O’Dowd rose to fame when he starred in Linehan’s IT Crowd.
Chris O’Dowd has labelled Father Ted creator Graham Linehan as the best writer he has ever worked with.
The Roscommon actor is the latest major name to back Linehan, who has been marred in controversy the last few years due to his stance on trans ideology.
Linehan was previously banned from X when he posted “Men aren’t women”, and his anti-trans views have seen him shunned.
His account was reinstated on the app when Elon Musk took over.
O’Dowd admitted that he has not seen Linehan for years, but he does keep in touch with him.
He told the London Times: “I always get in touch with him and let him know: ‘I just want you to know how much f***ing love I get for your work.’”
The 45-year-old got his big break when he starred as Roy Trenneman in Channel 4’s The IT Crowd.
He did not want to make his own comments on Linehan’s views, but he said: “I do think that it’s a shame that more people don’t go and talk to him about them because – whether I agree with them or not – they’re not peripheral.”
O’Dowd is not the only IT Crowd castmember to back Linehan.
Richard Ayoade, who starred alongside O’Dowd as Maurice Moss, said that Linehan experienced a “harrowing time” for his views.
Ayoade also added a testimonial to Linehan’s book Tough Crowd, which detailed his experience.
A quote from Ayoade on the cover said: “His brilliance in prose is equal to his brilliance as a screenwriter.”
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