Vaughan-Lawlor: "Irish music is really important in our house"
Actor Tom Vaughan-Lawlor returns to Irish screens in the highly anticipated drama, These Sacred Vows, in which he plays a priest. He talks to Janice Butler about going back to mass to prepare for the role, maintaining his 'Irishness' while raising his family in England and why he won’t say he’s made it as an actor.
While the crime drama Love/Hate put actor Tom Vaughan-Lawlor firmly in the spotlight and in his profession’s shop window when it aired on Irish TV back in 2010, the Dublin actor has continued to impress on stage and screen. His CV includes Avengers, Peaky Blinders and more recently, on stage in The Weir with Brendan Gleeson.
Now, he returns to Irish telly with what’s bound to be a watercooler performance in John Butler’s These Sacred Vows. He plays an idiosyncratic priest, Father Vincent, in the dark comedy that opens the morning after an Irish wedding on the Spanish island of Tenerife.
Sure to make the hangovers much worse, Father Vincent’s body is found floating face-down in the swimming pool of the wedding party’s villa. Over the course of six episodes, the action jumps back in time to revisit the key events of a wild previous week, each from the perspective of a different character. There’s a White Lotus with an Irish twist feel to this one, making for a compelling watch.
Apart from Vaughan-Lawlor, the show’s stellar line-up includes mother-of-the-bride, Sandra, played by Justine Mitchell (Derry Girls, Smother) and Jason O’Mara (Agents of SHIELD) as father-of-the-bride Jerry. The ensemble also has some serious new talent, including Adam John Richardson (The Dry), Aaron Heffernan (Brassic), Mark O’Halloran (Adam & Paul, Garage), comedians Shane Daniel Byrne and Catherine Bohart and John Hewson (son of Bono and Ali).
Last June, some Irish media were invited on a virtual set visit (unfortunately, the budget didn’t stretch to Tenerife IRL) for the show. The key cast members – Tom, Justine and Jason – were all sitting in front of a swimming pool glistening in the hot Spanish sun. There were only two weeks of filming left, and there was a sense from the cast that they had something special almost in the bag.
They all gushed about each other's performances and the skills of the writer and director John Butler, known for feature films like The Stag and Handsome Devil.
Now with the show’s debut imminent, I’m lucky enough to catch up with Tom again. This time, he’s at home in Kent, and the sunshine has been replaced with a cold winter’s day. He’s immediately interested in where I am in Ireland, asking the all-important question of "What’s the weather like there?"I’m in Kent," he says. "It’s beautiful, but it’s cold."
Softly spoken, unexpectedly funny and extremely pleasant to talk to, Tom’s been living in the UK for more than 20 years and admits he still gets homesick and tries to get back to Dublin as much as possible to visit family or for work.
"I’m really lucky to be able to work in the UK, but also to get home a lot for work, really lucky," he reiterates.
"I get back to see my family and stay with my dad in Dundrum. I love working at home in Ireland. It’s a homecoming every time, and it makes me really happy and soothes the homesick undercurrent that sometimes underscores my life here," he adds.
Love/Hate signalled a marked shift in the quality of TV being produced in Ireland, putting Irish productions into the international TV arena in a way that hadn’t happened before. Tom remarks that it’s been exciting to be part of that changing landscape.
"I’ve been very blessed with the work that’s come my way. And it might sound like a cliché, but we’re all part of a story of great Irish actors. And this new generation coming up owes a debt to these incredible actors that we had before, many of whom worked in theatre," he says thoughtfully.
"We’ve always had top actors, but the explosion of TV and film have allowed greater exposure for Irish actors. We’re doing very well, and you feel very proud, seeing Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal and Barry Keoghan on the world stage. It’s a really exciting time," he adds.
He feels that the excitement around young Irish talent is evident in These Sacred Vows. "I think it’s a real reflection of modern Ireland. It’s sassy, it’s vibrant and fun and diverse," he remarks.
"There’s one scene where all of the young cast are walking up this golf green, and the way they’re lit and shot, it made me want to cry because they all look so gorgeous and they’re all so full of life and possibility.
"Irish youth is extraordinary, and looking at the talent that we have on the world stage in acting, it makes you feel really proud as a more senior actor. We’re in a really good place creatively. I got the same feeling as when I saw Barry Keoghan on set for Love/Hate; he came on and I was like ‘Who the hell is this kid?’ He was just brilliant," he recalls.
