Donal McCann

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Donal McCann (May 7, 1943 – July 17, 1999) was an Irish stage, film, and television actor.

McCann was born in Terenure in Dublin. His father was John J. McCann, a playwright and politician who served twice as Dublin's Lord Mayor. Although Donal had acted in a production of his father's Give Me a Bed of Roses at Terenure College (see Terenure College) in 1962, he briefly studied architecture before taking a job as a sub-editor at the Evening Press which allowed him pursue part-time acting classes at the Abbey School of Actors at the same time. He joined the Abbey Players in the late 1960s.

Among his most important early roles were Cuchulainn in W.B. Yeats's On Baile Strand (1966), and as Estragon in a seminal production of Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot, partnering with Peter O'Toole as Vladimir (1969).

His career included parts in many plays from the Irish literary canon, including Tarry Flynn, The Shaughran, and the Gate Theatre's highly acclaimed production of Sean O'Casey' classic, Juno and the Paycock, in the 1980s —. McCann played the Paycock (Captain Boyle) opposite Geraldine Plunkett as Juno and John Kavanagh as Joxer Daly — and a subsequent production of O'Casey's The Plough and the Stars.

McCann developed a particularly fruitful relationship with the playwright Brian Friel. He played dual roles in Philadelphia, Here I Come in 1970 and gave a landmark performance as Frank Hardy, the title character, in Faith Healer in 1980, continuing his relationship with Friel through productions of Translations (1988) and Wonderful Tennessee (1993).

Friel has said that McCann's work "contains extraordinary characteristics that go beyond acting ... it is deeply spiritual". Perhaps McCann's most renowned role was as Thomas Dunne in Sebastian Barry's The Steward of Christendom. He won the London Critics Circle Theatre Award (Drama Theatre) as best actor for this role in 1995 and, following a twelve-week run at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, his "performance of unarguable greatness" (New York Observer) had Newsweek hailing him as "a world-class star", and the New York Times referring to this "astonishing Irish actor...widely regarded as the finest of them all".

On the London stage, McCann played in Prayer for My Daughter opposite Sir Anthony Sher (1978), and was Jean to Dame Helen Mirren in Miss Julie (1971). This was filmed for the BBC, and McCann would much later play Judge Brack with Fiona Shaw in the title role of Ibsen's Hedda Gabler, a production filmed for the BBC in 1993.

McCann began his film career early, in 1966, in Disney's The Fighting Prince of Donegal (this later became a TV series). More significant roles include the title character's father in Cal and one of the feuding brothers in Thaddeus O'Sullivan's December Bride (1990 - 1994). He has worked a number of times with Neil Jordan (Angel, The Miracle and High Spirits).

His best known film role was as Gabriel Conroy with Anjelica Huston, in an adaptation of Joyce's The Dead (1987), directed by Huston's father, John Huston. Significant late roles include Bernardo Bertolucci's Stealing Beauty (1996) and in John Turturro's Illuminata (released in 1999, after McCann's death).

McCann's television work includes the featured role as Phineas Finn in the BBC's serialized adaptatation of Anthony Trollope's The Pallisers, and as Barney Mulhall in RTE's well-regarded Strumpet City (1980), as well as many one-off parts.

McCann played in Bob Quinn's Irish language film Poitín (1979) and in Quinn's somewhat experimental The Bishop's Story (1995). Quinn made a TV documentary about McCann for RTÉ (in 1998) called It Must Be Done Right (after a remark by McCann on his craft).

In his private life, McCann was a quiet and unassuming man, but he battled both depression and alcoholism all his life. He had many friends in Irish theatre and artistic circles but also across all strata of life. His hobbies included sketching and he was passionate about horse racing.

He died at the age of 56 from pancreatic cancer.

[edit] Books

Faith O'Grady, Pat Laffan, eds. 2000. Donal McCann Remembered. (New Island Books)
The Fleadh Papers. 1998. Donal McCann: In Conversation with Gerry Stembridge at the Galway Film Fleadh, Sunday July 12th, 1998. (Film West)