Star Wars 9 Domhnall Gleeson: 'DON'T feel bad for Hux' – Plus new film The Little Stranger

A repressed English country GP in the 1940s and the leader of a galactic army seem to have little in common.

Yet, it’s not just that both are played by the same sublimely talented actor.

Gleeson has a knack for bring characters to life who are loners, outsiders, often rather unsympathetic and who share a sense of muted yet palpable desperation and longing.

Dr Faraday in The Little Stranger will never be part of the upper classes or loved by the woman he wishes to marry. His supressed frustration and rage may be even darker than it first appears. General Hux, meanwhile, is one repressed tantrum away from punching Kylo Ren and losing his arm (or head) in the process.  

The Little Stranger from Lenny Abrahamson, the director of Oscar-winner Room is a slow-burning thriller based on Sarah Water’s popular novel.

The stellar cast includes Ruth Wilson, Charlotte Rampling and Will Poulter, and the film is an intense experience to watch and was even more so to make.

Gleeson recently confessed he had needed six months off after such an emotionaly gruelling shoot, but he also told me the laughs were many and frequent on set.

He said: “You don’t shake something like this off. It moves in for a while. The people in the house are all quite sick and get sicker as the film goes on. They start falling apart. I definitely had a bit of that going on myself.”

Gleeson said: “Ruth is hilarious, Lenny is hilarious and Will. All those people are very, very funny. There was fun to be had… I think it’s necessary. You understand you have to be able to have a laugh. You can’t spend all day in the atmosphere of this film. It was an intense ride, you can’t do that for twelve hours a day.”

Watching the movie it’s hard to imagine any high-jinks off camera but the actor confessed he and Wilson often wished their own characters would get over themselves, when the nearest they get to any real passion is an awkward fumble in a car in a creepy wood.

He added: “Ruth was very funny talking about (her character) Caroline. (My character) Faraday is definitely awkward. We used to laugh at them and go, ’If only they would loosen up.’”

Gleeson has publicly repeated that making The Little Stranger was one of the highights of his career and is work he is justly very proud of.

It’s impossible not to ask him about Star Wars, however, and I boldly suggest that making the psychotic Hux relatable is also an incredibly impressible feat.

When I continue my Hux adoration by saying Gleeson turned a monster into man, he adds: “I’m not sure about that, but I’ll take it!”

He reveals that working on Episode 9 is a complete change from The Last Jedi: “Between the Star Wars films, there’s a different energy between JJ Abrams and Rian (Johnson). I’ve been really lucky with the people I’ve worked with. That’s the joy, getting to change it up.”

So, what’s next? I suggest a slasher horror or Wes Anderson farce for a complete change.

He said: “Oh, for sure. Wes Anderson, any of the Andersons. Paul Thomas Anderson. I’ll take any of them. There’es always something else to want but you have to wait until you read it to know it’s right for you. That was definitely the case with this.

“I’m waiting for the next thing. Nothing bubbling right now.”

I ask if Hux will ever get what he wants and Gleeson sidesteps the question but what does the actor himself want right now?

Doing an intense press tour and meeting a new jounalist every six minutes, his answer is understandable: “What does Domhnal want? Domhnall wants some sleep.

“But I’m happy. The problem is always wanting more. You have to take on board when you’re happy. I’m enjoying life at the moment.”

Something that poor old Dr Faraday and General Armitage Hux are unlikely to ever say…

THE LITTLE STRANGER IS OUT NOW