Actor Siobhan McSweeney: ‘Cork is full of potential Oscar-winning actors!’

SIOBHÁN McSweeney is as funny off-screen as she is on it. She has been in the acting business for almost 20 years, but her star turn as Sister Michael in Derry Girls saw her become a household name.

The Cork actor is appearing on screens this month when the second season of her hit comedy series, Extraordinary, lands on Disney+.

The show, by Fermanagh writer Emma Moran, follows the misadventures of four friends in their twenties who have something a little bit extra to contend with - their powers.

Set in London, the lead character Jen is played by Ballinhassig actor Máireád Tyers. Jen is unique, she still hasn’t developed powers, which causes her to have quite a chip on her shoulder.

McSweeney is Jen’s no nonsense but caring mother, Mary. Does she think the shared Cork connection adds to her relationship with her onscreen daughter?

“It really must do. Máireád is the extraordinary in the title. I’ve never come across an actress like her before. 

I’m delighted to be playing her mother. From day one, there’s been that chemistry between the pair of us. She is able to adapt and move, and that makes my job so easy.

McSweeney loves playing Mary, but admits she is surprised to find herself playing a mother.

“I was talking to Nicola Coughlan from Derry Girls, and she said she is playing a grown-up in her next role. It is mad how we’re playing grown-ups. How and when did that happen? I’m playing a mother. How is that possible?.”

Like all the other characters in Extraordinary, Mary has special powers, but they aren’t like the typical ones found in popular culture. While some lucky people can fly or have super strength, others defy logic, like the man who can summon individual fish from the sea to the land. Everyone thinks their power will be life-changing, but most are just muddling through.

“The whole aspect of the show is having a power doesn’t mean everything will be great, but we all think it will. I remember my first pair of Doc boots when I was a teenager. I knew that every problem I had in my life was down to the fact that I did not have these Doc Marten boots. I knew my life would be better when I had them, but nothing changed when I got those boots.”

Extraordinary is bursting with comedy, and McSweeney says there are times when the actors improvise, which is one of her favourite things to do on set.

“Our director, Toby McDonald, loves a bit of improv’ and mischief. It puts [shooting] schedules all over the place, but it’s fantastic from an actor’s perspective.

 I love improvising, but Emma is brilliant. Like Derry Girls writer, Lisa McGee, she’s always watching quietly in the background and coming up with this extraordinary stuff. We haven’t needed to improvise; the script is solid, but sometimes it happens.

It can be hard to keep a straight face on set, but McSweeney says laughing on set is a treat, even when she is the one everyone is laughing at.

“The cast are all so funny. It’s the most delicious feeling, trying not to laugh when other people are so funny and pinching yourself under the table to stop. We were filming the third episode of season two, and I stepped on set and my entire costume fell off me. Of course, that memory was there every time we went for another tape, so the laughter didn’t stop.”

McSweeney says coming back for season two has allowed her to really get to grips with her character.

“I primarily come from a theatre background, and the wonderful thing about theatre is that you get to do the show so many times. You get to live, investigate, and be an archaeologist with the script. Unfortunately, with telly and film, you don’t get to do that so much. 

The real joy of being an actor for me is the investigation.

"I’ve been able to investigate and come back and add more stuff to the absolutely bonkers lady that is Mary. I don’t take it for granted. It’s a real treat. There’s a real sense of Jen’s relationship with her mother in this season. It starts making more sense. You get more of a back-story. It’s a great privilege.”

With Cork actors McSweeney and Tyers fronting a budget TV show, actors like Alison Oliver and Eanna Hardwicke getting huge attention, and the global sensation that is Cillian Murphy, does McSweeney have any idea where the star power is coming from?

"If anybody from Cork decided to be an actor, they’d all be Oscar-nominated. We’re all just brilliant and modest about it, too,” she jokes. 

We don’t like to talk about how brilliant and superior we are to everybody, but it’s very apparent. Cillian’s cheekbones, if nothing else, are [stars].

Sofia Oxenham plays Carrie, Jen’s best friend and housemate. They share their flat with Carrie’s boyfriend, Kash, played by Bilal Hasna. Hasna says the show is as much about learning to grow up in your twenties as it is about superpowers.

“At its heart, it’s about people in their twenties trying to figure out how to live their life, which I identified with, even more so in season two. Each character is trying to be an adult. Kash is trying to find ways to act maturely. He is a narcissist; he puts himself first but not willfully and intentionally. I think that’s quite a lovely thing. He is sweet but also quite feckless.”

As a twentysomething, Oxenham agrees and can relate to the characters as they try to find their feet as young adults.

“In your twenties, there’s so much going on. Everything feels intense. A lot of the time, you turn to your friends because they see it all, and they’re with you every step of the way. They see many different versions of who you are and who you want to become. Series two really explores that aspect. We’ve gotten to know them in the first series, and now it’s about how they want to navigate their adult lives.”

Hasna says that he loves working with McSweeney and says she brings a great sense of humour to the set.

“Siobhán is simultaneously like an older sister and has a maternal vibe. She was in a play at the National Theatre, and her filming hours were slightly altered. She’d come in the evenings to do a lot of the filming. She’d been rehearsing all day, playing a different character, and then she would nail playing Mary.

“She’s magnificent, and she’s the person that makes everyone else laugh on set.”

Oxenham hopes that season two viewers find a message in the show. “I would like them to take away a laugh but also to trust yourself, be brave, be bold, and make choices. Everything will be okay if you have a good group behind you.”

Extraordinary series 2 premiered on Disney+ on March 6, 2024.