Steven Prusakowski
The actor sits down with TV Topics to share a couple of bombshell revelations, how he embrace Ned’s distinct flaws, and explain how every laugh is earned.
It could be very easy for the character of Ned Sampson (played by Domhnall Gleeson) on Peacock’s The Paper to come off as the kind of boss you want to avoid in the office. He is a bit high-strung, tends to micromanage, and his privileged background has him romanticizing a job he has no actual training for. Yet, he left a highly successful career as a record-breaking toilet paper salesman at his father’s company with the best intention – resurrecting a dying local newspaper. While his motives are sincere, his overenthusiastic approach can be a bit much for a cynical staff of workers who have already come to terms with the blasé lows journalism has sunk to.
Ned wants so badly to rally the troops, but he constantly gets in his own way as he tries way too hard to be the perfect team leader. Still, from beneath the overzealous and cringey execution, a charm shines through. It softens his flaws and makes his desperation to succeed endearing rather than off-putting. Soon, you aren’t just tolerating his awkwardness, you are rooting for him to succeed.
After having Gleeson on TV Topics, it is easy to see where some of that charm originates, and the balancing act the actor must perform to keep Ned likable while retaining the less admirable qualities that keep him interesting. (Listen to the full episode below – it is a lot of fun.)
Mid-conversation, I had the realization that some of the vibe that Gleeson gives off when playing Ned is very Jimmy Stewart-esque. It is an earnest, wide-eyed idealism with an inherent decency, but with much more to it. He carries with him a string of flaws and a certain degree of obliviousness at times; so driven by his own inspirations he does not always read the room or the situation both in business or romance. The only reason it is possible to look past it is because he is so driven, and beneath those flaws, he is capturing an old-school “rah rah rah, go team!” energy that made Stewart so popular.
During our chat, it was obvious the actor has a great sense of humor, enjoys sharing a laugh (sometimes even at his own expense) and comes across as proud of yet humble about his work. He even laughed about my continuous butchering of his name. Throughout, Domhnall shared some of his own comedic tastes, shaped by everything from the classic Irish sitcom Father Ted (which I have yet to watch) and one of his Mount Rushmores of TV – Steve Coogan’s Alan Partridge to UK version of The Office and The Simpsons, all which clearly influence the comedic energy he brings to Ned.
In addition, he dropped two jaw-dropping revelations. Firstly, during TV Topics Confessions, he admitted he has never watched a complete drama series besides Succession (mind blown). He admits to watching thousands of hours of comedy episodes, but has never watched the entirety of classics like Breaking Bad. Secondly, he revealed he has had no formal acting training.
“My training… I can tell you about it very quickly, because I have none. But my father is an actor and I fell into it in that really lucky way that is unfair, basically,” Gleeson confesses.
But there’s nothing unfair about what Gleeson brings to his characters. If you’ve seen his work, you know he uses his talents across a range of roles and genres, from the ruthless General Hux in Star Wars to Caleb in Ex Machina, family-friendly roles like Thomas McGregor in Peter Rabbit, and as Tim, the time-traveling romantic opposite Rachel McAdams in About Time (a film we discussed after I criticized it… possibly unfairly).
After discussing Ned’s arc across the first season of The Paper, it is quite obvious Gleeson put in a great deal of time and thought to ensure Ned remains much more than a caricature. He is a character you want to succeed, while enjoying his missteps along the way.
“I think you have to want to be around him, but he still has to be able to drive you mad,” shared Gleeson. “So the balance is making sure that you want to keep on watching. Not that he just drives you mad and you go, ’I can’t watch that anymore.’ I think the romance in him, the joy in him, the naivety in him, the optimism in him is part of what keeps you watching, and his ability to inspire and then his ability to absolutely screw everything up at a moment’s notice and very confidently.”
“I think this is kind of where the comedy comes from,” he continued. “If we want people to keep watching, we need to understand that he’s going to be funny to watch as well as sort of a little bit inspiring.”
There is more to Ned than the everyman charms, as he carries his own set of flaws that Gleeson injected into him, making him more layered than what we see on the surface, especially since he comes from a privileged background—something that may not play well in the offices of a flailing newspaper.
“I think they liked the idea that he was a bit of a ‘little prince,’ this sort of stuff, so we brought in him being sort of a little overly sensitive. He is actually a confident man, but he’s very, very sensitive when he’s criticized. If it’s striking a chord, like overly so, then he hits back a little bit too hard,” explained Gleeson. “We took him away from just his privilege being the joke, because that sort of stopped feeling funny that he came from a privileged background. We tempered that a little bit as it goes along. He still has the little prince thing, but because of his new situation, he doesn’t have that anymore.”
One of the moments where the overly sensitive side of Ned comes to the surface is in a scene where he is showing Mare (Chelsea Frei) and Nicole (Ramona Young) footage of his salesman days and does not get the reaction he had hoped for. Gleeson’s improv reaction not only exposes Ned’s triggering insecurities, but also makes for one of the funniest moments of the series.
“He thinks that they’ll love it, that they’ll think he’s really cool, that he was this really slick guy who sold a lot of toilet paper, and then it’s really embarrassing and they start making fun of him,” explained Gleeson. “It devastates him. It felt weird for him just to remain hurt… they say I look like Draco Malfoy with a coke problem and I was just wondering what he could hit back with.”
What he came up with surprised everyone.
“I told Chelsea that she looked like Macaulay Culkin now… and that was in the moment, and her reaction… she seemed very hurt. Then I told Ramona that she looked like an asshole. It felt too mean when I said it, but then we saw it in the cut and it’s actually pretty funny.”
Not very Jimmy Stewart-like.
When asked if his father Brendan Gleeson (who delivers genius work in In Bruges, The Banshees of Ineshierin, Harry Potter and much more) watched the series, Domhnall shared his reaction warmly.
“He was great. He was brilliant. He himself and my mom watched it and he likes it. When I do comedy, he’s always lovely about that stuff… We ended up talking about the difference between American TV and British and Irish TV and whatever that Jimmy Stewart thing is actually, that’s kind of what it is. You want great moments for them in a slightly different way than sometimes you do, and it feels like they’ve earned it by the end of that season. So it was really nice to talk to him about that stuff.”
That is the biggest and most fitting compliment about Gleeson’s work as Ned, that from where the character starts and where he ends up at the conclusion of the season (and I will not spoil it) feels earned. Ned becomes much more than a vehicle for comedy. He may occasionally drive you mad, but thanks to Gleeson’s thoughtful performance, you’ll happily subscribe for more editions and continue turning the page on whatever chaos comes next.
Watch all of season one of The Paper now streaming on Peacock and be sure to watch the full interview with Domhnall below – he’s a charmer. Follow me on Instagram @TV_Topics for more clips and TV Topics exclusives.
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