Good fellas

Three figures stand framed in the doorway of what is fast becoming one of Dublin’s most famous addresses, 49 Bachelors Walk. There’s something so familiar, even vaguely iconic, about the scene, that even without the presence of the photographer snapping their every move, this particular trio would still attract stares of recognition from curious passers by.

Raymond, Michael and Barry – otherwise known as actors Don Wycherley, Simon Delaney and Keith McErlean – these are the lovable male leads of what is undoubtedly RTE’s most successful comedy-drama in recent years, if not in living memory. With its clever scripts, jazzy hand held camerawork that perfectly captures the cosmopolitan Dublin cityscape, and its thoroughly modern dialogue, peppered with swearwords in all the appropriate places, Bachelors Walk’s mixture of realistic drama and gently surreal comic moments has proved extremely popular with the critics and viewing public. And the show is doing even better this time around, if the huge ratings for the opening episodes of series two are anything to go by.

The three men behind the scenes, the writing/directing team of John and Kieran Carney and Tom Hall have endeavored to make the second series a little quirkier and more complex, with the introduction and development of some new female characters. But the essence of Bachelors Walk, remains what it was at the outset “a story about three men.”

Barry aka Keith McErlean

Keith McErlean is an accomplished Donegal actor with a vast assortment of screen and theatre credits under his belt, including an appearance earlier this year in a production of Lovers At Versaille at the Peacock Theatre. But he’s made his biggest impression as the perpetually bewildered but endlessly enthusiastic Barry Boland, a stunningly carefree individual with a bizarre parade of hare-brained schemes behind him, particularly as head of The Boland Corporation, the doomed IT company staffed solely by an asylum-seeker hidden in his bedroom. The other thing Barry is noted for is his dalliances with rather young girls. Or rather, he would insist, girl singular.

“There was only young girl, the schoolgirl Jenny, in the first series,” Keith sighs. “The chamber maid from episode one in series two was the SAME AGE as him! Actually, if anyone noticed that the two girls were very alike, that’s because they were actually played by sisters. There was originally a very funny line in there where Ray said, ‘Does she look familiar to you?’ but it was cut in the end.”

FR: So does Barry do any maturing in the new series?

KM: “Well, no. Barry will never grow up, he’ll always be the same. Although there are some developments. The Boland Corporation is well and truly over and he’s actually got a real job, with a boss and pay and everything. It’s a gardening job in a university, where he meets the love of his life. It’s an older woman this time, who takes him under her wing. No more young ladies for Barry, he’s onto the more experienced woman and he wants someone to show him the ropes this time. Of course, Barry’s also moved out and bought himself a camper van and is living out in front of the house, calling it 49A Bachelors Walk and running power cables from the house to the van for his electricity.

“His new sidekick is a little dog called Noel, who’ll be with him for the rest of the series and they get up to various carry on together. They say never work with animals or kids and it’s strange – I thought it was gonna be a nightmare, but he was great. It took about a week for me to get used to the dog and the way he works. You basically just do it your way every time and wait ’til the dog gets it right and that’ll be the take. The only problem is you might do it ten times perfectly, but they’ll only use the one that the dog’s right in. There’s a great scene with the dog and a sausage, which is definitely my favourite bit. I just could not stop laughing, it took nearly all morning to shoot.”

FR: Barry is a weird and wonderful character, but it must be a very odd role to play. Did it get any easier with the second series?

KM: “Well, he’s a completely mad character compared to the other two guys, and it did take a while to figure out how to play him. It’s difficult to gauge how much to push it, how real to make him and how mad to make him. It took me three or four weeks to settle into it last year, whereas this year I was straight into it. What makes it easier is that the stuff was kinda straight for the others last year, but very wacky for me. This year, all the characters are getting a bit wacky, not just Barry. It meant I felt the playing of Barry was a bit more real for me this time.”

FR: How would you describe Barry Boland?

