SOURCE: The Scotsman
AUTHOR: Rory? Unsure of provenance of this piece (did Rory write it? Dictate it? If the latter, to whom?)
DATE: 12 January 2009
ORIGINAL: Click here
ARCHIVE: Click here
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Actor Rory McCann is 39. He is based in Scotland, but spends most of his time travelling for work.
WHAT do I know about women? I don’t know anything. Basically you’re asking the wrong person. I remember mentioning this interview to my male mates, and they laughed their heads off. Their joke is that I couldn’t find a bird in a pet shop. It’s true. I do live in a remote area, and I don’t socialise much, so that maybe that doesn’t help.
I’m single because I move about so much that I can’t really get attached. I spent the new year in Ullapool and all I was getting was “Oh my God, you’re the Porage Oats man!” That doesn’t really help the situation. I did better in Iceland. I lived there for a year and I’m not known there, so it was just regular. The women there are fantastic. They wear the trousers. They’re the ones that point and go “Hey you. Over here!” and the men are the meek, quiet ones who are sitting there going “Who, me?” I liked that approach.
I’d like someone quiet and not too much trouble. Someone very cuddly. Chatty, but not outspoken; I don’t like loud women at all. In the business I meet some beautiful women, but to be honest, 80 per cent of them, are raving lunatics, and are to be avoided. It’s just insecurity, actors are generally quite insecure. I wouldn’t date, or I’ve never had a fling with an actress, and I’d quite like to keep it that way. But we’ll see. I have the will of a flip-flop.
If I had a long-term partner, I don’t think I’d be an actor. It’d be too much of a strain; you have to work too hard to balance that life with a family and a mortgage and all that stuff, it would be too much. I don’t think it would be fair.
I’ve got to say my mother is the most important woman in my life and not just because she is a Scotsman reader. She’s my one true believer, my No 1 fan. I’ve always been close to her. She’s been very encouraging through the ups and downs of being an actor. It’s not easy because there’s long periods of no work and she’s always been the one trying to keep me positive. I’ve managed to bring her to a few premieres – she met Angelina Jolie and that made her day.
My sister is also a very important person in my life. She’s three years younger than me and works in the business as well, she does costumes. She did a job on Alexander with me, which was great. It’s good to have a confidante. On set, we speak a secret language from childhood, so none of the other actors or directors know what we’re talking about. It’s very useful when you don’t want others to know what you’re saying.
I’m a man’s man. I go out climbing and live outdoors. I can’t get on girls’ wavelengths at all. I think we are completely different. I don’t know, maybe that’s the way it should be. If we could all get along occasionally though, that would be nice.