Ed Speleers has been giving phenomenal performances for nearly two decades, but over the past year, it feels like his star is on the rise in a whole new way. His roles as the endearing Jimmy Kent in Downton Abbey and the terrifying Stephen Bonnet in Outlander brought him critical acclaim and accolades, but his recent work on Star Trek: Picard jettisoned his career into a whole new realm. One filled with a devoted fanbase actively advocating to see him reprise his role as Jack Crusher in a follow-up to Star Trek: Picard.
Over the past year, I have had the privilege of interviewing Speleers for Star Trek: Picard, as well as You, and every conversation with him is just as delightful as the last. So it is no surprise that I was eager to chat with him once more about his latest film: Netflix's visually sumptuous rom-com Irish Wish, starring Lindsay Lohan. In it, he stars as James Thomas, an intrepid photojournalist who crosses paths with Lohan's Maddie Kelly in Ireland while she's across the pond for her best friend's wedding. Speleers' natural charm makes him the picture-perfect romantic lead, but, as he revealed during our conversation, it was actually his sinister work in You that led him to the greener pastures of Ireland.
When questioned about what drew him to the project, he explained, "I think there's a combination of things, Maggie. Firstly, at the time I was wrapping up my stint as Rhys Montrose in You and Netflix came directly to me and said, 'We've got this script. It's a romantic comedy with Lindsay. Do you wanna do it?' It was a straight offer, and I thought, 'Hang on, this is a great opportunity for me to continue my working relationship with Netflix, who I've loved working for the last few years.' But also, if you're gonna step into the world of romantic comedies, who better to do it with than Lindsay Lohan? She's the queen of this type of cinema. It felt like such a great way for me to make a slight adjustment from the type of work that I'd been doing for quite a long time, which were very sort of intense roles that required an abundance of, like, soul searching and emotion, and they put me through the wringer at times." He went on to say:
"This is a very different entity and a different form of working. There are still parameters within that that you have to adhere to. You still have to play the truth and find your way through to make sure the character sings, as it were. But for me, it was a really lovely adjustment just being able to sort of let the shackles come off and enjoy it, and actually see what goes into making a romantic comedy, because one of the things that took me by surprise, I suppose, is quite often scenes in these types of films, they're very short, there's not a whole bunch of journeys within them, and quite often there's a joke at the end of it or there's a punchline that you have to get out, and then you move on to the next one."
Speleers continued, "You have to tell a very quick story within each beat and in each scene, and actually that’s a real skill. I think people may not realize that about romantic comedies, that there is a certain degree. And it's also getting that line right in romantic comedies where it is light, and you can borderline get into a cheesy world, but don't let it flip over too much. For me it's really important whatever character you're playing you’re still finding that level of truth so that we can relate to these people and actually believe who they are."
Irish Wish
ComedyFantasyRomanceWhen the love of Maddie's life gets engaged to her best friend, she puts her feelings aside to be a bridesmaid at their wedding in Ireland.
- Release Date
- March 15, 2024
- Director
- Janeen Damian
- Cast
- Lindsay Lohan , Ed Speleers , Alexander Vlahos , Ayesha Curry , Elizabeth Tan , Jacinta Mulcahy , Jane Seymour , Matty McCabe
- Runtime
- 93 Minutes
- Main Genre
- Romance
- Writers
- Kirsten Hansen
- Studio(s)
- Riviera Films , Wild Atlantic Pictures
- Distributor(s)
- Netflix
This Was The Real "Triumph" of 'Irish Wish'
One of the first questions I drew up for Speleers was specifically about the gorgeous Triumph TR4 his character drives around in Irish Wish. When I asked him about getting to drive it he was quick to share, "I love vintage cars, and in particular, that era, whether it be older Jags, whether it be E-Types or Aston Martins. But that Triumph, it was a triumph to drive. I think some of my favorite scenes were bumming around in that. It was like a classic throwback to a different era of moviemaking. It felt like a different part of cinema. Those sorts of cars I absolutely love. I'm a big fan of convertibles anyway. I mean, just bumming around Ireland in that was a real treat. I did try and plug away to everybody, like, 'This car… I kind of suit this car.' But no one let me keep it, obviously."
While he wasn't allowed to abscond with the vehicle, he did make an excellent point about how the car stole the show. Or at least how allowed for some of the best scenes between James and Maddie.
"Yeah, as I say, some of my favorite scenes were in the car, Maggie. And it's interesting because the car's quite intimate, it's fun, and I felt that actually it had its own character that sort of was able to encapsulate the relationship between Maddie and James. And actually, the reason why my favorite scenes were in the car is because I felt that that's when you saw the relationship between those two start to really solidify. It became clearer because it was just the two of them. There's nothing else around, and they had to understand each other better and start to get into each other's personalities more."
Capturing the Aesthetic of 'Irish Wish' Through Clothes and Tunes
The Triumph isn't the only gorgeous thing in Irish Wish — the entire film is abloom with vibrant colors, from the scenery to the costume design. The costumes were actually one of the first things I noticed while watching my screener of the film. From their very first introduction, Maddie and James are always color coordinated, whether it be perfectly matching ensembles or garments in the same color families. When asked if this was something that was discussed with the actors, Speleers seemed surprised by that fact, explaining:
"Well, [Scotti-Henson] Tim, the costume designer who I liked immensely, didn’t necessarily– I mean, definitely there are palettes and color schemes and patterns that one wants to incorporate, right? You have your overall look and feel for a film that you want for whatever artistic license you want it to come across in a certain way, but he didn't say, “I want you to be paired up with Maddie.” He didn't tell me that on purpose, but maybe there were definite details to overlap. Maybe that was a choice that we weren't privy to. But it’s interesting that you picked up on that, for sure."