KM: “I’ve heard him described so many different ways and it’s very difficult to put into three little words. He’s very confused all the time, he hasn’t got a clear enough grasp of what’s going on around him, but he doesn’t let it bother him. Nothing phases him. Any difficulties he has, he just rides over the top of them, and if he gets knocked down he just gets back up again. That’s a fairly admirable quality. That’s what I like best about him. It’s not that he’s stupid, I think, he’s just got a slightly blurred vision of the world.

“I’m obviously nothing like him. I look a little like him, but otherwise there are no similarities at all, which is a good thing, ’cause a lot of the time as an actor you have to draw on your own experiences, but what I brought to Barry is things I’ve seen in other people. So it’s very interesting to play a character who’s so completely different.”

FR: Your co-star Simon Delaney claims he was your dialect coach and helped to transform your natural Donegal lilt into true-blue Dub.

KM: “No way! I might have asked him about one or two things maybe, but he barely gave me two lines, that fucker! I did it entirely myself. In all the jobs I’ve had, I’ve only done my own accent twice. To do a Dublin accent, you take all the musicality and everything that’s beautiful about your own accent and get rid of it. I’ve been in Dublin five years and I find the accent easy enough now I’m surrounded by it. It’s easier to do a stupid, take the piss ‘How’s it goin’ Dublin accent than it is to do a realistic middle of the road one. To make it real is a bit of a challenge and very nervewracking, but I think I’ve gotten away with it. As long as I can fool the Dubs…”

FR: Was it chaos filming on the city streets this year?

KM: “There was a lot of recognition from the public. Occasionally it’s a pain, you get people beeping horns or shouting and you have to go again. But generally people in Dublin are very good. If it was in another city it’d probably be worse. But we used to film on Sundays down on the quays, thinking it would be quiet, but they ended up being big match weekends with loads off people coming and going for the hurling and football and going nuts.”

FR: Have you noticed any additional female attention now that Barry has become a bit of a sex symbol?

KM: “Has he? I don’t know. You tell me. (Uncomfortable pause, while he gives a throaty chuckle). I certainly haven’t seen any evidence of it. Come on, how could anyone find me sexy in a pair of shorts and sandals? Maybe people want to mother Barry cause he’s a wee bit innocent. I thought Raymond would be the one the girls would be into.”

FR: What do you think the chances are for a third series?

KM: “I’ve no idea if another series will happen. But that’s what we were saying after the first one last year, and God almighty, the amount of articles that were written about that: ‘RTE tells Bachelors to walk!’ that kind of thing. So I’d say there’s more chance of a third than there was of a second. I’d love to do another one, it’s a great show, but you wonder how long it can maintain its momentum and stay fresh. People are fickle, the interest could well wane – especially with something that was so successful so quickly. But hopefully it’ll keep going.“

FR: Your highlights of 2002?

KM: “I had a fantastic time, a great year. The nicest thing was getting the second series. The thing I’m looking forward to most is getting home for about a month over Christmas and the New Year. I can’t wait ’cause things are just completely nuts at home at Christmas, what with all the parties and people meeting up.

“Hopefully, in 2003, I’ll get a lot of work abroad, either in London or the States. There’s nothing going on in this country at the moment. I mean, I work a lot compared to most actors, but still find it very difficult. I’ll go over to London for a few meetings: it’s all groundwork for the future, so fingers crossed there might be something happening in London early next year. And after that, hopefully another Bachelors Walk.”

Raymond aka Don Wycherley

Don Wycherley has had a successful career as a theatre actor in Ireland and London, since graduating from the Gaiety School of Acting, and has long been a familiar face courtesy of his appearances in the high-profile series Ballykissangel and Father Ted, and films like I Went Down and When Brendan Met Trudy. But it’s his role as the lovelorn Raymond – journalist and owner of the house on Bachelors Walk where the three guys live out their highly entertaining existence – that has really brought him to prominence. Don is thrilled that Ray is getting a gripping storyline in the second series, involving no less than two love interests, sending his character’s typical trait of obsessively agonising over decisions into overtime.

