Born to Irish parents in North London, actor and comedian Stephen Mangan is currently lighting up BBC screens with the third series of Episodes, his hit sitcom about two British screenwriters making a show with Friends star Matt Le Blanc in the US.
He’s also the voice of Postman Pat in a new movie version also starring Ronan Keating and Harry Potter actor Rupert Grint. We caught up with him in London…
Stephen, Episodes is back on the BBC for a third series, we’ve heard that a fourth has been confirmed?
Yes, we start filming at the end of July actually. We'll probably film most of this one over here and maybe a couple of weeks in LA. We're all waiting to see what [the writers] have come up with for us for the next series, because I think that series three, which started last week is the strongest one yet. I'll be interested to know where they leave us for next season.
Matt Le Blanc plays himself in the series, what was it like working alongside one of the most recognised faces on television?
I thought that when I got the job dealing with him might be the hardest part of the job, because he's a very famous, rich, well-known Hollywood star and you worry that you're going to meet some kind of monster with a big ego, throwing temper tantrums.
But he couldn't be more down to earth. He couldn't be more self-deprecating and level-headed. He basically takes the work very seriously but he doesn't take himself seriously. It's a joy. He's fond of a practical joke, and we have a real laugh. I think the show wouldn't work as well as it does if we didn't get on so well.
It was the same for Tamsin [Greig] as well, who I've worked with for many years on Green Wing and other stuff, we instantly had a rapport with Matt, so I'm relieved that he's not the Hollywood ego that I thought he might be.
How would you describe your first interaction with Matt?
The first time we met we had to read together in front of 30 executives and it's a very peculiar thing. I mean part of my job as an actor is to meet actors that are famous to varying degrees, but meeting someone like [Matt] is another level really, because Friends is probably one of the most successful shows that has ever been and those six characters are about as famous and successful and as well-known as you can get.
It's a very surreal experience to be sitting in a room with Matt and acting with him, but he's playing himself in the show, he's playing Matt Le Blanc, and I'm playing a British guy who's slightly excited and overawed to meet him, so in some way it helps us to do our jobs.
(From L to r): Stars of BBC's Episodes - Matt LeBlanc, Stephen Mangan and Tamsin GreigAlthough you were born in London, your parents hail from Co. Mayo. Growing up, did you consider yourself Irish?
I was born in London, but my dad comes from a big family. He's one of nine and they all came over to London at some time or another. My mum was one of seven and they all came down to Chichester, so I grew up with a big extended Irish family in London.
I definitely saw myself as Irish, if anyone asked me at school I'd say I was Irish. We'd go back to Ireland and do the long trip. There was no Knock Airport in those days, so we'd drive up to Liverpool and get the overnight ferry to Dublin and then it’s a six and a half hour drive from Dublin to Belmullet. I'd do that every summer.
We'd spend a couple of months in Belmullet every summer. I was really very conscious of my Irish background and very proud of it as well.
What were your fondest memories of those summers in Ireland?
I think it’s the freedom you had there. We lived in north London, I was born in Ponders End and then we moved to Enfield. It's sort of busy with traffic. But, going back to Ireland and having the freedom to wonder around huge amounts of space.
I remember the freedom and just hanging out with loads of my cousins and friends over there, and those incredible beaches. It wasn’t always the right weather for going to the beach, but when you did get a sunny day it's an absolutely glorious place to be. I always have memories of these idyllic summers where the sun always shines, in my memory at least, I'm sure it wasn't like that in reality but that's how I remember it.
Did your Irish background influence your career path?
My mum was always a big influence on me and one of the things she enjoyed when she came to London was to see all the films and the theatre, she was a great reader as well. She used to take me to see plays when I was a boy, but it wasn't as if we were from an artistic family in any way.
My dad was a builder; he came over here like so many, working on the building sites. My mum was a barmaid in Camden, so I wasn't surrounded by story-telling or anything; we weren't that kind of family.
But, on the other hand, like a lot of Irish families, a lot of time was spent sitting around with people telling stories about relatives and people they grew up with, so maybe some of that rubbed off on me. My parents have a great sense of humour as well, so maybe without me knowing it I was being gently led towards comedy and theatre.
(From L to r): Rupert Grint, Ronan Keating and Stephen Mangan attend the recent UK premiere of Postman Pat in London's West EndDo you have a favourite Irish comedian, or are there any you enjoy watching?
Dylan Moran is always a favourite of mine; I loved what he did in Black Books. Chris O'Dowd I've worked with a few times, I think he's a great actor and he's having huge success in the States.
Off course Steve Coogan, who is also a second-generation Irishman like me. His family are from near Westport, also near Co Mayo, so when they did Alan Partridge they needed to find Alan's doppelgänger so I got the part. We're both called Stephen, we both have Irish connections. We don't look a million miles apart either really, we have a similar hairstyle. Coogan and Mangan, you can't get two more Irish names than that!
Did you ever try your hand at GAA or go to watch any games?
No, Irish sport is still a mystery to me. Mayo did pretty well this year and got to the All-Ireland final and I sort of followed that from a distance, but I have a strange dual heritage. I had my Irish family, my Irish summers and my Irish roots, but then I went to a very English boarding school and Cambridge university so I have this sort of split personality.
I'm actually a big cricket fan, which doesn't go down that well in Ireland. No one really follows cricket over there. I'm a big rugby fan as well. It's weird; I support Ireland when it comes to rugby, but I’m an English football supporter. I don't know how that works.
In that case, will you be supporting England in the World Cup?
Yes. If Ireland play rugby against England, I support Ireland, but if Ireland play football against England, I support England. All my aunts and uncles born in Ireland are Irish supporters and all the rest of us, who are second-generation Irish, are more confused.
We're the sort of transitory, intermediate generation. I'm taking my boys over to Mayo in July just because I want them to enjoy Ireland as much as I did and I want them to meet their relatives and to teach them where they came from. But, there's no question that the Irishness will start to recede, as they'll be brought up here with an English sounding dad. But, I'll do my best to remind them that they are half-Irish.
Your kids must be excited that you’ve provided the voice of Pat in the new film Postman Pat?
I'll have a lot of kudos with my kids if the film carries on for a bit longer, so I hope that it goes down a storm and we get to do it again, because I really enjoyed it.
Ronan Keating sang Pat’s vocals, how did you feel about that?
In the film Pat is supposed to have this jaw droppingly beautiful voice, it's sort of a Susan Boyle moment when he sings in front of Simon Cowbell, who may or may not be a lot like Simon Cowell. I've got a reasonably good voice but I think they were looking for something that little bit more special.
It was a real treat to have Ronan Keating do the voice because he's obviously a top singer. If anyone thinks that that's me singing in the film I don't put them right, I let them think that's me! Why not?! I'll take a little bit of the credit. But he's a properly good singer and he makes Pat sound great.
Episodes is on BBC2 on Wednesday nights at 10pm.
Postman Pat: The Movie is on general release
See More: Episodes, Interview, Postman Pat, Stephen Mangan
