Fangirl Friday: Paddy Considine

 Heyo! Happy Friday! Hope you had a wonderful week. If you didn't, I hope I can lift your spirits with a little piece about a new actor on my fixation roster.

Warning: This post mentions pedophilia, rape, and child murder in fictional scenarios as well as a mention of incest, so if that's not for you, please feel free to explore other posts on my blog.

Today, I am highlighting actor, Paddy Considine. He first came onto my radar after his role as Father John Hughes in Peaky Blinders. I am a HUGE Peaky Blinders fan, and he played one of it not my favorite villain of the entire series. I am the kind of person who loves a good villain, so when an actor makes me hate their character I become interested in seeing more of their work, but Father John Hughes was a tricky one. Father Hughes was a pedophile priest who made main character Tommy Shelby's life a living hell. However, he was rightfully killed by one of his victims. Justice was truly served.

I didn't really seek out more of Paddy's work after that, but then I watched House of the Dragon where he played King Viserys. Honestly, I have no strong feelings for this character, but I do believe the makeup department deserved any and every award they got for the series. Viserys is a fun character at times. Who could blame him for being angry that his brother preys on his daughter. I would also send my brother to fight in a war after that tomfoolery. Again, even after House of the Dragon, I did not seek out his work.

Tom Hardy and Paddy Considine, MobLand

It wasn't until my mom and I watched MobLand that he REALLY grabbed my attention. In this series, Paddy plays second born son, Kevin Harrigan. To say I enjoy this character is an understatement. Kevin Harrigan, my beloved broken fictional man who I would burn the world for. While he is a main character, he is not the main focus of the show. Kevin is part of an ensemble of complex colorful characters and he is very complex. Spoilers for MobLand if you haven't seen the first season yet. Kevin is married to Bella who is revealed to have been one of his father's mistresses. Together with Bella they have a son named Eddie who might not even be Kevin's son. Eddie may actually belong to Conrad, Kevin's father. Not to mention Eddie is a complete spoiled brat and an imbecile and the catalyst for most of the drama in the series when he murders another gangster's son. Kevin is haunted by memories of being sexually abused and raped while in prison and goes on to murder his rapist. The man is put through the ringer and it's only the first season and again I mention he's not even the main focus of the show. Paddy's portrayal of Kevin earned him a spot in my brain rent free.

After MobLand THEN I thought why not explore more of Paddy's work. So, I have started slowly. Most recently, I watched his performance in all eight episodes/films of The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher. I am a sucker for period dramas, so of course I was going to enjoy this series. Paddy played real life Detective Inspector John Whicher who starts as a Detective with the Metropolitan Police, but after being disgraced he becomes a private investigator. He solves crimes while grappling with mourning his son and wife. I very much enjoyed the writing of this series, but the writing wouldn't be able to shine if Paddy's performance wasn't top notch. The first part of the series, he investigates the murder of a child, and you see him grappling with his own grief for his own son. It's so expertly done in subtle acting choices. If you, like me, enjoy a fun whodunit mystery, I highly recommend this series. It's on Disney+ in the US.

I also learned that Paddy Considine is a musician. If you know me, you know finding out an actor I enjoy watching makes music is the true way to my heart. He's been involved with several bands, but most recently, he is the lead singer for Riding the Low. He co-owns a record label, Clinical Finish Records which is distributed by Genepool. From the little bit of research, I did about his band after checking out their music and vibing, he does write most of the music, if not all of it. The band has one EP and three albums.

In 2022, he told The Guardian, "I am never fully comfortable with acting. I've never fully embraced the fact that I'm an actor. I still feel like an imposter...I'm always second guessing myself: is this OK? Am I doing a good job?" When asked about his music, he said "They're unfiltered, they go through me." Clearly, he feels more comfortable as a musician than an actor, but I can confirm that as an actor he is doing better than "OK".  He is one of the few actors who is able to disappear into the roles he plays and that's why watching him perform is so enjoyable. I cannot wait to explore more of his filmography and listen to more of his music.

Do you have a favorite Paddy Considine role? Or maybe you're more familiar with Riding the Low and have a favorite song. Let me know in the comments!