Irish celebrities who suddenly vanished out of the spotlight

George White

odyssey06 wrote: »

Pretty sure Stuart Townsend was fired rather than turned down when they decided to go with older actor for Aragorn. He was very annoyed as you can imagine.... didnt even get paid for his prep work, or offer of supporting role.

There is also every so often, an actor like this - who is tipped for stardom, but is so volatile that he becomes toxic. Google "Ray Sharkey".

RabbleRouser2k

odyssey06 wrote: »

Pretty sure Stuart Townsend was fired rather than turned down when they decided to go with older actor for Aragorn. He was very annoyed as you can imagine.... didnt even get paid for his prep work, or offer of supporting role.

There's some debate on this-depending who you ask. One story goes that he had the role, but Peter Jackson felt Aragorn required an older actor, so he chose to recast instead. (He did similar on The Lovely Bones where Mark Wahlberg replaced Ryan Gosling, as they felt the latter was too young to play a 'Dad'. Gosling wasn't given another role due to pretty much every role being cast. It was a mutual agreement-rather than an argument.).

Then others say he was fired from the role-due to disagreements on how the role should be played.
I imagine there is something in between regarding the 'truth'. Thor was a definite firing, however.

George White wrote: »

There is also every so often, an actor like this - who is tipped for stardom, but is so volatile that he becomes toxic. Google "Ray Sharkey".

Never heard of Ray Sharkey-but that's an interesting story-I more than likely saw him in Jake and the Fatman (Funny how that show never gets repeated on Sky-not compared to Murder she wrote or Diagnosis Murder). He sounds like a bit of a plonker, to say the least.

Anyone remember Jimmy Smallhorne? (Actual name-you'd think his agent would have 'advised' him to change it for the stage). Was tipped for stardom, had written and directed his own movie, 2by4, and was set to be a major face of Irish film, interviewed on Pat Kenny...and then he disappeared. A solid 10 or more years later, his film was featured on the Blizzard of Odd. And the next thing you heard of him, he had a small part on Love/Hate. And a small part in Cardboard gangsters.

Never really reached the 'stratosphere'.

skooterblue2

RabbleRouser2k wrote: »

Anyone remember Jimmy Smallhorne? (Actual name-you'd think his agent would have 'advised' him to change it for the stage). Was tipped for stardom, had written and directed his own movie, 2by4, and was set to be a major face of Irish film, interviewed on Pat Kenny...and then he disappeared. A solid 10 or more years later, his film was featured on the Blizzard of Odd. And the next thing you heard of him, he had a small part on Love/Hate. And a small part in Cardboard gangsters.

Never really reached the 'stratosphere'.

Now I remember that interview and he was about to appear in "something Big" with director Kim Hyun-seok. What ever was supposed to happen never happened. Fair play he was class in Love/Hate, almost as menacing as Nidge.

The Crowman

RabbleRouser2k wrote: »

There's some debate on this-depending who you ask. One story goes that he had the role, but Peter Jackson felt Aragorn required an older actor, so he chose to recast instead. (He did similar on The Lovely Bones where Mark Wahlberg replaced Ryan Gosling, as they felt the latter was too young to play a 'Dad'. Gosling wasn't given another role due to pretty much every role being cast. It was a mutual agreement-rather than an argument.).

Then others say he was fired from the role-due to disagreements on how the role should be played.
I imagine there is something in between regarding the 'truth'. Thor was a definite firing, however.



Never heard of Ray Sharkey-but that's an interesting story-I more than likely saw him in Jake and the Fatman (Funny how that show never gets repeated on Sky-not compared to Murder she wrote or Diagnosis Murder). He sounds like a bit of a plonker, to say the least.

Anyone remember Jimmy Smallhorne? (Actual name-you'd think his agent would have 'advised' him to change it for the stage). Was tipped for stardom, had written and directed his own movie, 2by4, and was set to be a major face of Irish film, interviewed on Pat Kenny...and then he disappeared. A solid 10 or more years later, his film was featured on the Blizzard of Odd. And the next thing you heard of him, he had a small part on Love/Hate. And a small part in Cardboard gangsters.

Never really reached the 'stratosphere'.