FR: How is Raymond going to cope with being torn between two lovers?

DW: “Raymond’s got some very interesting scenes in the new series, mainly to do with his tense love triangle, when his ex from the last series Alison turns up, having not gotten married to her doctor boyfriend. People really wanted him to get together with Alison last time, but things are complicated now, in that he’s started going out with this teacher he met at Michael’s wedding, who he really likes. So he’s torn and it means he’s back to his usual worrying over what to do. I can’t tell you how it turns out, but it comes to a very highly-charged conclusion. Actually they decided to reshoot one of the pivotal scenes involving Ray near the end, which I was happy about, because it gives a slightly better outcome than originally. That’s all I can reveal for now, unfortunately.”

FR: As a happily settled man, you obviously don’t share Ray’s bad luck with women, so do you find his constant insecurity a bit annoying?

DW: “Yes, Raymond can be a bit much. When I came back to Dublin to do the photoshoot, it was the first time I’d seen one of the new episodes and me and the other lads were talking about Ray, saying ‘God he’s so incredibly moany, isn’t he? Moan, moan, moan. He’s such a sap’. But at the same time Raymond is Raymond and if he’s feeling down he’ll share it with the lads. Even at Michael’s wedding, he’s sitting outside with him on the bench bemoaning the state of his lovelife, saying ‘Sorry I know it’s your wedding, but I’m having a bad time here’. But I think that’s what makes it broader. I mean, Barry is Barry and Michael has his ups and downs, but he’s basically a happy-go-lucky guy, so it remains to Ray to supply the angst. He just hasn’t found what he’s looking for in life yet, but the search for that is what’s interesting to watch.”

FR: The three are such different characters, do you think it’s unusual that they would end up as such great friends?

DW: “Yeah, we often try to analyse how their relationship came about. We reckon that Michael and Raymond were probably at school together and have known each other for years, but just encountered Barry somewhere along the way, and were never able to get rid of him. Maybe Michael brought Barry home from the pub somewhere along the line. It would be interesting to see how their relationships would develop in a third series, if they’d all go their own way eventually. God only knows where Barry would end up.”

FR: What do you think were the main factors in making the first series a success?

DW: “It’s just that the situation of the three friends living together in the flat is very believable, I suppose, with three characters that people can relate to. Also that it depicts a modern Dublin in a way that people haven’t seen before, and it’s very realistic and true – like you can imagine the same thing might be happening just down the road or whatever. The storylines and scripts are good, and hopefully the acting is good, and it all comes together in one magnificent masterpiece! It just works. I don’t really know why but it does.”

FR: I believe Keith McErlean has a reputation for cracking up during scenes.

DW: “Well, when Keith goes, he goes bigtime! We did one this year, where he brings in the hotel maid to the cottage and we have this tense conversation over by the counter, and we had to do about fifteen takes cause he kept laughing. And then of course, I kept losing it as well – you couldn’t help it, even the crew were in stitches. Although he’s very funny, I will eventually pretend that I’m getting ticked off with him, so he’ll pull himself together and we can get the thing done.”

FR: What were you’re favourite scenes to shoot?

DW: “My favourite scenes as an actor are the serious two-handers that are important to the plot, like when I first meet up with Alison and we do that big scene in the restaurant. And then I have a scene with Ray’s new girlfriend, Sally, and it’s kind of a pivotal scene as it’s so emotionally intense. I love those kind of meaty dramatic scenes. But I think Raymond has a good mix of comic scenes and very seriously intended ones, where it’s played less for laughs. The ones with the weird new tenant Russell, where Raymond is on his own trip thinking the guy is very strange and no-one else seems to see that, are certainly amusing. But basically Ray is the mature one, the house-owner, the landlord, the worrier.”

FR: So what are you working on at the moment?

