Justine Mitchell, who co-stars in RTÉ’s new black comedy These Sacred Vows, said she was “obsessed” with the Maggie O’Farrell book of the same name.
On Buckley, who has already won a Golden Globe for her part as Agnes Shakespeare, she was “just amazing to work with. I can’t describe how wonderful she is,” she said.
The film adaptation is sweeping the boards this season, with Buckley picking up a Bafta nomination this week.
We just trusted her immediately. So it felt very special
Director Chloe Zhao was also nominated for two Oscars for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay and Mitchell said she was wonderful to work with.
“It was of great interest to me. How do you translate a book into film? Logistically, Chloe had really thought it through. When you meet her, she is magnetic, she is sparkling, she is funny as hell,” Mitchell said.
“Being on set was really funny and very light. She’s just charming and brilliant. We just trusted her immediately. So it felt very special and we were just hoping it could be like the book.
“Maggie O’Farrell put it succinctly. She said the movie is the fraternal twin of the book, and I thought that was perfect.”
Jessie Buckley is a strong favourite to win Best Actress at the Oscars for her performance in ‘Hamnet’. Photo: Getty
These Sacred Vows starts this Sunday on RTÉ One and Mitchell is one of the big names featured in the six-part series co-starring Tom Vaughan-Lawlor. In a far cry from his character of Nidge on Love/Hate, he plays a timid priest named Fr Vincent, who’s seen lying dead in a villa pool in the first episode.
Written and directed by award-winner John Butler, it’s set on the sunny island of Tenerife and staged around a lavish Irish wedding. Mitchell plays Sandra, the mother of the bride who, despite her glossy exterior, is hiding a deep secret.
“She’s all smooth on the outside but a hot, stinking mess on the inside – like the rest of the cast,” she said.
O’Mara lived in LA for 20 years before returning to Ireland and said he put on 10kg
“No actor can say no to that. It’s so human and it’s so funny and that mismatch always creates tension and comedy and drama.”
Jason O’Mara plays the part of her wealthy husband Gerry. In a uniquely Irish twist, he has known Justine since his college days in Trinity College. He joked how they were the “old people on the set”, given its youthful cast, which also includes Aaron Heffernan.
O’Mara lived in LA for 20 years before returning to Ireland and said he put on 10kg to play the part of the golf-playing Gerry.
A complex character, he said Gerry “realises he wants something that he essentially can’t have because of the way his life is set up”.
“I think that’s true of other characters as well. I can’t speak for them but that’s kind of the theme that runs throughout,” he said.
Each episode will feature a different character as the RTÉ series revisits the key events from a wild week away.