Getting to Know You: Gabriel Byrne in WALKING WITH GHOSTS

Last week, a new play arrived on Broadway with one of the industry’s most revered actors. Based on his memoir of the same name, Gabriel Byrne’s Walking With Ghosts is now playing at the Music Box Theatre for a limited engagement through December 30.

In the latest entry of our new interview series, Getting to Know You, we sat down with the two-time Tony nominee to talk about the American premiere of his solo show. Aside from his lengthy theatre resume, the star has been seen on TV and film in over 80 screen projects, and earned a Golden Globe Award in 2008 for his work in the HBO drama In Treatment.

Learn more about Gabriel, his artistry, and Walking With Ghosts below.

‍How did it come to be that your memoir was adapted into a stage play?
‍Anne Clark, the producer in Dublin wrote to me and said “do you think this could be a play”? Without thinking, I just jumped to the challenge and said yes without thinking if this could work or not.‍

What does the title of your work refer to?
‍We all carry ghosts within us. These aren’t scary ghosts – they are the ghosts of people we’ve met, the ghosts of our own experiences, the ghosts of anything that has been, or that has passed.‍

What do you most enjoy about doing a solo play on Broadway vs. something like Long Day’s Journey… or A Touch of the Poet?
‍For Long Day’s Journey… James is one of the most difficult roles you can play and A Touch of the Poet is maybe one of the most difficult plays you can do. With Walking with Ghosts, there is a freedom of structure because I fashioned the structure myself. I’m freed of the structure of convention or classical drama.‍

What’s your favorite anecdote to share on stage each night?
‍I can’t really say that I have a favorite – it’s probably better to ask the audience. They all mean something to me and that’s one of the reasons to do this – for the audience.‍

Let’s do a speed round! What’s your hometown?
‍Dublin, Ireland‍

What do you like to do when you’re not on stage?
‍Read, walk

‍What’s the best TV show you’ve watched in the past month?
‍Any football [soccer] match of the day on British television‍

Read any good books lately that we should check out (aside from your own)?
‍Monique Roffey is a British novelist who wrote an erotic thriller called The Tryst, which is a wonderful, disturbing, unsettling, erotic novel‍

What is one show you are dying to see in NYC right now?
‍Everything on Broadway. I love to go with no expectations, read nothing, listen to nobody. I’ll just randomly pick anything that’s on and go to it‍

What’s your favorite place to get food in Midtown?
‍Zou Zou’s‍

If you could describe your experience on Walking With Ghosts so far in just one word, what would it be?
‍Exhilarating

For more information and tickets, visit GabrielByrneonBroadway.com.