1 week ago
9 
Taking on a role made famous by a titan of TV and film can be quite the challenge for an actor, but it’s one that Niall Wright welcomed.
The Hope Street star, 34, has stepped into the shoes of Shane O’Neill in the Channel 4 remake of A Woman Of Substance, which landed on screens last week.
Shane, nicknamed Mac, was first brought to life by Liam Neeson in the 1985 adaptation of the Barbara Taylor Bradford novel, which no doubt opened doors for the now world famous star, known for his work in films such as Taken, Batman Begins and Star Wars.
No pressure at all then for Niall, who takes on the mantle of the Irish labourer in Channel 4’s re-telling of the rags-to-riches tale, which documents protagonist Emma Harte’s rise from a Fairley Hall maid to the richest woman in the world.
‘If I’d thought about it too much before, I probably would’ve scared myself out of it!,’ he told Metro on taking on such a renowned part. ‘I knew there would be a level of notoriety about it because Liam Neeson had been involved in it, which gave it that excitement.
‘To take on something iconic like this – that Liam Neeson has done – I felt very honoured. The fact that it’s two people from the North of Ireland giving this role a go is pretty cool.’
The Mickybo and Me star said he purposely avoided watching the original Woman Of Substance miniseries, starring Jenny Seagrove and Deborah Kerr, and was keen to put his own stamp on the character. ‘I didn’t want to get swayed or influenced by anything so I read the book and made my own take on it.’
And make it his own he certainly does, with the actor demonstrating an intrinsic understanding of Mac during our chat, a fact which he largely attributes to having read the original novel and its follow-ups including Man of Honour.
‘You have a well of information to draw on, which is amazing,’ he said. ‘You have a respect for the character and you want to do him justice, because the world is already created.’
Mac’s journey begins when he first crosses paths with Emma on the way to Fairley Hall and it doesn’t take long for them to connect, developing an ‘instant bond’ and a friendship that properly goes the distance.
‘They’ve both tasted hunger and now they want to make a better life for themselves,’ said Niall, believing his on-screen counterpart to be Emma’s ‘moral compass’.
‘Mac is fiercely loyal, trustworthy and quite empathetic – he’s always looking out for other people. He’s ambitious but also has a bit of a cheeky charm to him as well. And he’s quite observant, he can always tell when there is something up with Emma.’
‘I think a really nice way to describe him is that he’s non-judgemental. He takes Emma and her situation for what they are. He doesn’t judge, which is a lovely quality to have.’
The friendship proves pivotal to the eight-part series, so it was vital that the two stars tasked with bringing it to life were able to capture that special bond.
Spoiler: they succeeded.
‘To have someone as talented as Jessica [Reynolds, who plays young Emma], who is such an instinctual actor, was lovely in terms of creating that chemistry and connection,’ Niall continued. ‘It was very easy and seamless.
‘Even from the first day of rehearsals we hit it off, we had an understanding of each other. With Jess, she is very generous, so when you have someone like that who really listens – I try to do it back – it can create something quite special. I felt very safe with her, which was lovely. And that was important, because all of our stuff is together, so there had to be something there.’
Niall and Jessica used accents to bring their characters to life, with Niall adopting a southern Irish accent – crediting his friend and accent coach for helping him pull it off – while Jessica does a ‘faultless’ Yorkshire one.
‘To my ear – and knowing that she’s from Belfast – there wasn’t even like an inkling of a Belfast twang coming through at all, which I was completely stunned by,’ enthused Niall, who joked that he tried to throw Jessica off in-between takes by saying a few things in a ‘strong Belfast accent’.
‘It didn’t work!’, he laughed.
The 34-year-old’s nuanced portrayal of Mac comes in the wake of him having completed work on BBC NI’s Hope Street, where he played loveable PC Callum McCarthy in the first four series of the police drama.
The fifth series – which aired last year – was the first Niall couldn’t take part in due to scheduling conflicts, but he branded the whole experience an ‘absolute joy’.
‘Hope Street will always have a massive place in my heart and I’m very grateful and lucky to have been involved in that,’ he said with a smile, reflecting fondly on filming in Donaghadee with his friends.
‘That’s a show that has shown the North of Ireland in such a lovely light and I think that was very much needed at that time. And who knows what will happen with that in the future!’.
In terms of what’s next for Niall, fans can see him in Slow Horses. ‘I have a role in the next series,’ he teased. ‘And at the moment I am on dad duty. That’s the job at the minute, which is amazing.’
A Woman Of Substance is now streaming on Channel 4 or catch episodes on TV Wednesdays and Thursdays at 9pm.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us [email protected], calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
Bengali (Bangladesh) · 
English (United States) ·