An upcoming Netflix series about the Guinness family could well be a springboard for the next crop of Irish stars to break Hollywood, according to insiders. The main cast for House Of Guinness was announced this week, with 10 of the 13 performers hailing from the land of the black stuff. Filming in Liverpool and at a Cheshire mansion has already begun.
And while the eight-part series – written by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight and set in 19th century Dublin and New York – is unlikely to do stout sales any harm, it could be an even more significant promotional vehicle for the acting talent involved. An Irish casting agent based in London predicted the two ‘breakout stars’ of the period drama will be Hilda Fay and Danielle Galligan. While Fay is known to Irish audiences as Tracey McGuigan in Fair City and a fixture of theatre here, the source said she is ‘unknown internationally, and that’s about to change’.
‘She’s a fabulous actress and this is her time to shine,’ the agent told the Irish Mail on Sunday. ‘I know she’ll be brilliant.’ Galligan, called ‘a star in the making’, is already known internationally – albeit to a niche audience – for playing Nina Zenik in the Netflix show Shadow And Bone.
She is known to the wider Irish public through roles in hit RTÉ shows Kin, and Obituary and was IFTA-nominated last year for her performance in the Irish film Lakelands. The casting agent said: ‘I’ve been in the room with her at a casting and she has a magic about her – she’s going to be very big.’ The source said that Fionn O’Shea – best known as Connell’s slimy love rival in Normal People – is ‘also doing really well’.
‘He’s part of this Cool Ireland thing which is really a phenomenon in London at the moment. You’ve got him, Paul Mescal, Andrew Scott, [fashion designer] Simone Rocha, India Mullan. This will increase his profile again.
’ ‘Everywhere you go in the world people drink Guinness. This series will go everywhere I think – it’s going to be huge.’ A Netflix source told the MoS the series will ‘of course’ be marketed to the whole world when it lands, most likely in 2025.
The source agreed that it could launch some of its stars to another level. ‘Look at Nicola Coughlan’s trajectory following Derry Girls, which was available on Netflix, and obviously Bridgerton was a global series on Netflix.’ ‘Look at her career – she’s just been on a global tour with Netflix to promote Bridgerton and she’s got fans all over the world.
’ Netflix says the series ‘will explore an epic story inspired by one of Europe’s most famous and enduring dynasties’. Knight’s script will ‘reimagine the period immediately after the death of Benjamin Guinness in 1868, the man responsible for the extraordinary success of the Guinness brewery, and the far-reaching impact of his will on the fate of his four adult children, Arthur, Edward, Anne, and Ben, as well as on a group of Dublin characters who work and interact with the phenomenon that is Guinness’. Belfast actor Anthony Boyle will play Arthur, great-grandson of the original Arthur, who bought the St James’s Gate brewery in 1759.
Boyle has starred in the US miniseries Masters Of The Air and Manhunt, and is a renowned stage actor, winning a Best Supporting Actor Laurence Olivier Award for playing Scorpius Malfoy in West End and Broadway productions of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Established screen talent like the quadruple IFTA-nominated Michael McElhatton (Spin The Bottle, Game Of Thrones) and double IFTA-winning Dervla Kirwan (Ondine, Smother) are also among the Irish cast members, as is David Wilmot, most recently seen in Bodkin playing Seamus Gallagher. And Jack Gleeson, who became famous around the world as Prince Joffrey in Game of Thrones but has kept a relatively low profile since, could be about to star in another global smash.
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