Original-Cin Q&A: Colin O'Donoghue on playing 'