The latest film from Irishman Lance Daly, director of the critically-acclaimed Kisses (2008), is the feel-good comedy Life’s A Breeze, starring two of Ireland’s greatest acting talents, Pat ‘I shot JR’ Shortt and the living legend that is Fionnula Flanagan.
Life’s A Breeze tells the story of one recession-hit family who have to work together in order to get their hands on a much-needed fortune. We feel like we can already relate to this thing.
The film’s tagline says it all really, “this country is bollox€d.”
It also stars newcomer Kelly Thornton, the lovely Eva Birthistle and the welcome and obligatory Gleeson-starring-in-an-Irish-film appearance (this time it’s Brian. He’s the one who’s not Brendan or Domhnall).
To celebrate the release of new Irish film Life’s A Breeze in cinemas this week, JOE takes a look at the brilliant career of the film’s star and Irish comedy legend that is Mr. Pat Shortt.
You know him, right? He’s Tom, the crazy, Fr. Ted, unibrow guy that shot JR of course:
Shortt first came to the attention of Irish audiences when he starred alongside Limerick man Jon Kenny as one half of D’Unbelievables. The comedy duo formed in the late 80s and toured for the best part of a decade until Kenny was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Disease in 2000.
Here are the two lads in action as the local Garda Crimebusters. Great stuff:
And here are the lads eventually reuniting on The Late Late Show back in 2010:
Around the mid 90s, Shortt also began to work in a solo capacity and starred as the previously mentioned Tom in Fr. Ted. BIRD!:
In 2003, Shortt started into one of his most adventurous projects to date; Killinaskully. It was a television series that ran from 2003-2008 set in a fictitious Irish village that highlighted the, shall we say, unusual characterisations of traditional, stereotypical rural Irish folk. Check out one of the trailers for the show here:
As well as the television career, Shortt has also had his fair share of film roles over the years. Here’s a clip of him as Fergie in the enjoyable Man About Dog (2004):
The highlight though is the fact that Shortt’s character Josie, from the excellent 2007 film Garage, was chosen to be the subject of an An Post stamp in 2008. Sure, Shortt also won an IFTA for his portrayal of the petrol station employee but for JOE, it’s all about the stamp.
At the minute, Shortt is currently starring in the critically-acclaimed West End production of Martin McDonagh’s play, The Cripple of Inishmaan. It may have Harry Potter in it but we’re more interested in the Pat-packed promo here:
And of course, that’s not all he’s got on at the moment. You can check out his brand new film Life’s a Breeze in cinemas from Friday 19th July:
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