Larry Mullen Jr. reckons that the scariest gig of his life was acting on screen with Donald Sutherland, even though he has performed in front of millions.
Larry Mullen Jr / Man On The Train
Mullens makes his acting debut in new film ‘Man on Train’ which premieres on Friday in Dublin, and amateur Larry is keen on finding more acting projects after getting a taste for it.
In a remake of Patrice Leconte’s acclaimed 2002 French drama of the same name, Mullens plays a bearded thief opposite Sutherland. The movie see Mullen play a mysterious criminal who rolls into a small town planning to raid the local bank. Mullen is also listed as co-producer on the film.
Larry Mullen Jr
Mullen revealed: “Overall, it was incredibly difficult. It didn’t come easy, necessarily, but when I looked back at it, I didn’t look as terrified as I actually was.”
He said: “There was nothing for me to bounce back on. It wasn’t like I could call Donald over and say, “Hey Donald, how was that? Was that okay for you? Should we have the lights this way? ‘
“I had no idea, I was wandering around, getting in the way and standing in the wrong places.”
And Larry admitted that as a musician, he sometimes felt out of his depth working on the massive project.
He added: “It was a terrifying experience, but when I was working with Donald I didn’t feel intimidated by him necessarily, I just felt out of my comfort zone and out of my depth.
Larry Mullen Jr.
“Therefore I had to dig deep and rely on instincts that I haven’t used for 25 years. For all those things it was a truly liberating and extraordinary experience, but it wasn’t easy.”
Overall the Dubliner is proud to have taken the leap from stage to screen. After weeks of filming in Canada, Mullen revealed: “I would really love to do it again. But it won’t be down to me, necessarily. It will be down to a director or a casting director taking a chance on a novice. I will never be a career actor, I don’t think.”
He continued: “I don’t think anybody can imagine the life that I’ve been lucky enough to have. It’s been an incredible journey.
“In my 50th year, to have an opportunity to act, and to act with such a great actor as Donald and with a great director like Mary, is not something that you can imagine.
“They’re things that you dream about. Not things that you ever think will become a reality, no.”
The opening night of new Irish film Man on a Train premiered at the Irish Film Institute on January 11th.