"I’ve been very, very lucky."

In conversation with Actor Liam Carney

Irish Actor Liam Carney is best known for his roles in films including The Commitments, Braveheart, Gangs of New York and Sunlight alongside his performances in television series including Red Rock, Harry Wild, The Gone and Fair City where he is currently portraying the role of the shrewd property developer, Con Rafferty.

“When I was the age of 10 or 11, I used to think that I was the reincarnation of James Dean and I always had a huge interest in native Americans and watching cowboy films; I hated when the cowboys were around but I loved it when the Indians were about! I really wished that I could have experienced it,’’ said Liam.

“When I was in my mid teenage years, I realised that the only way I could experience what I was watching was if I was an Actor as it was nearly like time travel. I always wanted to act but it was never something that was mentioned when I was growing up in the 1960’s on the Northside of Dublin. Acting wasn’t exactly on the top of anyone’s list.

“Growing up at home, I never mentioned anything about it (acting), I did my Leaving Certificate and began working in the Civil Service. One of my younger brothers joined an amateur theatre company. I went to see one or two of his plays which resulted in me joining the group in my early twenties. Through that group, I met another guy who was serious about acting and we discovered an Actors centre near the Ha’Penny Bridge so we called in and had a coffee and viewed the notice board which had various auditions advertised and from there I started blagging it!’’

In 1986, Carney’s acting career took flight when he teamed up with Paul Mercier in Passion Machine.

“I left the Post Office and I made up a CV pretending that I had gone to a drama school that was actually closed, there was no internet then so no one could check it out. I got my equity permit at the age of 25 or 26, I didn’t want to go back to college and I wasn’t sure of what they actually taught you there; considering acting was something you just did. Now, I wish I had done a little more training than I did but that is how I became an Actor. I blagged it and I was very lucky! he added.

In 1987, Liam toured with a Cork theatre company with their adaption of the Brian Friel play ‘Volunteers,’ and in 1989 he began acting in Glenroe where he portrayed the role of Kevin Haughey.

“In 1990, Roz Hubbard was casting The Commitments and she came to see me act in a play called ‘Studs,’ which was based around soccer. The play was very stylised and Roz brought Alan Parker (Director of The Commitments) to see it. We had a female stage manager by the name of Ger Ryan and the Hubbard’s asked Ger and I to read opposite everyone that was auditioning for The Commitments which was a great experience.

“When I was working alongside Alan (Parker) for two or three weeks, every few days he would ask me which part I wanted to play and when I said ‘Jimmy Rabbitte,’ he would inform me that I was too old,’’ enthused a smiling Carney.

“The character I play in the film isn’t in the book, Alan wrote the character of ‘Duffy,’ in for me and that was my first film which was completely different to working on a television production. I loved The Commitments. I worked with The Hubbard’s and Alan Parker again on Angela’s Ashes a number of years later. I played the part of the ‘nice Uncle’, Pa Keating and that was simply through asking Alan to give me that part, possibly down to cockiness. I loved working with Alan, I got on great with him and he gave me two of the best roles I’ve ever played.

“It is a very precarious industry and I have seen lots of my peers who would have started out with me and who, perhaps had more training than me walk away from it as they couldn’t handle being broke. I weathered the storm. My career wasn’t the meteoric rise that I hoped it might be, but at the same time I’ve been very, very lucky.

From Glenroe to Braveheart to theatre work to touring with theatre productions, Carney was then asked to audition for the film ‘Gangs of New York.’

“I drove from Galway to Dublin for the audition and a month or so later, I got the call asking me whether or not I wanted to go to Rome to begin filming.”

In more recent years, Liam has starred in a number of amazing series, including the RTÉ drama ‘The Gone,’ which was based around a young Irish couple vanishing from a small town in the North Island of New Zealand. Alongside his incredible performance as Joseph Martin in the show, he amazed viewers that not only can he hold a tune, he can hold a tune bi-linguly when he performed ‘The Parting Glass.’

“If someone had to play an instrument or harmonise with me, it would have thrown me completely off! I was only able to sing the song because I was on my own, I can hold a tune but I never know if I’m in tune with anyone else. It is (The Parting Glass) is a beautiful song and for the first week that we were over there, I was in my chalet driving everyone else mad because I was busy learning it in Irish, I was almost hearing it in my sleep,’’ added Liam.

As to when Liam knows a part is right for him?

“I’ve been very lucky in that most of the stuff that I have done has been very well written. Conor McPherson is an incredible playwright as is Paul Mercier who gave me my break. I got most of my training through theatre work. When a script is well written, the character is easy to portray; when something is badly written and you have to play a character, it can be torture. I don’t care if I’m the right fit or not for the part, I need the work so when I audition I will do my best to make the character my own, if I get the part. When you don’t get a part that you really want, it can be hard to deal with and then there are parts that you don’t really care if you get them or not, you get those parts really easy because you’re not eager to do them,’’ he continued.

Currently Liam is gracing our screens as the shrewd property developer Con Rafferty in RTÉ’s Fair City.

“When the producers of the show approached my agent, I was told that Con was a hard working, driven man with no hidden vices. I think James (Matthew O’Brien) who plays my son is the rogue in the Rafferty family and Con is left cleaning up his mess. I have no idea where the writers will go with this character and equally I have no idea who his next love interest will be! I could suggest things to the team but I don’t want to, I’m happy to let them do their job whilst trying to enjoy what they write for me,’’ finished Liam Carney.