AMC+'s latest original series Kin puts the focus on family as the close-knit Kinsellas, a family heavily involved in criminal activities throughout Dublin, take on a larger crime syndicate after they are rocked by the horrific murder of one of their own. Heading up the Kinsella family is matriarch Bridget "Birdy" Goggins, portrayed by Maria Doyle Kennedy, who is at odds with her brother Frank Kinsella over how best to proceed with their vendetta.
In an exclusive interview with CBR, Kennedy discussed working with Kin creators on crafting her character, shared the joys of reuniting with longtime collaborator and Game of Thrones alum Aidan Gillen, and reveled in how the series is an unapologetically Irish endeavor.
How did the role of Birdy Goggins come about and what made the character so appealing for you?
Maria Doyle Kennedy: I got a call about it one day from the lovely casting agent Louise Kiely. She said they were making the show Dublin, which was great because it was six months into the pandemic and we were in a quite severe lockdown in Ireland... We could go two kilometers and that was all and we stayed in our homes and that was all. Six months in, the idea of going anywhere to work was a really intriguing, enticing, and enthralling proposition.
I read the script and it seemed really interesting. It's set in a crime world but the strongest thing about it was this really interesting family and how they react, and what their relationships are, how they are tangled up in each other the way families are -- especially dysfunctional ones. There's this magnetic vortex that you're all drawn into, and no matter how difficult or damaging it is, you can't escape it and you probably try to recreate all the time in your relationships.
I loved the way they were, and my character, Birdy. It's the best name I've ever had. Ever! [laughs] In any film or television, it's the best name I've ever had. She was, in some ways, the least developed in the original scripts. It was clear why they wanted to have her and felt this matriarch would be an interesting character. Instead of having a man in that position, it would be good to have a woman in the role. She would act, react, and create tension with the other characters but they hadn't really decided who she was, what she looked like, how she got to be in that position, or how she felt herself about being in that position. They asked me how I felt about all those things for Birdy, so that was just a brilliant way to be invited to be part of something: "Could you please tell us who she is!" [laughs] I was delighted with that opportunity. I felt like I could figure out who she was going to be and why she was who she was. I think that's important if you want to play somebody you care about. You want to believe them and understand their motivations, even for their bad stuff.
When you're working with that blank of a canvas and painting with darker colors, with your character facing the loss of a family member right from the beginning, was there a line or bit in the character description that informed how you approached her?
One of the things that seemed really clear to me was that the things that she says all the time are all defined by family. It's the pinnacle of everything for her. That's where all love is based, where all loyalty is based, that's her absolute firmament.
But it was also clear from other things that she looked at things, and the way she saw problems, that she was clever. She could have had a lot more responsibility within that family and probably would have if her gender had been different. That was one of the things I wanted to look at, that she is constantly torn with this idea of really wanting to support her brother Frank because of loyalty and family but also kind of being annoyed with him some of the time and resentful that he's making these decisions that she could've and should've made and possibly would've made better. I think real people aren't just layered with impulses, but they're almost always contradictory. They have feelings and desires that they want to solve or get to that conflict within themselves. I really felt there was all this stuff like that for her and that made her really interesting to me.
Kin also gives you the opportunity to work with Aidan Gillen again after previously starring in Sing Street together five years ago. What's your creative shorthand with him like, after so much time in, especially in pushing each other into these darker, emotionally charged areas?
We worked together twenty years ago! We also played brother and sister in Queer as Folk. I can't speak for Aidan, so I won't, but I trust him completely. I know that he's generous as a person and as an actor and he's going to give you as much, if not more, when he's off-camera to make sure he's giving you everything that you need. He's brilliant. That's never a question. I never have to think about that.
Rather than any kind of shorthand to do with the acting, we wouldn't bother with that at all, but as soon they say "cut," we're like, "What? And then what does she say?" We're very chatty, the both of us, and distract ourselves with a new book or film or somebody's performance that we've remembered. It's always a gift to have a friend because you really spend a lot of time on a film set so it's great to have somebody close by that you get on so well with.
This series immediately struck me as not pandering to American audiences, with plenty of Irish references. Even though this is going to have an international release, how was it having Kin be so identifiably Irish?
I was really happy that they did that! That was something that I worried about a little initially when I knew that Bron [Studios] was making it because they were coming from an American perspective. But then I had a look at the other stuff they had done and they're clever people who know what they're doing. The way they behaved around us, they were lovely producers who were there at all times -- Samantha [Thomas], Emma [Fleischer], and David [Davoli] -- who spoke with us on the phone. The way they operate is that they let you make what you're going to make.
They obviously read it and they're very involved in the story, scripts and casting and then they went, "We believe you can make this so go and make it and then we'll take that and bring it off to see if we can sell it to an American distributor or streamer." They don't get the streamers in first and then make the thing to suit them. They make the thing they want to make. They have it in their minds. They understand what the creators and directors are setting up and allow them to do that. It's a good model and a really authenticate way to get something that has its own voice. I hope people are going to watch more and more of it!
What are you excited for people to see with this crime drama?
I don't know how people will react to it. I think the strongest piece of it is not the crime but the strongest piece of it is this family. We're repeating patterns of aggression and destruction, of listening and not listening, talking about loyalty but maybe making decisions that could pull the whole house down. I think that's the way families often are. I think people will relate and understand that and I hope we've told it with enough excitement and compassion that you're just going to want to watch more. And that we'll get to make more! I'd love to do it again and I hope people get a really good laugh at Birdy's awful wardrobe! [laughs]
Created by Peter McKenna and Ciaran Donnelly, Kin is streaming now on AMC+, with new episodes released on Thursdays.