IRISH actor Éanna Hardwicke has revealed his favourite Christmas ghost story.
The star, who was born in Cork, claims The Dead, by James Joyce, is the right mix of “tragic, wistful and mysterious” at a time of year which is “ripe for ghosts”.
This month Hardwick stars in the BBC’s A Ghost Story for Christmas: Woman of Stone.
Written and directed by Mark Gatiss, it is based on Edith Nesbit’s chilling short story Man-Size in Marble, where she recounts the chilling tale of newlywed Victorians Jack and Laura.
The couple are settling into a small cottage in a quiet village when their idyll is overshadowed by the superstitious warnings of their housekeeper, Mrs Dorman, and the legend of the village church’s tomb effigies - a pair of marble knights who are said to rise from their slabs on Christmas Eve.
Hardwicke plays Jack Lorimore, alongside Phoebe Horn as Laura Lorimer and Celia Imrie as Edith Nesbit.
This week he revealed what we can expect from the show…
What did you make of Woman of Stone when you first read the script?
I have to hold my hands up here: I knew almost nothing about Edith Nesbit.
When I was reading about her before shooting I discovered how prolific she was. She worked across just about every form you could imagine: novels, essays, short stories, children’s stories, ghost stories.
Tell us about your character, Jack
He’s an aspiring artist, a bit of a dandy and not a good man. I was drawn to the fact that he is a bohemian type - and for whatever reason maybe you might be less likely to suspect someone like that of being abusive and controlling.
He is a wolf in (sort of) sheep’s clothing. He has a charm, and a schtick which passes muster with some but which sharper eyes can see through.
And behind closed doors he’s a different man altogether. So I thought it was a very truthful and strong choice in the writing.
How was working with Mark and the cast?
It’s great fun and a joy and very satisfying work.
The dynamic comes from the top down and Mark creates a very playful, very joyful set.
Many of the team who work on the Ghost Stories have done so for years now, so it’s a slick operation.
And my scenes were with Phoebe, Mawaan and Monica who are such wonderful actors. Sadly I didn’t get to do anything with Celia, but it was lovely to cross paths.
And then wearing bowler hats and mutton chops is just good fun - so yes, it was a perfect week I think.
What do you think viewers will enjoy about this story?
It’s a proper ghost story - mysterious, chilling, truly frightening.
I love ghost stories that land in that in-between space; we don’t know whether we believe or not, we don’t know if they’re of our own creation or inexplicably real.
And then underneath the supernatural there are very real human monsters. So hopefully there are layers for an audience to unpack and be surprised by.
What makes ghost stories so fitting around Christmas time and do you have a favourite ghost story?
Something about the thin veil. The end of the year, winter, the colour of the whole season seems ripe for ghosts, as if at this time of the year we are more than usually close to the dead.
My favourite Christmas ghost story - and I might be stretching the definition here - is Joyce’s The Dead. It captures that feeling perfectly. It’s tragic and wistful and mysterious and somehow soothing too.
The John Huston film version of it is brilliant and an underappreciated Christmas film.
And then A Christmas Carol of course. I read it most years and it amazes me every year how utterly brilliant it is.
A Ghost Story for Christmas: Woman of Stone airs on BBC Two and iPlayer at 10.15pm on Christmas Eve.
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