He starred as an iconic character in a classic comedy series, but Father Ted’s Ardal O’Hanlon isn’t ready to give the current crop of TV shows his blessing.
O’Hanlon will next appear in a new Irish sports comedy movie called Fran the Man, where he plays a solicitor by day and a local football team coach by night. The movie shares some themes with Ted Lasso, but he’s not a fan of the popular Apple TV+ series.
“I don’t know … I thought it was kind of a bit obvious and a bit sentimental,” he says, shrugging. “I suppose I prefer something with a bit more edge to it. I’m very hard to please, actually. I’ve become very, very critical. There’s too much mediocre stuff being made, and even the really good stuff will often tread water for a number of episodes. Even in the very best series, there’s too many episodes, the episodes are too long and there’s invariably two or three episodes that tread water.”
There are certain exceptions to that rule, of course. Shows like The Sopranos, Deadwood and The Wire all still stand up, he notes.
“I think it’s fair to say that we have passed peak TV. Succession was obviously brilliant, parts of The Bear were brilliant. So there’s still really great stuff being made — but I watched The Studio last night, this new thing on Apple with Seth Rogen, and it’s rubbish. It’s totally overhyped, totally over-acted and really obvious and kind of lame,” he says. “Even Adolescence: I loved the first episode, and it’s not that it’s not great, but it’s so overhyped that you’re bound to be disappointed.”
O’Hanlon, of course, made his name as one of the most fondly remembered TV comedy characters of all time in Father Ted. This year marks 30 years since his turn as Father Dougal McGuire and he has made peace with the fact that he will forever be intrinsically tied to Dougal.
Father Ted first hit TV screens 30 years ago this month
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“I like Father Ted,” he says, smiling. “I think it has stood the test of time, thankfully, and it seems to draw new fans every year, which is ultimately … good for me; I’ve got a new generation of Ted fans who come to see me doing my stand-up shows, and I guess it kind of helps. But I’m not sentimental about it, and I never was. I don’t mind talking about it, don’t get me wrong; I’m really proud of it and really grateful that I was part of it. But in terms of just getting on with your life, it’s literally the furthest thing from my mind most days of the week.”
He has read and enjoyed the producer Lissa Evans’s recent book Picnic on Craggy Island, which gathered together her memories of working as a producer on the show in the 1990s, but wanted a more substantial read. “I wish I kept a diary,” he says, laughing. “If I ever get around to my memoirs, there’ll be lots of stuff to say about it. But it did remind me of the great times that we had doing it.”
• How I made Father Ted: ‘We had to edit the laughs down’
O’Hanlon will line out next in Fran the Man, a role he jokes that he’s been in training to undertake for years.
“Excuse me, I have history!” exclaims the Monaghan-born actor in mock-outrage. “I was a gaffer, I coached the Beechwood under-12s! I did my Kick Start 1 coaching badge with the FAI and everything, but I was a terrible coach.” He grimaces.
“I had literally zero authority over the 12-year-olds, but I always loved football. So that world is familiar to me, where people — men, in particular — invest so much in it to escape from the horrors of life. So I totally get how someone like Fran exists in this world.”
Ardal O’Hanlon stars with Darragh Humphreys in Fran the Man
Stephen Bradley’s mockumentary focuses on the fortunes of the fictional St Peter’s Celtic, its assistant coach Fran Costello (played by Darragh Humphreys) and an international match-fixing scandal that envelops their high-stakes FAI Cup fixture against Shamrock Rovers. The film originated as Fran, a TV mockumentary screened on Setanta Sports and TV3 between 2009 and 2011.
And he’s limbering up for several other projects. O’Hanlon has just turned in the draft of his third novel, the follow-up to 2022’s Brouhaha, which is in development for a TV adaptation. He is filming an independent “black comedy” in Sligo made by the same production company that made Kneecap, and he will also feature in two high-profile TV series released this year — Lisa McGee’s Derry Girls follow-up How to Get to Heaven from Belfast and the period drama Sherlock & Daughter, opposite David Thewlis.
“I play his kind of manservant who’s a little bit fastidious and I drive him around in a horse and coach,” he says, arching an eyebrow. “So that was fun, learning a new skill.”
Despite his range, O’Hanlon will never fully leave comedy behind. In fact, he is bringing his new show Not Himself on tour across the UK and Ireland this month, which sees him looking back on his life through a comedy lens “at how I became the person I am today”. The show also touches upon the wider world, although O’Hanlon is reluctant to delve too deeply into politics.
“I do allude to Trump a little bit — I think you cannot completely ignore it,” he says, nodding. “But I suppose I always made a decision that I’m not a political comic, per se. On the last tour I did, I had a big chunk about Brexit. I was touring Britain and it was very divisive and it kind of killed the show, in a way. It’s not that I didn’t believe strongly in what I was saying, but ultimately I feel that people don’t really take me seriously as a political comic, or they maybe have certain expectations of me as a comic.”
O’Hanlon and Fran the Man co-star Deirdre O’Kane, who plays Dympna Greene
He is not particularly active on social media for similar reasons, he says. “I’m really wary about activism on social media by comedians and actors,” he says.
“I just find it very jarring if, on the one hand, you’re showing a funny clip or promoting a new film or TV show you’re in, and then ten minutes later you’re being an activist. It’s not convincing. Like most people, I’m an extremely angry, frustrated, frightened person about world events, and I don’t know how to react to that — publicly, anyway. In private, amongst my friends, I have very strong opinions, but I’ve never felt comfortable sharing those opinions with the world. I feel it’s mostly performative. I think you’re just nailing colours to a mast, or you’re doing it because you feel obligated, or compelled, or coerced into doing it. So it’s a very peculiar area.
“I think at some time in my life, I would love to do a political show, but as a comic, it’s always a juggling act. You want to entertain the audience and you want to be true to your own beliefs, but finding that balance is always tricky. Maybe I do play it safe a lot of the time.” He shrugs resignedly.
“I probably do. [But] my audience is not coming to hear my views on Gaza, or transgenderism; really, they’re not. They’re not coming to be shocked, or outraged, or provoked. But I do think my show is thought-provoking and it’s interesting. And naturally, like most people, I think I’m the voice of reason,” he says, grinning. “So if they come to my show, they’ll get the truth.”
The tour will also mark a big milestone in O’Hanlon’s life — quite literally — when he celebrates his 60th birthday while on the road.
“That’s why I’m going on tour — so I can just completely forget it’s happening,” he says, jokingly, and admits that he has mixed feelings about the milestone. “On the one hand, I feel happier than ever in many ways: having raised a family, and having a solid marriage, and not having the massive overheads you have when you’re trying to get your children through school and college, and paying mortgages, and all that kind of thing. You don’t have the stresses that you have in your forties and fifties; that’s just my experience, but I’m sure it’s not true for everyone.
“But on the other hand, I’m terrified of ageing and of not being relevant. I think as you get older, you tend to be sidelined in lots of different ways and your views aren’t counted as much. But certainly in terms of performing comedy, I’m much more confident about what I do, and I feel entitled to say certain things that I know, because I’ve learnt them the hard way.
“So it’s a double-edged sword, really.”
Fran the Man is released in cinemas on April 11.