Domhnall Gleeson on the real A.A. Milne, Fame, and Margot Robbie
Been to see Goodbye Christopher Robin yet? The film made us weep, and we loved Domhnall Gleeson’s (Bill Weasley) portrayal of Winnie-the-Pooh author A.A. Milne. In new interviews to promote the film, Gleeson has spoken about being in the public eye, having a famous father, and how he resisted getting into the acting world.
Gleeson spoke about his father, Brendan Gleeson, known to Potter fans as Mad-Eye Moody:
I’m lucky that my father is a complicated, amazing man. He’s just the best dad in the world, so all of my memories of being a child are closely wound up with him. I really didn’t start acting until I was about 19, and I wasn’t out in the world as an actor until I was 22.
But he was quick to honor his mother too.
My mother is every bit as important to our family as my father. Both of them are fantastic parents. Keeping a family together is pretty artistic too and takes a lot of creativity, I would think. My mom’s just a brilliant woman. She’s her own person; there’s no way to describe her quickly.
Goodbye Christopher Robin looks at the fame of a parent and the unintended effect on a child – something that Gleeson can relate to through his father’s fame when he was a teenager.
When we would go out and people would come up to him looking for autographs — it wasn’t pictures in those days — and everybody wanted a word, even though we’d be trying to have a family dinner. I used to notice myself and my three brothers angling around him to try to keep him guarded from the points of view of other people, because he’s your dad first, before he’s an actor that people know. […] And of course I’ve experienced a little bit of that myself because of Star Wars and Harry Potter. You want your time to be your own, but it’s part of the deal you make, I suppose. Thinking about it for a child is terrifying.
In a video interview, which you can see below, Gleeson talks more about the film, acting alongside Margot Robbie, making a film about real people, and getting to film in the real locations.
Goodbye Christopher Robin is out in UK and US theaters now. It stars Kelly Macdonald (Helena Ravenclaw) as Christopher Robin’s Nanny, Olive, alongside Domhnall Gleeson and tells the story of Winnie-the-Pooh’s rise to fame.
Have you been to see the film yet? Share your thoughts with us!