I remember when they featured it on the Blizzard Of Odd, wasn't it about a Dublin guy in New York (played by Smallhorne) who has a girlfriend but starts hanging out in gay bars? One clip that I kind of wish I hadn't seen was an Eamon Dunphy lookalike taking it up the rear.

RabbleRouser2k

The Crowman wrote: »

I remember when they featured it on the Blizzard Of Odd, wasn't it about a Dublin guy in New York (played by Smallhorne) who has a girlfriend but starts hanging out in gay bars? One clip that I kind of wish I hadn't seen was an Eamon Dunphy lookalike taking it up the rear.

That's the one-and yeah.

It's a sure and certain thing that your career will die or stall if you 'go gay' in one of your early roles.
(Jonathan Rhys Meyers in Velvet Goldmine for one-movie bombed, his career stalled.)
Exceptions to the rule include Chris Sarandon in Dog Day Afternoon, and Jude Law in Wilde-the latter two because they were involved in high profile relationships with Susan Sarandon, and Sadie Frost respectively (I think they were both married at the time, too).

Other actors weren't so lucky-Dan Futterman, Daniel Letterle, Gale Harold, Kerr Smith, and Eric McCormack, to name a few.

the purple tin

Johnny from Fair City, he used to ride the motorbike remember, he was in the a couple of the Barrytown films as well, he played Sharon's brother in the Snapper. Whatever happened to him?

the purple tin

On the subject of Fairly Sh*tty. Remember the actor who played Paddy from the early days. Paddy and Cha, is he still around?

RabbleRouser2k

the purple tin wrote: »

On the subject of Fairly Sh*tty. Remember the actor who played Paddy from the early days. Paddy and Cha, is he still around?

Charlie Roberts, he played Paddy Clarke.

Sadly passed away in 2005.

http://www.superannrte.ie/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1430:Death-of-Charlie-Roberts-1430&catid=18&Itemid=103

https://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/fair-dues-city-celebrates-2000th-episode-19392.html

El Tarangu

RabbleRouser2k wrote: »

That's the one-and yeah.

It's a sure and certain thing that your career will die or stall if you 'go gay' in one of your early roles.
(Jonathan Rhys Meyers in Velvet Goldmine for one-movie bombed, his career stalled.)

I'm not certain about that - Daniel Day Lewis, Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhall, Aidan Gillen - playing gay characters didn't seem to hold their careers back at all.

Ash.J.Williams

RabbleRouser2k wrote: »

That's the one-and yeah.

It's a sure and certain thing that your career will die or stall if you 'go gay' in one of your early roles.
(Jonathan Rhys Meyers in Velvet Goldmine for one-movie bombed, his career stalled.)
Exceptions to the rule include Chris Sarandon in Dog Day Afternoon, and Jude Law in Wilde-the latter two because they were involved in high profile relationships with Susan Sarandon, and Sadie Frost respectively (I think they were both married at the time, too).

Other actors weren't so lucky-Dan Futterman, Daniel Letterle, Gale Harold, Kerr Smith, and Eric McCormack, to name a few.

I don't think that's even remotely true

RabbleRouser2k

El Tarangu wrote: »

I'm not certain about that - Daniel Day Lewis, Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhall, Aidan Gillen - playing gay characters didn't seem to hold their careers back at all.

All of those names were already established. I'm talking the newbie breakout role.

Nowadays its seen as an oscar -for a long time, it was career killer.

El Tarangu

RabbleRouser2k wrote: »

Nowadays its seen as an oscar -for a long time, it was career killer.

Sure, back in the day, but hardly in the late 90s when Velvet Goldmine came out*

* any and all puns are purely coincidental

The Crowman

RabbleRouser2k wrote: »

All of those names were already established. I'm talking the newbie breakout role.

Nowadays its seen as an oscar -for a long time, it was career killer.

Re: Daniel Day Lewis if you mean My Beautiful Laundrette then he was far from established, that was his first major film role. Also Aiden Gillen was pretty much unknown before Queer As Folk.

ohnonotgmail

RabbleRouser2k wrote: »

All of those names were already established. I'm talking the newbie breakout role.

Nowadays its seen as an oscar -for a long time, it was career killer.

The daniel day lewis gay role WAS his breakout role. He had done some stuff before but that is the film that made him.

