Colm Meaney on his next film being like ‘an Irish Avengers’

It boasts an incredible cast of Irish acting heavyweights.

Irish acting legend Colm Meaney opened up to JOE recently about his upcoming movie In the Land of Saints and Sinners after we put it to him that it sounds like "an Irish Avengers". This is down to the level of talent involved with the thriller, which stars Liam Neeson as a newly-retired assassin in a remote Irish village who finds himself drawn into a lethal game of cat and mouse with a trio of vengeful terrorists. Alongside Meaney and Neeson, the cast for the film also includes Ciarán Hinds (Belfast), Conor MacNeill (Industry), Desmond Eastwood (Normal People), Jack Gleeson (Game of Thrones), Kerry Condon (The Banshees of Inisherin), Sarah Greene (Bad Sisters) and Seamus O'Hara (the Oscar-winning short An Irish Goodbye). Speaking to The Snapper star at the IFTAs, one of the questions JOE put to him was who should replace Ryan Tubridy as The Late Late Show host (you can see Meaney's response right here). On top of this, our entertainment editor Rory Cashin asked the actor about In the Land of Saints and Sinners, making The Avengers comparison in the process. Smiling at the observation, Meaney told us: "Very good script. It's got Liam [Neeson], it's got Kerry Condon - my favourite woman in the world. Ciarán Hinds. It's a great cast and a great script, so yeah, fingers crossed. High hopes for it." In the Land of Saints and Sinners was directed by frequent Clint Eastwood collaborator Robert Lorenz, who previously worked with Neeson on the action drama The Marksman. Terry Loane (Mickybo and Me) and Mark Michael McNally penned its screenplay. The thriller is set for a 2023 release. You can see Meaney talking about the movie below: Also at the IFTAs, Fleabag and Sherlock star Andrew Scott spoke to JOE about an exciting upcoming project of his. This is Ripley, the TV adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's novel The Talented Mr. Ripley in which Scott will play the title character. A sociopathic conman, Tom Ripley is one of literature's most famous villains and has previously been portrayed on film by the likes of Alain Delon, Dennis Hopper, John Malkovich and perhaps most famously Matt Damon. Discussing the project and taking on the massive part, Scott said: "Ripley is over. So, we finished that. That will be out at the end of the year. It's going to be on Netflix now. "Yeah, I'm very excited," he added, before joking: "I hope I haven't messed it up. We'll see. We'll see."

@joedotie "I hope I haven't messed it up!" ? Andrew Scott tells us about Ripley, his upcoming Netflix show focusing on one of literature's greatest villains... #fyp #irish #ireland #andrewscott #sherlock #fleabag #ripley #movie #redcarpet #dublin #hotpriest #redcarpet ♬ original sound - JOE.ie

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