DW: “I’m just finishing a run of the play, Eden, in the Arts Theatre in London’s West End. I’ve appeared in productions of the same play in Dublin before, so it’s one I really enjoy. As for film projects, I’ll be in a forthcoming biopic of the murdered journalist Veronica Guerin. I play a cop called Chris Finnegan, very loosely based on a real guy involved in the case. He furnishes Veronica with information that she wouldn’t have access to otherwise, and although he has problems with it, he realises that by publicising what these guys are up to, she’s able to get at them in a way that he can’t. I’ll be finished with the play in a week or two and I’ll be home to Dublin for Christmas. I’m hoping to pick up a few Christmas parties, if possible. I’ll probably stick around in the New Year like most actors seem to do, touting for work and waiting for something happen. Hopefully something will.”

Michael aka Simon Delaney

Simon Delaney, who plays the laidback and extremely likeable ex-barrister Michael, has less of a formal thespian background than his two co-stars. He started his acting career slightly later in life, initially taking part in amateur dramatics and musical societies, before getting the Bachelors Walk gig. Series Two sees Michael getting married to long-suffering girlfriend Jane, taking up an unusual new hobby and getting involved in an extramarital affair. Michael also boasts one of the contenders for funniest moment ever on Irish television, i.e. the bit from the first series in which he appears holding the Swiss roll in one hand and a spliff in the other, a scene which somehow sums up what Michael is all about.

“It was a particularly good moment of television, wasn’t it?” Simon giggles. “I also particularly liked the bit where I was thrown out of the beekeeper’s convention. I really enjoyed doing that scene. I don’t know why but telling fifty balding bearded men to fuck off was really strangely enjoyable. You get to live a lot of dreams on Bachelors Walk.”

FR: So tell me about the new developments with Michael in the second series?

SD: “Well, Michael got married, but himself and the wife are still in the flat in Bachelors Walk, waiting for their apartment to be built, so he’s still kinda living the bachelor life. Kelly Campbell plays his wife this year – the girl who played her in the first one, Barbara Griffin, just had a baby girl, and so the part had to be recast. But spookily, Kelly is the spitting image of her. It was slightly strange playing against a different actress in the role, but Kelly did a great job. Michael also auditions for a local musical society and gets a part in a production called Caged set in Mountjoy prison. There’s a bit of a spark with his leading lady – he starts to fall for her and he only married a month, the dirty swine! So it leads to all sorts of complications with the wife.”

FR:Did you encourage the musical storyline in order to show off your fine singing voice?

SD: “My background is in musical societies, so the lads knew I could sing and wanted to write it in, to try and give Michael an unexpected storyline. You just wouldn’t expect Michael to have this hidden talent – it was not alluded to at all in the first series and the next thing he has the lead in a musical! A couple of people have asked me ‘Is that really you singing?’ Well, it most definitely is me. Actually, my dream gig would be to do a Broadway musical or a West End show. They don’t come along very often, but I’ve got my agent on the look out.”

FR: What’s the best thing about playing Michael?

SD: “The thing I like best about him is his unpredictability, I suppose. You never know what he’s going to do next. He’s not a very reliable man, but I think that can bring good things, like the musical thing, which he throws himself into one hundred percent. Unfortunately he doesn’t realise the havoc he’s causing around him.”

FR: Have you got a lot in common with your character?

SD: “I like the way he’s very easygoing. He’s very like myself in that he likes the odd jar and a smoke, and singing in the bath, which I do frequently. I suppose when you play any part, you have to bring aspects of yourself to the table – that’s why you get cast in the first place. I think I have a better work ethic than Michael, in the sense that he doesn’t seem to have one. Although Michael is a fully qualified barrister, he’s not able to get enough regular work, so he’s back working in his Da’s sports shop. But he’s been promoted to assistant manager now, so thankfully he doesn’t have to wear those fuckin’ awful red shorts and yellow shirt!”

FR: Was shooting the second series any harder after the huge success of the first one?

SD: “On the first day of filming this year, the first scene we did was one with the three of us. It was really just like putting on an old pair of slippers. We had a lot of the same crew back and there was a kind of familiar thing. We fell into the characters a lot easier. What made it difficult is that we’d a shorter schedule, only eight weeks, so it was tougher work physically.”

