Q&A:DAVID PEARSE, star of RTÉ's new comedy drama 'Trivia'
Why is Laurence, your character in 'Trivia', so obsessed with table quizzes?His life has not been a complete success, I suppose. He's in his mid-30s, lives at home and works in a video shop. While others are moving on in their lives and careers, his seems to be stagnating. So the weekly table quiz is the only way for him to show his . . .
His mettle?Yeah, . . . it's his chance to shine. He's very good but, at the end of the day, he invests too much of himself in something that really isn't very important.
He's a not-so-loveable loser: like George Costanza from 'Seinfeld' or Melvin Udall in 'As Good As It Gets'.Well, we've seen variations on this character. But I don't think he's quite as nasty as the ones you mention. With Laurence, there is absolutely no intent. He's a nice guy, but socially inept. He has no idea how to relate to people. He does his best. But somehow his best is just . . . wrong.
Did you base him on anyone you know?No, I don't know anyone like that, honestly. To be fair, the part was already very clearly defined when I read the script. But I did spend a lot of time with the costume designer deciding what clothes he should wear. He's an anorak, so that was one obvious starting point.
Isn't it slightly counter-intuitive that he eventually falls in love with someone who's better than him at quizzes?Ha! I hadn't thought of that. Why doesn't he feel threatened? Maybe it's because they're on the same team. The most important thing to him is that the team wins. Besides, as he begins to fall for her, the quiz becomes less and less important to him.
Laurence fires one of his teammates for not knowing where the 1962 World Cup was held. Are you a trivia whizz in real life?Not at all. In fact, while we were making the show, I went along to a real table quiz with Tom Hall, the director, and some of the cast. I was completely hopeless. I didn't answer a single question. Halfway through the quiz, my teammates asked me to go out and get crisps for the table. So that tells its own story.
You've been described as an easy-going, even unambitious actor. How did you come to land the lead role?I don't really know. My agent rang me and said there was an audition. I went down, read for the part and got the job. It all happened very quickly. It wasn't something I had been gearing myself up for or anything.
Is your easy-going reputation justified, or is there fire lurking beneath the surface?I suppose I am pretty easy-going. Most actors are. The ones I hang around with anyway. I don't see myself as being any big deal. I enjoy working and I'm very pleased to be doing a job I love.
You have a huge list of stage and screen credits. Any regrets? Any parts you wish you had or hadn't taken?None. Any part I've taken, I've taken after some consideration. And when I take the part, that's the part I go with. That's the gig when you're an actor. There are so many variables at work. You can't really live with wondering, 'What if?'
You're a short guy with a receding hairline. Does this affect the roles you're offered?Well, first of all, thanks for saying I'm receding. I'd have thought I was a complete slaphead – maybe you can see a hairline there that I don't! (laughs) To be honest, it doesn't make any difference at all. In the film Fifty Dead Men Walking, I played the head of an interrogation unit within the IRA. That was a vicious character. In Trivia, I play a much gentler soul. So I don't see that it makes any difference.
If people are sitting at home next Thursday night, why should they watch 'Trivia'?It's a simple story and, I would hope, a charming one. There are a few chuckles here and there. It isn't edgy. There aren't any car chases or anything like that. But it'll put a smile on your face and you might just spot one or two characters you recognise in your own life.
Trivia
begins on RTÉ1 on Thursday night at 10.15pm