We went on to discuss how Irish Wish sort of harkens back to an older style of storytelling, where there's an emphasis on the entire picture to create a visually cohesive story. Speleers noted, "Yeah, and I think these types of film should pop, I suppose. There should be a brightness, right? I wouldn't say it's stylized, but I feel that you should have clear choices made that elevate things, that allow people to go on a journey and escape, and you wanna see people wearing good clothes and you wanna see people in fancy cars, but yeah, in a throwback to a bygone era, for sure."
When I chatted with Speleers last year, I recalled that he had made a playlist for Jack Crusher, in addition to some of his other roles, and I was eager to ask him what might've been on James Thomas' playlist. While he downplayed his playlist curation for Irish Wish, he still provided an impressive list of tracks that suit James' personality quite well.
"With James, I didn't, but because I quite like a lot of, I'd say music that is quite global, and I feel because of his profession as a wildlife photographer, he is so well-traveled that I ended up listening to a lot more of that music. So it’s music I listen to anyway, whether it be music from Nigeria and Senegal or whether it be from, like, Latin America. All sorts of things from all over the world like the classics like Fela Kútì, Jack Lowe, and people like that. But I would listen to more, I suppose, world music. Afrobeat, a lot of it, basically."
Looking Back at His Time as Jack Crusher
Star Trek fans have a very long history of advocating for what they want, and fans have been making it known that they want Star Trek: Legacy to become a reality. While fans have been making #StarTrekLegacy trend on Twitter since the finale of Star Trek: Picard last year, there has been a renewed effort in recent months after fans saved the animated series Star Trek: Prodigy from cancellation. And to those fans, Speleers has a clear message: "Everyone seems to want it to. We’ve just got to keep putting the noise out there. I mean, I would love it. I would absolutely love to play more."
But it's about more than just that for Speleers. When I asked him what it meant to him to have a fanbase that is so passionate about seeing him reprise his role as Jack Crusher in a series that would, presumably, see him leading a series, he explained:
"It's a funny one, Maggie, because sometimes I wake up with warmth and a great sense of appreciation towards that, and other times I'm almost frustrated that we're not there. Because when you talk to the people that have been so enraptured by that final season, and the desire to tell more stories for Jack, I think the thing is there's still so many stories that can be told for Jack Crusher, and it’s teed up. I do believe it will happen at some point, and I feel that we will get there, but I think that people have just got to keep being noisy about it. I absolutely loved playing that role and I think if I could do that for another 10, 15, 20 years, I hands down would. Star Trek in many ways, I think “changing my life” is such a big phrase so I don't want to say that, but it definitely realigns things for me creatively. And actually, the run of work since then has been really interesting. But that part, I feel like I've still got so much to offer with him, and I really, really hope and want and believe that we will get that chance at some point."
While he may be hesitant to use a big phrase like "changing my life" I was curious to know how Jack Crusher had changed his life professionally. "I'll be honest, I felt that playing that role gave me a huge amount of self-belief." He continued, "Stephen Bonnet definitely opened my eyes to what was possible by pushing the envelope a little bit and starting to discover that I could play these nefarious psychos, but I think what Jack Crusher did — and I hope I don't jump the gun here — is it actually told me that if and when the right opportunity arises, I could lead a show. Although I wasn't the lead in that series, Jack's story was incredibly important throughout the whole way through, and it filled me with confidence to know that that is definitely what I wanna be doing, something I believe I should be doing. I think that, for me, is the natural next step."
Ed Speleers Delves Into His Role in 'Midas Man'
The last time I spoke with Speleers, he was heading off to work on a period piece set in the 1960s, though details were sparse about what that project was at the time. Now we know that he was filming Midas Man, the upcoming biopic about the life of The Beatles' manager Brian Epstein. Speleers was cast as Tex Ellington, Epstein's lover. If Speleers' playlist curation was any indication, he's quite the fan of music, which makes this film seem like a match made in heaven. "It was great. I really love the director on that, Joe Stephenson—really, really talented up-and-coming director. Someone, for sure, to watch out for and to be seen and hired everywhere in my opinion. It’s a lovely cast, you know, Jacob Fortune-Lloyd, Emily Watson, Eddie Marsan, some really, really cool actors." He went on to say:
"As we’ve discussed, I'm a big music fan and that period is pretty important to me. I grew up on a lot of the Beatles. My dad is a huge Beatles fan. I was always more Stones, but because of my dad, I've always had an affinity. You know, my son's called Jude; “Hey Jude” gets played almost on the daily at home. But to go and play this, again, slightly more nefarious character, someone who is living on the edge, he's an outsider, he's from New York, he's a bit of a hustler, he wants to be an actor, he wants to be a singer, he's got a chip on his shoulder, and he goes in and he kind of takes advantage of Brian [Epstein], really."
"What we know about Brian Epstein is it was not easy for him to be living in that time. He had to be so underground, so his ideas of love and relationships had to be so underground, so it meant that he ended up hanging out with maybe slightly outsider characters who maybe weren't necessarily the best people for him, and the guy Tex, who I play, was definitely that. We had a really lovely time, Jacob and I, working together. I haven't seen the film yet, but I'm hoping it turns out to be as good as it was to shoot it."
Be sure to watch the full twenty-minute interview with Speleers in the player above, to find out what else we discussed about Irish Wish and Jack Crusher. Irish Wish is streaming now on Netflix and Midas Man has yet to receive a release date this year.
