The tall, slightly disheveled Chris O’Dowd has now moved from The British IT Crowd to the big screen in Hollywood. He still has one foot firmly anchored in the UK, but he permanently resides in LA. Maybe to get closer to Silicon Valley, but I personally think it’s more to hit the big time and big screens.
I shot Chris before, when he starred in the TV comedy Family Tree. That time I remembered a quiet O’Dowd and I expected the same this time. Chris came in to the studio casually carrying a man-bag. A little early he slouched down on one of the chairs and waited for my ‘Go’. I took the time to sit down and talk to Chris about the shoot we did and what’s been going on. He was a lot more chatty than I remembered. That Chris twinkle in the eye and a few snappy comments to let me know that he was ready to rumble.
Chris was fun to shoot. Ok - so he turned down a few of my suggestions saying he didn’t want to come across like another comedian, mentioning no names. But instead of leaving me hanging, desperately trying to come up with other ideas, he took it upon himself. A perfect combination of subtle humour, nice shapes and oddity. The thing about Chris is that his humour works best when he’s not doing much. Something that became clear during this shoot but also when you see him on screen. It must be a nice feeling to know that if you’re not doing well, then do less.
Shot for Sunday Times Culture
