The Irish actor and writer on Vic and Bob, Philomena and London's parks
Peter McDonald is an Irish actor and writer best known for Moone Boy, Sea of Souls and RTE's Your Bad Self. Born in Dublin in 1972, he began his acting as a student at University College Dublin. In addition to his TV roles, he has appeared in more than a dozen fims, including I Went Down, The Damned United and Felicia's Journey, while his theatre work includes a highly praised production of Glengarry Glen Ross at the Apollo in London. As well as Sky 1's Moone Boy, McDonald can currently be seen in the comedy film The Stag and at Wyndham's theatre in The Weir.
**Television: **House of Fools**
* *
Absolutely crazy and a real breath of fresh air. Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer are at their best and have great support from Matt Berry and Morgana Robinson. It reminds me of The Young Ones or an alternative Mrs Brown's Boys.
**Film: **Philomena**
This struck a huge chord with me, not least because I am Irish. Steve Coogan proves himself to be a great writer and great dramatic actor. It is beautifully written and beautifully paced. And Judi Dench, who plays the lead character, is just magnificent.
**Book: **The Unknowns** by Gabriel Roth**
It's about a millionaire in California, who invented a piece of hugely successful software, and his relationship with this girl. Essentially he has used his intelligence to unlock the social world, and I don't mean social media, I mean the world where people actually meet in person and talk to one another. He is a classic nerd but through sheer brains he works out what to do and how to behave. It is extremely funny, because he is not always successful, far from it in fact. He has developed this very unique voice, not the voice of a nerd, it's far more nuanced and clever and therefore funny. He has to study the emotions that come very naturally to other men and other women. You become really involved with this guy. It's a great novel for the 21st century.
**Theatre: **The Night Alive** by Conor McPherson**
Conor is a brilliant playwright. Most people know him because of The Weir. The Night Alive is a staggering piece of work. It's about a guy who is living on the fringes of society. He is, for want of a better word, a moocher, a quasi-criminal who will steal and sell anything he can get his hands on. Imagine Del Boy without the patter and the eternal optimism. At the start of the play he takes in a woman who he saves from a street altercation. She is very inscrutable, maybe she's a prostitute, maybe she's on drugs, maybe she's on the level. At any rate he falls in love with her and she finds a strange sort of peace with him for a period of time. But her ex-boyfriend turns up and the wheels come off. Conor touches the spiritual world in a perfectly convincing and naturalistic way.
**Restaurant: **The River Café**
I had never been to a Michelin-starred restaurant before, but they had this really great deal on so I took my wife there for her birthday. The food was just so good, Italian cuisine at its best. One of the only good things to be said for this recession is that London's finest restaurants have dropped their prices.
**Outdoors: **London's parks**
We got a dog recently and have been touring London's parks to give him a decent walk. Just the other day I took him to Battersea Park. Wow! It is just so beautiful. My wife and I and the dog walked along the river and not for the first time I had to pinch myself, because London is such an amazing place to live. I have lived in London for 13 years but its parks never cease to fill me with wonder and awe. You are never more than walking distance from some beautiful park or common. And they are all so beautifully looked after. I live just near Brockwell Park. I was there this morning. If you walk to the top of the hill you get this amazing view of London. Reported by guardian.co.uk 28 minutes ago.
Peter McDonald is an Irish actor and writer best known for Moone Boy, Sea of Souls and RTE's Your Bad Self. Born in Dublin in 1972, he began his acting as a student at University College Dublin. In addition to his TV roles, he has appeared in more than a dozen fims, including I Went Down, The Damned United and Felicia's Journey, while his theatre work includes a highly praised production of Glengarry Glen Ross at the Apollo in London. As well as Sky 1's Moone Boy, McDonald can currently be seen in the comedy film The Stag and at Wyndham's theatre in The Weir.
**Television: **House of Fools**
* *
Absolutely crazy and a real breath of fresh air. Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer are at their best and have great support from Matt Berry and Morgana Robinson. It reminds me of The Young Ones or an alternative Mrs Brown's Boys.
**Film: **Philomena**
This struck a huge chord with me, not least because I am Irish. Steve Coogan proves himself to be a great writer and great dramatic actor. It is beautifully written and beautifully paced. And Judi Dench, who plays the lead character, is just magnificent.
**Book: **The Unknowns** by Gabriel Roth**
It's about a millionaire in California, who invented a piece of hugely successful software, and his relationship with this girl. Essentially he has used his intelligence to unlock the social world, and I don't mean social media, I mean the world where people actually meet in person and talk to one another. He is a classic nerd but through sheer brains he works out what to do and how to behave. It is extremely funny, because he is not always successful, far from it in fact. He has developed this very unique voice, not the voice of a nerd, it's far more nuanced and clever and therefore funny. He has to study the emotions that come very naturally to other men and other women. You become really involved with this guy. It's a great novel for the 21st century.
**Theatre: **The Night Alive** by Conor McPherson**
Conor is a brilliant playwright. Most people know him because of The Weir. The Night Alive is a staggering piece of work. It's about a guy who is living on the fringes of society. He is, for want of a better word, a moocher, a quasi-criminal who will steal and sell anything he can get his hands on. Imagine Del Boy without the patter and the eternal optimism. At the start of the play he takes in a woman who he saves from a street altercation. She is very inscrutable, maybe she's a prostitute, maybe she's on drugs, maybe she's on the level. At any rate he falls in love with her and she finds a strange sort of peace with him for a period of time. But her ex-boyfriend turns up and the wheels come off. Conor touches the spiritual world in a perfectly convincing and naturalistic way.
**Restaurant: **The River Café**
I had never been to a Michelin-starred restaurant before, but they had this really great deal on so I took my wife there for her birthday. The food was just so good, Italian cuisine at its best. One of the only good things to be said for this recession is that London's finest restaurants have dropped their prices.
**Outdoors: **London's parks**
We got a dog recently and have been touring London's parks to give him a decent walk. Just the other day I took him to Battersea Park. Wow! It is just so beautiful. My wife and I and the dog walked along the river and not for the first time I had to pinch myself, because London is such an amazing place to live. I have lived in London for 13 years but its parks never cease to fill me with wonder and awe. You are never more than walking distance from some beautiful park or common. And they are all so beautifully looked after. I live just near Brockwell Park. I was there this morning. If you walk to the top of the hill you get this amazing view of London. Reported by guardian.co.uk 28 minutes ago.