Jonathan Rhys Meyers

[clementine74]

yep... like being good. I'm sorry, he was dreadful in that, and I'm usually a JRM apologist---i think he's kind of scary and hot, and sort of interesting. I really thought he'd be something when I saw Velvet Goldmine. Then I read an interview and realized how messed up he was.

[Deleted]

I thought the same thing after seeing him in Gormenghast. He has a face that's both pretty and (IMO) kind of weird looking, and he was really unselfconscious about contorting his face and body in frankly unflattering ways while playing that part. I thought that was kind of cool, because usually actors seem to regulate even their "extreme anguish" expressions in ways that are relatively attractive. But he's also kind of like Angelina Jolie to me in that I think he's pretty charismatic when playing uninhibited crazy, but boring when playing a regular person.

As far as his childhood, I'm pretty sure I remember him saying that he was discovered in a pub, where he was hanging around after being kicked out of school, and my impression was that he was sort of a delinquent. In addition to his father leaving his family I think he spent some time in foster care. It's too bad that after his own experience being looked down on for being Irish he still sees fit to slur other people. Like someone else said, he's on my asshole list now.

[soul]

Boo hoo, he had a bad childhood. He's Irish. Now, he's a has-been.

[luthia]

Yes, he was a truant who skipped school and was in a pool hall when he was discovered. I never knew he was in foster care. I wonder what went on there.

[roundround]

I haven't heard anything about him being in a foster home. His parents were separated and the family split up in that he and a brother went to live with their mother and the two other brothers lived with the father's family.

Maybe it's just me, but I've always thought he aspired not to be associated with Ireland at all. He assumes an English accent in interviews and his stage name seems designed not to seem Irish. He lives in England as well.

[Neurochick]

Here's my take. The man is an alcoholic. I don't know if he's a racist. I've been sober 23 years and when I was drinking, that liquor told me all sorts of shit, the unacceptable became acceptable. I had a good friend who, when she was drunk, used to go up to people and scream, "You fucking______" just because she wanted to get into a fight, she was so insane. Once, at a party, I walked up to a friend of my boyfriend and made out with him, right in front of my boyfriend. In my mind, I was justified, I did not give a shit.

I don't act like that now, so I don't judge; being drunk doesn't make it right, but I do know that if I'd been drunk in that airport, I'm black and I would have been screaming those same words, and then accused them of being racists, which was why I had to use those words.

That is also the reason I don't believe in writing someone off, unless they're dead. The reason a lot of people never get sober is because of the guilt they feel from the shit they did when they were drunk. It's like 'I feel so fucking guilty for what I did, I'll drink some more to get rid of the guilt.' It's a sick vicious cycle. And it's even worse if you did bad shit while in a blackout. That's the scariest thing ever. I never knew what blackouts were until I got sober and it was like 'oh, that's what happened.'

[ross]

May 19, 2010 10:09:06 GMT -4 roundround said:

I haven't heard anything about him being in a foster home. His parents were separated and the family split up in that he and a brother went to live with their mother and the two other brothers lived with the father's family.

Maybe it's just me, but I've always thought he aspired not to be associated with Ireland at all. He assumes an English accent in interviews and his stage name seems designed not to seem Irish. He lives in England as well.

I'm not sure I'd read too much into his living in England. All internationally successful Irish actors end up in America or England simply because they don't have a choice - the tiny Irish film industry is focused on indies with such small budgets that appearing in one would amount to unpaid volunteer work. Pierce Brosnan, Liam Neeson and Gabriel Byrne live in America and Cillian Murphy lives in London.

Brendan Gleeson is one of the few 'name' Irish actors who spends most of his non-filming time in Ireland. Well, and Saoirse Ronan too.

[Deleted]

Maybe it's just me, but I've always thought he aspired not to be associated with Ireland at all. He assumes an English accent in interviews and his stage name seems designed not to seem Irish. He lives in England as well.

I thought his accent does sound Irish. Maybe it's softened (maybe to enable Americans to understand him?) but during the Bend it Like Beckham days when he was interviewed alongside Parminder Nagra, his accent sounded different from hers. (I shipped these two back in the day. They had a certain rapport with each other in interviews. Of course, now I wouldn't wish him on her.)

Even when he says "um" a certain way, it sounds Irish to me.

Edited to add:

I haven't followed JRM since the Bend It Like Beckham days when I thought he was good-looking for all of 5 minutes (I guess it was his character in the movie I was in like with, rather than him) and before he started doing strange things. Maybe his accent has changed since then.

[ross]

If anyone has seen Merlin (the current BBC series not the Sam Neill one from years back) Katie McGrath, the actress who plays Morgana is Irish. In fact we attended the same school.

Anyway she uses more or less her natural middle-class South County Dublin accent on screen but since it is isn't one of the better known Irish accents (abroad) a lot of people don't really know what to make of. Amanda Byram (host of The Swan) got that a lot too.

Funny things accents.

[jynni]

He nearly ruined Bend it Like Beckham for me as I couldn't believe that two girls would fight over such a horribly creepy looking dickhead.