Michael Kelly on why “fearless” co-star Brendan Gleeson is perfect choice for Donald Trump

The House Of Cards star said he is "beyond excited" to work with Gleeson on the upcoming project.

JOE was recently invited to London to chat to John Krasinski, Wendell Pierce, Michael Kelly, and Noomi Rapace about their roles in Jack Ryan Season 2, and while we will get round to chatting more about that show in particular, let us get all of the Irish connections out of the way first. We already told you about the incredibly lovely things that Krasinski had to say about Cillian Murphy while they worked together on A Quiet Place 2, and we also chatted to Michael Kelly about his upcoming project with another major Irish star. Kelly, who you might know best as Doug Stamper from House Of Cards, sat in the plush hotel room with his co-star Noomi Rapace (the original Girl With The Dragon Tattoo), when JOE asked him about the upcoming James Comey project. The actor will play former Deputy Director of the FBI Andrew McCabe, and will star with our own Brendan Gleeson as none-other than Donald Trump himself. "I am beyond excited about that," Kelly told us, and Rapace joined in, singing Gleeson's praises: "He is so brilliant." We asked Kelly if he has seen Gleeson's performance as Trump yet? "No, we haven't started filming yet, we start next month. I am excited to see that. I was privy to some of the conversations about who they were going to go with for that character, and I was over the moon when he was the one he got the role. "I was like 'Oh, yes! Of course!' I can't wait to meet him, he is someone I've always looked up to, I'm so excited." Rapace joined in again, having nothing but love for our performers: "Irish actors always have this kind of bravery, I feel like has a very - I mean, a lot of my friends from Ireland are so straightforward, and he is such an amazing actor, but also so fearless." To which Kelly responded, "But you have to be if you're going to be playing Donald Trump! Fearless. I'm terrified to be playing Andrew McCabe, and he is not Donald Trump! So I'm excited to tell that story. So excited, and so excited to meet [Brendan]." The currently untitled James Comey mini-series is likely to arrive in late 2020, while Jack Ryan Season 2 premieres on Prime Video on Friday 1 November. Check out the action-packed trailer for the new season right here: Clip via Amazon Prime Video