FR: But were the outdoor scenes tricky this time, what with passers-by recognising the cast?

SD: “It wasn’t easy for the three of us to walk down Grafton Street. On our own it’s not too bad, but once the three of us were together, we were easily identifiable and it got a bit mental. People were great though, they were generally either just standing round watching, or would come over and say, ‘Jaysus, great show lads’. But it was a bit distracting when people stopped and shouted stuff while the filming was going on.”

FR: And is the fan mail flooding in yet?

SD: “None of us got any fan mail last year, and I think the amount of letters for this year would still be precisely zero. Apart from the letters of complaint that we’re smoking so much on screen. The Minister For Health has to be seen to be against that sort of thing, but I think there’s a lot worse things happening out there in the world for him to be worrying about – like the shortage of hospital beds and so on.”

FR: What have been your highlights of the year?

SD: “Well, getting the second series for one, and I was nominated for an IFTA (Irish Film and Television Award), for Bachelors Walk. I also directed a production of West Side Story which did a week in the Draiocht Centre in Blanchardstown, then moved to the Town Hall Theatre in Waterford, as part of an international competition. Oh and I bought a new house out in Lusk for myself and my fiancé, which is wonderful.”

FR: What are your hopes for the year ahead?

SD: “I’m finishing off a film called The Halo Effect. It’s an Irish feature film starring Stephen Rea, and written and directed by a guy called Lance Daly, who’s only about 28 years of age. It’s a comedy set in a chipper in Dorset Street and I play an interesting little character called Rock Steady Eddie who delivers the chips on a Honda 50. Stephen Rea’s character is an ex-gambler has takes over the chipper and sort of inherits the staff and all the regulars, but is struggling to stay on the straight and narrow. That’ll be out next year, and there’s a few more things in the pipeline. So my main hope for 2003 is to be as busy as this year. And to get a third series of Bachelors Walk. And hopefully to start planning a wedding date.”

Girls’Talk

Bachelors Walk may be about three blokes – but their various entanglements with women are an integral part of the plot. In the first series, the love story between Raymond and Alison was one of the elements that gave the drama depth (as well as spice), and the genuine kind of human interest, which enables almost everyone to relate to it.

For the second series, the boys have all moved on in different ways. To begin with, Michael is married to Jane Piper, his girlfriend from the first run. They’ve already been through a serious bust-up and a miscarriage together, and the wedding is a way of attempting to bring some order to what is a chaotic love life.

In the new series, a change of actress was required, with Kelly Campbell taking over the role of Jane from Barbara Griffin – who has had a baby girl herself in the meantime and was unavailable. However, the switch has been almost seamless, so alike are the two actresses. Kelly felt slightly strange slipping into someone else’s skin at first, but she has adapted in a thoroughly convincing way.

“I was careful to underplay Jane’s emotions,” she says. “The subtleties in Bachelors Walk are there for a reason.”

Having failed to steal Alison away from her doctor boyfriend in the first series, Raymond begins the new run on a high, getting together with Sally, a teacher who is played by Moya Farrelly.

“The female characters are so believable,” Moya comments. “The issues that we all grapple with – life, love, relationships – are all there.”

However, the road is not a smooth one, as might be expected with the vacillating Raymond. Alison makes a re-entry, having finished with her doctor, and the scene is set for moments of high personal drama that will grip the nation!

There are two fresh faces to further make the love angle even more piquant. Constance, a university lecturer is played by Donna Dent.

“She’s wonderfully interesting, quirky and eccentric,” Donna says. “She’s quite hard to explain – it’s like trying to describe a circle. She’s in her own world.”

And finally, there is Rachel, a stunning blonde played with great pizazz by Fiona Glascott. And if she doesn’t have more than one of the Bachelors Walk boys slavering after her, then she’ll almost certainly have most of the blokes out there in viewer-land.

By series end, who will be the most popular female character? Old fans may have their money on Alison – but there’ll be a few surprises along the way, that’s for sure.