‘MUSIC TRANSPORTED ME INTO THIS OTHER WORLD OF POSSIBILITY’
In Death of a Ladies’ Man, much-loved Irish actor Gabriel Byrne plays Samuel O’Shea, a college professor in Montreal who’s given a terminal diagnosis. As his world slips between fantasy and reality, he must come to terms with ghosts from his past, his failings, loves and losses to find some sort of redemption.
As suggested by the title, the film is inspired and infused by the profound words and music of Leonard Cohen. So when The Big Issue spoke to Byrne about the film from his home in Maine, who better for us to channel than Cohen himself, asking questions inspired by the legend’s lyrics?
THE BIG ISSUE: There is a crack, a crack in everything, is that how the light gets in?
GABRIEL BYRNE: We’re all imbued with this idea of perfection of one kind or another. And we all fail to reach perfection because it doesn’t exist in any area of life. I let go of the idea