Speaking of his own role as Father Vincent, Tom, the son of an actor, who made his professional stage debut as The Boy in a 1987 Gate Theatre production of Waiting for Godot, says he went back to mass to prepare for the role. The visits gave him insight but also solace.
"I hadn’t been to mass in about 30 years, barring weddings or funerals," he admits. "It was amazing, and I found it very moving and peaceful. For Vincent, he doesn’t have a problem with his faith. What’s in question is his ability to do any good in the world because he feels his role is redundant in modern life. He’s well-meaning, and he wants to be of service, but he’s stifled by a lack of identity in terms of his role in society.
"I went to mass every Sunday for a few months, and I was surprised by the peace it brings you. I felt envious of people who have that faith and belief. I’m in awe of people who have that level of faith. I found the whole experience bittersweet, and it gave me something for the part and for myself, so I was grateful for the experience," he adds.
Vaughan-Lawlor is married to British actress Claire Cox. They have two children, Freddie and Maia. Fun fact, his son Freddie had a cameo role in season three of Love/Hate as Nidge’s son, John Jr. As he touched on earlier, he often feels homesick and holds his Irishness with pride, but is aware of not forcing his identity onto his children, who were born and are being raised in the UK. He says it’s a hard line to walk.
"I’m leaving my kids to come round to their own Irishness in some sense. I do céilí dancing with my daughter around the house, and she loves that. Irish music is really important in our house; I have various Irish records framed.
"But I think you have to be very careful with it, because my propensity would be to make them learn Irish and to wear Irish rugby and football jerseys but I’m also aware that they need to come to an interest in Irish culture and politics of their own volition rather than me forcing it on them and going ‘Dad’s banging on about Ireland again’," he laughs.
"So I have to kind of check myself a bit, but I do get homesick a lot; I wallow in my Irishness, and they tease me for that. But there’s no one more proud of their Irish heritage than me," he adds passionately.
He admits that both himself and his wife being in the acting business can be difficult for family life, but, as with his own experience of growing up around the theatre with his dad, it gives children a great window to the world of creativity.
Photo: Ruth Medjber
"That life of being an actor and the kids kind of rambling around with you can be a challenge, but exciting too," he says. "Our kids are on sets, in rehearsal rooms, and I love that they’re around that. I was around that with my dad, and I think it’s a really exciting place for young kids to be, being around artists and creative people.
"I think it’s important for kids and young people to have access to the arts at every level, and I just think it really colours them and can give them an escape, inspiration and nourishment. I see it in my kids, what it does for them and what it did for me, so I’m all on board with that," he adds.
Does he think his kids will follow their father into the world of acting, as he did? "I don’t know. It’s funny, again, it’s that thing where you want them to find what they want to do by themselves and nurture their passion," he answers.
"So if they come to us and say I really want to be an actor, then I’ll absolutely support them, but at the moment, it’s just steering them through the teenage years and making sure they’re happy and have good mental health. That’s all that matters. The schooling thing is important, but I think making sure they’re happy in themselves is the most important thing."
He’ll return to Ireland in the spring to shoot a Steve Kenny feature with White Lotus star Jason Isaacs, called Silverback. "We’ll be shooting that in March in Dublin. I love Jason Issacs, and Steve Kenny is the director; he’s really smart. It’s a really great script, and most of my scenes are with Jason, and he’s such an amazing actor. It’s going to be intense but good fun and a challenge, which is why you do the job," he says of the project.
You can also see him at the moment in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, the Game of Thrones prequel starring Peter Claffey. Tom describes it as a "dream come true. I’ve seen every House of the Dragon and Games of Thrones episode. We shot it in Northern Ireland, and just the detail of the world there and how they create it, the production values, it’s like a dream. I loved fantasy books growing up, so this was so exciting for me. I had a blast. I was like a child at Christmas when they offered me the role," he laughs
When Tom was home performing in The Weir at Dublin’s Olympia, he did an interview with the Brendan O’Connor show on Radio One, where he said that even after over 20 years in the business, with many successes along the way, he would never say he’s made it.
I ask him if that is really the case. "I think that’s a good thing, in a way, it keeps your motor going, keeps you driven and moving forward, and you’ve got to just keep moving forward," he answers.
"Being an actor keeps your life spicy but hairy at times, but that’s just the nature of the business, and that’s what you sign up for. If you can’t live that life, then it’s not a good idea to be an actor. It’s a whole lifestyle. The circus nature of it is half of what being an actor is. But look, I wouldn’t be anywhere else."
