Danny Boy

"Tell me more about the weather. No. Wait. Don’t. I’m starting to pine too much.”
And I’m starting to wonder if there’s some strange corner of the internet which caters for this sort of request. It’s certainly not often one hears such unbridled affection for accounts of the Irish climate, but having spent most of his formative years in Galway, actor and director Danny Huston has come over all wistful for the west coast.
“I still go to Dublin quite a bit but not to Galway, not to my father’s house,” he continues. “My memories are almost too fond and everything has changed so dramatically. At some point, when I’m not too concerned about what the nostalgia will do to me, I would love to go back there and see it again.”
Growing up between Ireland and Mexico isn’t the most conventional childhood, but members of the great Huston dynasty don’t seem to do conventional.
“It wasn’t very Hollywood”, laughs Huston. “So I suppose that’s in keeping with everything else about dad. He was always the outlaw. If he wanted to go to Uganda and make The African Queen then he just did it.”
Like his legendary progenitor, John, and indeed his sister Anjelica, Huston has proved his worth as a movie multi-tasker. Starting out in painting, the Huston genes quickly kicked in and he first assumed directorial duties on Mr. Corbett’s Ghost back in 1990. The film, featuring his father, presented certain unique challenges.
“It is, in the first place, a little daunting directing with the Huston name. You know, standing next to my father was like standing next to a giant and I would never want to do anything that would embarrass the name. But it was even more daunting to direct him. I had to tell him to stop yelling ‘Cut!’”
Recent years have seen Huston move from behind the camera and into more on-screen acting roles, including his astonishing and much-lauded turn in Bernard Rose’s IvansXTC.
“I think my acting career has only happened out of the kindness of my fellow directors’ hearts”, says Huston modestly. “They’re so generous, the roles have even gotten bigger. But in my mind I’m not sure it’s a career change. I see acting, writing and directing as essentially the same gig. It’s all about storytelling. If you understand a character when you’re writing him, then in a sense, you’re already acting him out.”
Currently you can catch Huston with his thespian hat on in John Sayles’ political drama Silver City. His wisecracking investigator makes for a most amiable protagonist while his deft performance recalls one of Elliot Gould’s existential '70s gumshoes.
“In many ways it’s a thriller in that mould and my character is certainly a bit of a loser”, explains Huston. “But I have a great romantic affinity for losers. There’s a lot to be said for them. I was also really fascinated by the obvious parallels with Chinatown because of the connection with my dad who is absolutely brilliant in that film. But then I had to get it out of my head or I would have ended up wearing a bandage on my nose for the entire movie.”
He may profess a love for losers, but the coming months point to an extraordinary work ethic. In addition to Silver City, 2005 will see Huston feature alongside Ralph Fiennes in The Constant Gardener before roughing it with Guy Pearce in Nick Cave and John Hillcoat’s antipodean western The Proposition.
“It’s an amazing, lyrical script”, gushes Danny. “And I got to play a murderous Irishman so I felt right at home.”