Domhnall: Yes! Brian?..
Brian: Can I?! Probably not!
Frank Of Ireland is a physical, slapstick comedy about an arrogant fantasist called Frank Maron who s in his thirties at home with his mother. He has a best friend called Doofus, who is too good for him, an ex-girlfriend he hasn t moved on from, and a mother who wants him to move out. That s what he s contending with over the six episodes..
How did the project come about?
Domhnall: Brian and I had worked together on a few things before, and wanted to do something new. Brian suggested we write something funny together to act in, which was a little bit scary. I d written sketches with Michael Moloney over the years, who s a great writer, and the two of us had been looking to do something in longer form. So we all got together.
Brian Gleeson and Domhall Gleeson as Frank and Doofus in Frank of Ireland
Credit: Channel 4
Frank of Ireland is a brand new sitcom written by and starring Domhnall and Brian Gleeson, both established actors and sons of another, the venerated Brendan; it is produced by Sharon Horgan. And yet, for all its pedigree, it’s not quite sure that the government of Eire will be using it as a tourism video anytime soon. The Frank of the title, played by Brian, the younger of the Gleeson lads at 33, is the ultimate man-child, an obnoxious singer-songwriter with no discernible talent who still lives with (and sponges off) his mum. Meanwhile Domhnall, the eldest at 37, plays the junior here, a hapless sidekick called Doofus who follows Frank around as they goof about in a version of the Dublin suburb of Malahide, where they grew up. If they are rattling around the same Ireland that Sally Rooney writes about, the end result is madder, cruder and dafter.
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It s a peculiar set-up to be sure. And yet it is, in many ways, one that perfectly captures the physical, somewhat slapstick nature of the duo s latest black comedy, Frank Of Ireland, which will air on Channel 4. Written by Peaky Blinders actor Brian Gleeson and his brother, Ex Machina and About Time star Domhnall Gleeson, alongside Your Bad Self creator Michael Moloney, Frank Of Ireland is a curious blend of physical comedy underpinned by delightfully dark humour. It is a physical, slapstick and . we were talking references earlier - if you grew up watching Jim Carrey in Dumb And Dumber, I think that element of it is important to us and is definitely there, says Brian, 33.
“If you look over during a mixed martial arts scene to see your brother with a boner, it really has to be comedic,” he says via Zoom to the soundtrack of Brian’s uproarious laughter in a separate window. “Otherwise you’re in a very dark place.”
Lols might not seem instantly synonymous with the Gleeson brothers. Domhnall is probably better known for being savaged by a werewolf as a Weasley brother in the Harry Potter films, sneering haughtily as General Hux in the last Star Wars trilogy, or getting scalped by Tom Hardy in The Revenant. One of Brian’s recent roles, meanwhile, saw him crucify someone as Peaky Blinders’ Jimmy McCavern. And, when the pair were on screen together, playing warring brothers in Darren Aronofsky’s psychological shocker Mother!, it ended with Domhnall’s character stoving in the head of Brian’s character with a doorknob.