The Harrigans are back, and they are not happy about it. In MobLand Season 2, Conrad Harrigan (Pierce Brosnan) and his wife, Maeve (Dame Helen Mirren), are fighting to hold onto their criminal empire as threats pile up from inside and out. Their son Kevin (Paddy Considine) wants his father’s job, their fixer Harry Da Souza (Tom Hardy) might be working against them, and now Boston-based crime boss Kat McAllister (Janet McTeer) and her new “paladin,” Frankie Cooper (Johnny Flynn), are coming for them.
Brosnan and Mirren spoke with Decider at a press junket for Season 2, and they could not stop talking about how much fun they are having playing these characters. The freedom they describe is the opposite of what their roles actually entail.
Conrad’s Rage and the Pig Farmer
Conrad is a man of violence, according to Brosnan. He grew up with it, and he takes pride in the vengeance of his boys. But he is also a pig farmer, a comparison he offered without explaining why. Brosnan sees Conrad as cut from the rough cloth of Ireland, a place that made life hard for him as a young man.
“He has pride in the vengeance of his boys.”
When asked if Conrad feels proud that his children are as ruthless as he is about succession, Brosnan answered with a yes. The pig farmer comparison fits a man who runs a criminal enterprise.
Maeve’s Impulse and the Writing
Mirren described playing Maeve as the greatest freedom she has ever had. She can do anything she wants, without thinking about motivation. Maeve is impulsive and reckless, acting without hesitation.
“It’s so fun to not be restricted,” Mirren said. “I never think about, ‘Oh, why would she do this?’ Maeve’s impulsive. She’s reckless. I never think about motivation or anything. She just goes and does whatever she’s going to do, without any self-consciousness whatsoever.”
The lack of restriction is the whole point. Mirren said she never considers why Maeve acts the way she does. She simply performs the action.
Kat McAllister and the New Threat
Kat McAllister is a serious new threat to the Harrigans. McTeer joins the cast this season, and Mirren called it “fabulous.” Brosnan praised McTeer’s performance, describing Kat as having “a stiletto, cold, chisel-like presence.”
The two actors admit they have no idea where the story is going. They are waiting in the wings for Season 3 to start filming.
“I don’t know if the Harrigans have faced a threat like Kat or Frankie,” Brosnan said. “Before the curtain went up in Season One, Helen and I didn’t really talk about previous circumstances. We didn’t talk about the motivation of the characters. We read the script, took it for what it was, and prepared our own performances.”
Mirren added that it was “fabulous” to have such a serious threat to their empire. Brosnan laughed and said Janet would come into their lives face to face.
The Freedom of Jez Butterworth
Both actors credit the show’s creator, playwright Jez Butterworth, for giving them room to perform. They get new scripts and cannot wait to see what they have to play.
“It is such a challenge and a delight,” Mirren said. “It’s always very exciting to get a new script.”
Brosnan said he revels in the writing of Jez Butterworth and the storytelling. The director Guy Ritchie also gave them a lot of freedom.
“He really is a legend,” Brosnan said. “On the set, he creates his own world. All the men and women who work around him have worked with him for many, many years. You feel you’re in a very strong, secure company.”
Conrad’s Accent and the Unleashed Beast
One of the most memorable moments in the interview came when Brosnan recalled Ritchie’s direction for his first scene in Season 1. Minutes before filming, Ritchie told Brosnan to “go Irish; go mad.”
“He unleashed a beast in this beautiful, urbane, elegant man that we see before us,” Mirren said. “He may be elegant, self-controlled, and gracious, but there’s this beast in there. He exploded out like Mount Etna.”
Mirren asked Brosnan his middle name, and he answered: Brendan. She joked that they had unleashed the Brendan in him.
“I guess it’s always been there,” Brosnan said. “Over the years, I created my own character for myself, my own kind of romantic notion of what an actor should be. To find a role like Conrad at this point in my life has just been a joy.”
The season is full of threats, but the actors are not worried. They are waiting for the third season to start filming.
Source material: “‘MobLand’ Stars Pierce Brosnan & Helen Mirren Revel In The “Freedom” Of Playing Conrad & Maeve Harrigan: “It’s So Fun To Not Be Restricted”,” Decider.
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