Interview: Hooking up

Dylan Moran, creator and star of cult favourite Black Books, film actor, writer and stand-up comedian, is in town with his new show Off The Hook. Victoria Nangle finds out more …

What draws you back to live stand-up – what do you get from it?
I dunno! It’s just something about it being out there. It’s about … I suppose you can get tired of accusing yourself of rubbish thinking, patterns of thinking, believing your own bullshit.

I find that with comics like yourself, you can see that your brain is always working – last time I saw you in Brighton you found that your feet were slipping in opposite directions and your couldn’t get up …
Yes… 

And just to watch your brain go – ‘what to do now?’ – is a wonderful thing to see. You’ve got funny bones.
Well, I don’t know. I don’t think about it too much. You know those activities where if you think about it you suddenly freeze? You just flood your engine?

Yes…
Well, it’s one of those.

The idea of a Black Books stage show has been mentioned and the show was ten years ago. Is Black Books something you have a good relationship with or does it just keep following you everywhere?
No, I don’t mind. People enjoyed it and that’s fine. It’s just that it happened some time ago. I’m doing other things now. But I’m glad people enjoyed it, I don’t have any problem with that.

Do you think you’ll ever return to Bernard Black?
No, no.

Do you think you’ll ever do straight acting on stage – like Beckett?
I don’t know. I’ve thought about that, you know. I have a slight problem with the idea of saying the same thing on Wednesday as I did on Tuesday. I wouldn’t be too keen on that – I think that’s the problem there.

“I have a slight problem with the idea of saying the same thing on Wednesday as I did on Tuesday”

I really enjoyed your performance in the film Calgary.
Oh, thank you. Well you know, it was part of an ensemble – it was a great cast and great fun to do. And I just had a small part to do but I had a great time doing it.

It was a larger than life character. Did you get inspiration for that from anyone in particular?
(sighs) No, I just thought about how a not-very-open or constructive or helpful sort of time in Ireland could affect somebody of that nature, and what could send people into pursuing one set of values that weren’t really what they needed, you know? But there were plenty of examples around. There are lots and lots and lots of bankers in Ireland who weren’t doing themselves and anybody else any favours.

Do you have any plans for more film work in the future?
Whatever plans I might have don’t really mean anything. If I end up in another movie it’ll probably be because somebody said; “get him, because the other guy’s dead”.

What the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
Probably my old friend Brian Murphy, he said a lot of things. He helped me out when I began. He was in a trio with Ardal (O’Hanlon) actually. I asked him a lot of questions when I was beginning and he told me, just shut up and do five or six of gigs and you’ll know as much as I do. Which is pretty honest. I mean, you do it a couple of times – the rest of it is pretty much a mystery. You’ve got to figure it out as you go.

If you could have a superpower what would it be, and what would be your first adventure?
Well, the one I’d really like is to have my memory back. And I would remember things with it. That would be my main adventure.

You’d write your autobiography.
Well, possibly. I’d just enjoy knowing some things that did happen.

I heard that in the States you had a TV pilot in turnaround. Is there any further news on that at the moment?
‘Turnaround’ is a great phrase. ‘Turnaround’ means it’s still turning. That’s all I can say. I don’t know which direction it’s facing.

What are your plans for 2015?
My plans are to do a tour, and not die, and then carry on doing a tour in 2016, do a bit more of not dying, and then I might have a rest.

What – you might die then?
I may die, but I probably won’t. I shall postpone that for as long as possible. And I shall get some more writing done. But you know what, I’ve done a lot of writing. I don’t know, maybe they will have invented the memory implants by then and I won’t have to worry about it anymore. Maybe I will just go around doing the show for as long as possible – I shall be so proud of having remembered it.

That sounds like a very good ambition. You seem to be doing lots of adventuring creatively, interns of writing, painting, and various different forms …
I have a box of nonsense that I’m gonna fill everywhere I go.

Dylan Moran: Off the Hook, Concert Hall, Brighton Dome, Wednesday 1 & Thursday 2 April 2015, £26/24, 01273 709709, brightondome.org
Picture: Andy Hollingworth