ned dennehyMost commonly recognisable embodying the more frightening, deranged members of society – it’s refreshing to see the talented Irish actor Ned Dennehy take on something of a lighter role, as he plays Julian in James Rouse’s directorial debut, Downhill.

We spoke to the actor ahead of the film’s release, as he discusses his enjoyment playing such a role, though admits he had hoped it may have been a little more dour than what ended up in the final edit. In a film that explores four old friends reuniting to embark on a coast-to-coast walk, Dennehy tells us whether the film has encouraged him to get in touch with any old friends…

At the beginning, Julian seems like a harmless, charming drunk. But he’s quite a nuanced character, and a fascinating one to get your teeth into?

Yes, I think so. Julian had a lot of speeches and it’s almost as if the makers of the film are all married men, it’s as though they wanted the single, ladies man to be the loser. He is the loser in the film in a lot of ways. When he gets drunk and attacks them about being married and what a bore they are and stuff like that. There’s even more of that not in the film. I think they cheered him up a bit in the edit. But you know, there’s a certain amount of charm and humour and he’s the guy that brings a certain amount of fun and element of danger, to the otherwise safe, dull chaps, if you like.

You could say Julian has the most palpable character journey, too.

Yeah he takes a knock from the ladies, and there’s a scene where he questions their friendships, not to mention his full on rage with Gordon. So yeah I suppose he does come round in a way, and he mellows, to a certain extent. But probably only temporarily, it’s not a major character change.

Was it really important for you to try and ensure the audience are on-side in the earlier stages though, to help abide by his journey?

Yeah, though I would have preferred to have him more dour and dry and downbeat if you like. I think James, the director, wanted to cheer him up a little bit and keep him a little more brighter and a little more cheeky, a bit more viewer friendly perhaps. But I wanted to keep him more dour, with not so much of a smile.

You often can be seen playing quite dark, shady and often deranged characters. Wasn’t it a little nice for you to tackle someone a little more, perhaps, human, with an inclination for humour?

Yes. Absolutely, I did love the Julian character. The shoot was tough, so yes a bit of humour was great to get involved with. He’s not as dark as many characters I’ve been attached to, but that’s the way it goes. People do typecast you I suppose, but not always. Luther was the darkest I think.

Also, Tyrannosaur, Grabbers, Storage 24…

Yeah, again a lot of loose improv style in Tyrannosaur. Not having to be precise, and able to loosen it up, is more what I always find very enjoyable. But sure, absolutely, playing a humorous character with some killer lines that Julian has, is fun.

Judging from the film I get the impression you genuinely had to do a lot of walking – was that the case.

You know it’s not really the case, not at all. There’s a lot of sitting in vans. You could walk a certain trek, but not in terms of real walking it’s not much. You could walk 30 yards for a take and have to walk back and do the same 30 yards loads of times, but the long distance shots are supposed to give off the impression we are, but it’s not a lot.

I also get the impression you guys had a fair few drinks come the evening…

You know, the drunken scenes are all shot sober, believe it or not. I think some of the footage shot under the influence of drink wasn’t particularly successful. The scene where Karl’s character comes out in the pub – that’s a real bar in the country. Those people are real people in the pub, and the camera is hidden. Of course they had to sign release forms for it to be shown. Some of the time we did have real drinks, but most of the time it was a load of blackcurrant juice – not wine!

As for the handheld camera style – did that pose any new challenges for you as an actor? Anything you had to alter about the way you perform?

Not really. There’s a certain improv style to the acting which is a collaboration of improv, and not exactly sticking to the script. It was quite loose and you can shoot that once and you might get it, but if you shoot it more times you might get it better, or you might never get that same clash again. It’s all a bit more live I suppose, not as technical, in a sense.

The style of filmmaking does encourage this naturalistic approach and improvisation – did that serve you well as an actor? Do you enjoy that freedom?

I really enjoy that freedom. Though there is a lovely script which makes it seem naturalistic. A lot of it is in the script. There’s a nice scene I remember when we discuss Elton John, and it looks like we’re just having a spontaneous chat, but it’s all in the script. Other stuff, is genuinely naturalistic, but I really enjoyed that situation where it’s kept loose.

The is a feeling of warmth and nostalgia about this film – has it encouraged you to get in touch with any old friends?

No. Absolutely not. No. No.

Downhill is available on DVD and digital platforms from the 16th June. You can read our review here.