Aidan Quinn Interview - ShowBizIreland.com, 2 November 2001


ShowBizIreland.com got a chance to chat with Irish American nice guy Aiden [sic] Quinn who is here in Dublin filming Evelyn with Pierce Brosnan.


Aidan in EvelynQ: Did you want to come back to Ireland to make a movie or was it just a lucky break for you to come back to your family's birthplace and work with Pierce at the same time?

AQ: "I can't stay away from Ireland. Especially when you get something as attractive as this. It's great to be back here and in a typical Irish way, my sister has a small part in this movie and I didn't even know it. The director alerted me to that when he found out she was my sister. So, that's another really great reason to work here again."

Q: Filming has been going on around Dublin but have you had the chance to travel back to Birr where your parents are from?

AQ: "I have been down to where my family are from in County Offaly and been out in Dublin quite a bit. But, I want to go down to some of my other favorite places like Clare and Donegal over the next few weekends. My sister still lives here in Drumherr in County Leitrim. My parents come back quite often and my older brother works here a lot."

Q: And do you bring your own daughters here to show them were your side of the family comes from?

AQ: "My 12 year old loves it here and they are even getting their own Irish passports."

Q: Is their [sic] any Irish at all in your wife's family and when did you guys met?

AQ: "No, my wife is a Sicilian American and we met in a New York restaurant 17 years ago."

Q: How about a full time move back to Ireland with the kids to set up here for good?

AQ: "I would love to but the wife would never let us. However with what's been going on in the States you never know. At the moment all her family is in New York and the New York area so it's hard for me not to be in New York now. I think she might start to consider moving after the recent events."

Q: You have worked with the likes of Liam Neeson and now Pierce. Is there anyone else you would love to work with?

AQ: "I have great occasion to work with some great actors so far. Meryl Streep was just incredible to work with but at the same time I've worked with DeNiro and it's the same every time he is just incredible. I would live to work with Brando before he dies.

Q: What's next directing or producing for you?

AQ: "Absolutely, but the business is a strange one. I was once offered a part as a director but the studio said no. The business is almost run by the studio heads now. And that's even with the casting. You nearly get a list of lead roles now and the studio say who gets them. But, there are roles out there that I am struggling to get a crack at.

Q: What is your favorite film so far?

AQ: "This My Father. I love the movie and how it turned out. Without a doubt."

Taken from the ShowBizIreland.com website