English actor James Norton really has mastered the Irish accent. And that’s not a sentence we say lightly.
The Happy Valley star is set to play Sean Rafferty in Netflix’s House of Guinness, the foreman of the Guinness brewery in 1800s Dublin.
James is literally buzzing to tell us about the “intimidating” character he plays.
“He is a force, an enigma, he’s a bag of contradictions, he’s also a delight to play for an actor. He’s a very strong, intimidating presence. Everyone in Dublin fears and respects him. He’s a man of integrity; he isn’t afraid of using violence when needed. He runs the show! He’s the fixer, the caretaker, the head of the brewery,” he enthuses.
“He’s a bit older than the Guinness siblings who take over. There’s a strange power dynamic between the two because he’s the boss, but he’s not a Guinness, he works for them. He’s a bit of a womaniser. But he does it with such a twinkle and such relish! Sean Rafferty loves being Sean Rafferty. It’s such a joy to play!”
Of course, he worked very hard on the Irish accent. And he credits the rest of the cast with helping him master the accent as well as his dialect coach. But one thing that he didn’t have to work on was the joy that Sean brought to him.
“It’s quite fun playing the bad guy! He’s proper bad, bad guy. I don’t spend most of my life going around knowing people are afraid of me. There’s something quite fun about walking onto a set like that…even if it is just the costume.
“The amazing Edward Gibbons gave me the most amazing costumes. I had a big black coat and best hat. To have a bit of swagger and be a little bit intimidating in your day job and then take off that coat at the end of the day is quite fun.”
House of Guinness hits Netflix on September 25th
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