George White

Yes, he'd done an RTE/BBC version of How Many Miles to Babylon, and a cameo in beguiling BBC New Year's special Artemis 8 1, and a part as a DJ in Shoestring, as well as a bit in Gandhi.
But no leads....
He was a lot less picky, then, being a jobbing actor.

The Crowman

The woman who sang or played the piano,possibly both,on going strong.she might have been on live at 3 as well though I often get the two shows mixed up in my head.

RabbleRouser2k

I was going to write 'Garreth Phillips', he of former Ros na Run actor, and stage actor. He used to follow me on twitter, seemed just like any ordinary actor...

Saw on the news-he's been sentenced to 6 years for rape.

:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

The Crowman

Anyone remember Saturday Live in the late 80's before it became Kenny Live and they'd have different guest presenters every week? One of them was Pat O'Connor, a farmer from County Cork who presented it one week and briefly became a mini celebrity, sadly he died from a heart attack not too long afterwards while being interviewed on radio. Another time Ian Paisleys daughter Rhonda presented it and had her oul fella as the main guest.

skooterblue2

Eddie Lenihan..... we used to call him the "Yeti"
He was a childrens stoy teller/poet licing in county clare and had all the stories about fairies

Water John

Oh Eddie is still there. He was on warning about moving a fairy tree recently.

foxy farmer

Water John wrote: »

Oh Eddie is still there. He was on warning about moving a fairy tree recently.

The Ennis bypass.
https://www.google.ie/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/fairy-bush-survives-the-motorway-planners-1.190053%3Fmode%3Damp&ved=2ahUKEwjxmvnf4ZncAhUPKVAKHd1SCc4QFjAfegQIBhAB&usg=AOvVaw0g3HuicW-yQt9hXnZZPbve&ampcf=1

RabbleRouser2k

foxy farmer wrote: »

The Ennis bypass.
https://www.google.ie/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/fairy-bush-survives-the-motorway-planners-1.190053%3Fmode%3Damp&ved=2ahUKEwjxmvnf4ZncAhUPKVAKHd1SCc4QFjAfegQIBhAB&usg=AOvVaw0g3HuicW-yQt9hXnZZPbve&ampcf=1

That's nearly 20 years ago, hardly recent-wasn't he going on about the Hill of Tara as well as the Fairys? (That was about ten years ago or so).

When a helicopter door came off while a Fine Fail politician was in it, he blamed the fairies for that too.

Water John

No, saw him in the last six months, Nationwide maybe.

skooterblue2

RabbleRouser2k wrote: »

That's nearly 20 years ago, hardly recent-wasn't he going on about the Hill of Tara as well as the Fairys? (That was about ten years ago or so).

When a helicopter door came off while a Fine Fail politician was in it, he blamed the fairies for that too.

Yup, Trump, Brexit, snow at christmas, drought in the summer .... Its all them fairy folk I tell you

RabbleRouser2k

skooterblue2 wrote: »

Yup, Trump, Brexit, snow at christmas, drought in the summer .... Its all them fairy folk I tell you

Well, that solves that then...

'Cancel the research into global warming, folks! Everyone go home, it was fairies'

skooterblue2

RabbleRouser2k wrote: »

Well, that solves that then...

'Cancel the research into global warming, folks! Everyone go home, it was fairies'

Lock and load the guns, unsheath the swords and start swinging the maces........ Lest sort out the bastards in one felled swoop. Like yer lad Hitler did on the night of the long knives......... bonus points for Leprechauns

the purple tin

skooterblue2 wrote: »

Eddie Lenihan..... we used to call him the "Yeti"
He was a childrens stoy teller/poet licing in county clare and had all the stories about fairies

Eddie is still out and about telling and collecting stories. He would mostly stay around the south west though. Go and see him if you get a chance, he's gas craic.

sligojoek

There was a mention a while back of DC Nien and Tokyo Olympics. There's someone running FB page with scans of photos, newspaper cxuttings, audio clips on youtube etc.

Paul "Mad Dog" McGuinness contibrutes in some of the posts.

DC Nien and Tokyo Olympics FB page

the purple tin

The band Ash.

L1011

the purple tin wrote: »

The band Ash.

Still definitely going and having top 40 singles etc.