWD: I’d say it was probably the
latter. The storylines came along, due to the desperate necessity to fill
pages with words. I didn’t necessarily have any agenda or any kind of
cheap therapy that I was trying to use the show for. It was more that I
thought it would be a fun character, with this idiot kid, and I felt like I
hadn’t seen that world on screen before. And then, all of the storylines
were things that had happened, or were certainly based on stuff that had
happened, that we then meandered with and tried to make funny. In terms
of what’s autobiographical and what’s not, I like to think that all of the
funniest stuff is what happened in real life, and the rest of it is just filler
that I wrote.
…
As
the imaginary friend, you play the banjo, dance and even wear ladies’ high
heels. Was there anything that you weren’t willing to do?
O’DOWD: I get to play a lot in this, which is
great. I would happily go to any lengths. We’ve done a second
series and we’re about to start shooting the third series, and my role in it
gets more and more ridiculous, just to fulfill my own fantasies.
Was
it also important to you to make a show that people the ages of the characters
could actually watch and enjoy?
O’DOWD: That was exactly it, to be
honest. That was hugely important. It would have felt silly.
I’ve got loads of nieces and nephews, and sometimes I watch shows with them and
they find the show dumb. It’s made for them, but they find it dumb.
It’s been so desensitized that it’s barely worth watching. I wanted to make
a show for smart kids, and hopefully adults will watch it, as well.
…
With
as big as the films are, how exciting is it to be a part of the Marvel universe
with your appearance in Thor 2?
O’DOWD: I really don’t feel like I’m part of
the Marvel universe, any more than the caterers. I’ll be surprised if my
part even makes the movie. I feel ridiculous even answering questions
about it.
…
Is
there any rhyme or reason to the roles that you decide to do?
O’DOWD: The only thing that I try to do is to
make sure that the job I’m doing is different than the previous one.
That’s all. There’s no big game plan, or anything. I feel like, if
I just keep doing that, then I’ll be okay.”
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