Martin McDonagh has a confession to make. The Irish filmmaker behind In Bruges and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri spent a chunk of his early life working as a hitman. Now, as he prepares to release his latest film, Wild Horse Nine, he is using it as a chance to talk about his past, his process, and why he thinks his new movie is his most political work yet.
Speaking at the Zurich Film Festival, McDonagh called Wild Horse Nine “probably my most political film.” He explained why the project feels so timely: “So many things in the present day mirror a lot of those types of interventions in the past. You can actually hear lines that I thought were about 1973 being interpreted by a modern audience as being about Venezuela a few months ago or other places around the world.”
The film follows two CIA agents, played by John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell, who travel to Easter Island before the 1973 Chilean coup. McDonagh noted that the movie’s references to Russia’s interventions in Finland 100 years ago now land as connections to Ukraine. “I love that it has a resonance I wasn’t necessarily aware of in the writing of it,” he said.
From Radio Plays to the BBC Rejections
McDonagh’s path to becoming a filmmaker was anything but straightforward. He left school at 16 and spent a long stretch unemployed, dreaming of becoming a writer. He wrote radio plays, all of which were rejected — “Mostly by the BBC. But I don’t bear a grudge.” That rejection pile eventually turned into a career.
One of his plays featured a cat exploding. “As a film fan, I put all that into the energy of the plays. Things would happen that you wouldn’t usually see on stage,” he said. The explosion appeared in The Lieutenant of Inishmore.
Seeing Al Pacino in American Buffalo by David Mamet was a turning point. “I can still remember it to this day. He just came on stage and blew the whole theater away,” McDonagh recalled. “It was this combination of a play, full of energy and swearing, amazing dialogue and this movie star who, well, you’d realize what acting really was when he was on stage.”
The Transition to Cinema
McDonagh’s move from stage to screen was not smooth. He wrote scripts without the camera in mind, but he enjoyed the freedom of adapting his ideas. “It’s like when you don’t go to the gym for a long time; that’s where my theater brain is at the moment. But the muscle memory is still there,” he said.
His 2004 short Six Shooter won the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film. He credits the success to the protection of Brendan Gleeson. “It was probably the scariest situation I’ve been in artistically. But the wonderful thing was having Brendan Gleeson be part of it. He protected me from any interference. I couldn’t have done it without his help and guidance,” he recalled.
The Hitman Years
The hitman revelation comes with a joke. “I used to be a hit man. People don’t know that. They thought it just was plays and then films. It was plays, killing and then films,” McDonagh joked. “I went to Bruges not knowing anything about it. I was supposed to meet a girl on the second night, and she didn’t turn up. It was this combination of thinking it was the most cinematic, undiscovered town I’d ever seen, and being bored as hell and just wanting to get drunk and get out of there.”
He reunited with Gleeson on In Bruges, which also stars Colin Farrell. Two hitmen are forced to hide out after a mission goes wrong. Once again, he felt shielded by his leads. “Colin and Brendan were great partners in protecting me from any interference from the grown-ups. Who aren’t usually grown up; they’re children with a lot of money. It’s the nature of Hollywood,” he said.
“I’m going to get in so much trouble. It’s good that it’s not being filmed, right?”
Dark Comedy With a Deeper Core
McDonagh’s films are known for their dark humor, but he has noticed a shift in recent years. “I’ve tried to make sure that the films aren’t just about being cool. They’re about something deeper, and I guess more tragic,” he said. “I’m leaving room for more contemplative scenes where the characters are on their own and it’s not funny. They’re left to think about their lives or dwell on their regrets.”
Frances McDormand played the grieving mother Mildred Hayes in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. Now John Malkovich takes on a similar role in Wild Horse Nine. McDonagh wanted Malkovich to bring the full range of emotions to the part. “When they’re great actors like Frances or John, you see the sadness in their eyes, and you fill in what they’re thinking about,” he noted.
“One of the ideas for John’s character was to give him the entire palette of emotions. You know that John can do comedy, he can do rage and he can do contemplative, quiet stuff. But I’m making sure all those things are together in one package,” he said.
| Actor | Role in Wild Horse Nine | Previous McDonagh Work |
|---|---|---|
| John Malkovich | CIA agent | None shown |
| Sam Rockwell | CIA agent | In Bruges |
| Brendan Gleeson | Lead actor | Six Shooter, In Bruges |
| Colin Farrell | Lead actor | In Bruges |
| Frances McDormand | Grieving mother | Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri |
McDonagh sees a benefit in casting big names for his smaller projects. “None of my films are sort of what I would call ‘Hollywood movies.’ They’re not simple, feel-good stories. When actors of that magnitude who have maybe done some of those films, and know they’re a little empty get to work on something different, it frees them up to show their brilliance,” he said.
Why Bigger Isn’t Better
Despite his success, McDonagh has no interest in expanding his scope. He wants to keep making films exactly as he has been. “Weirdly, I’m really happy with the trajectory or the level of films that I’ve made. I don’t want a bigger budget. I don’t even want more success. I just want to continue making films completely free from any interference from anyone. That’s a perfect position to be in,” he said.
“There’s too much artistic neutrality and too much saying nothing.”
That attitude ties directly into his political stance on Wild Horse Nine. He believes filmmakers need to take a stand. “I feel like, in the modern day, there’s perhaps a little too much artistic neutrality, or too much saying nothing, not having an opinion or being apathetic. I’m excited to be doing the opposite with this one,” he said.
The film’s resonance is part of the appeal. “The Russia jokes in the film are about their interventions in Finland 100 years ago, but we connect them to Ukraine now,” he noted.
The Zurich Tribute
McDonagh received a Tribute to… Award at the Zurich Film Festival. During a masterclass, he reflected on his journey. He left school at 16 and was unemployed for a long time, hoping to become a writer. That impulse to avoid a real job or a boss has stuck with him.
He wrote radio plays, all rejected. He became an acclaimed playwright. He made the transition to cinema with Six Shooter, which won the Academy Award.
The pattern is consistent: he writes without the camera in mind, borrows energy from stage work, and relies on strong actors to protect him from outside pressure. “It was the bad rejections that really inspired me. Maybe I thrive not on encouragement, but anger,” he said.
What We Make of It
McDonagh’s hitman joke is the kind of surreal detail that defines his work. A man who admits to killing for a living now makes comedies about murder and betrayal. The irony is not lost on him.
His refusal to chase bigger budgets or bigger audiences is equally refreshing. Most directors would kill for a larger paycheck. McDonagh is killing for the opposite: a clean slate, a blank page, and the freedom to make exactly what he wants.
The political angle on Wild Horse Nine is a natural fit for his style. His earlier films touched on grief, injustice, and small-town fury. Now he is looking at the machinery of power itself.
McDonagh’s career has been built on refusing the easy route. He left school early. He wrote plays nobody wanted. He made a short film that won an Oscar. He directed a hitman movie that became a hit. And now he is calling his most political work his most exciting release yet.
The man who once killed for a living now kills his own ideas with wit and tragedy. That is a rare combination, and it explains why his films keep finding audiences willing to laugh at the darkest corners of history.
Source material: “Martin McDonagh Jokes About His Past – as a Hitman – and Calls ‘Wild Horse Nine’ His Most Political Film: ‘There’s Too Much Artistic Neutrality and Too Much Saying Nothing’,” Variety.
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