Mags GarganActor Sean Bean, who has taken on one of his most “nerve-wracking” roles playing a hard-working Catholic priest, has said he discovered through his experience how “selfless” priests are.
Known for action roles in Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings, in a new six-part BBC drama written by Jimmy McGovern the actor plays Fr Michael Kerrigan, who presides over an urban parish in Northern England.
The 58-year-old has never portrayed a cleric before and put in preparation with the help of Fr Denis, a consultant on the new series Broken.
“He’s a very approachable man, very knowledgeable and he helped me through that process and making the character look authentic,” the actor explained.
“I’ve been in church and seen priests in front of me, but when you’re actually up there, looking the other way, and you’ve got the vestment on, it’s quite a different story, let me tell you. I found it quite nerve-wracking the first time. I wanted to get everything right.”
The character of Fr Kerrigan is a good man in an increasingly bad world, trying to heal his broken flock in a community that has its fair share of social problems. The star said it was a change from his typical action roles where he was “always dealing with someone with problems” or was causing the problems.
“I was trying to help people,” he said. “I’ve found that priests are very selfless people.”