Nenagh actor stars in major film

By Peter Gleeson

Nenagh actor Daryl McCormack has reached another milestone in his stratospheric career, starring alongside the award winning Emma Thompson in a new British sex comedy-drama film.

‘Good Luck to You, Leo Grande’, due for cinema release in June, features Nancy Stokes, a retired widow played by Thompson, who is seeking romance and excitement after a boring marriage.

She hires a good-looking young sex worker called Leo Grande, played by McCormack, in the hope of enjoying a night of pleasure and self-discovery.

The film, directed by Sophie Hyde and written by Katy Brand, premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival in the US back in January. It was shot in a number of locations, including London and Norwich, over the course of just six weeks in March-April last year.

Elaborating on the film, Hyde says Nancy is seeking good sex for the first time in her life. She hooks up with Leo and the film takes viewers over a series of meetings as the characters investigate things about their lives, like bodily pleasure.

Daryl McCormack revealed that he actually spoke to real sex workers to prepare for his role. “I had a compiled list of sex workers to speak to that was organisd by Sophie and the team,” said McCormack.

He said he got to appreciate the individuality of the people he spoke to. “Their spirit kind of rubbed off on me... it was just their ownership over themselves, their anatomy, their authority... I just got to speak to each one individually and got to know them,” said McCormack, who added that he hoped he had brought their energy into the film.

Emma Thompson said she hoped the film would create a desire in people to talk about female pleasure, something that was not considered important in society. “And if it is it is essentially being sold for male pleasure in my view.

“I think its very rare that female pleasure is genuinely examined, genuinely discussed,” said Thompson, adding that Christian values had traditionally denied, and indeed prohibited, female pleasure.

Sophie Hyde said she got great satisfaction directing the film. “All you have is two people in a room and a camera. It's one of the purest cinema jobs I've ever done,” she said.

McCormack said he considered it quite an honour to be selected to star alongside an actor of Thompson's pedigree. He was impressed with the script and felt Leo was a character “who had so much to say for himself” and he was delighted to accept the role.

He said found the shoot “daunting, but exciting too”. Attitudes to sexuality portrayed in the film were conversations he wanted to have with his own friends.

Hyde said the chemistry between Thompson and McCormack is very good. “By the time we got on to the set we were already a team and these two were already a team.”

In addition to gang drama ‘Peaky Blinders’, McCormack has also starred in BBC One’s ‘A Very English Scandal’and Amazon’s ‘Wheel Of Time’.

He also played a leading role in the Irish comedy-thriller film, ‘Pixie’, starring alongside Olivia Cooke, Alec Baldwin, Pat Shortt and Dylan Moran.

Growing up in Nenagh, McCormack's talents as a budding actor were nurtured through stage appearances with the local Choral Society and in CBS school plays. He regularly returns to Nenagh for holidays.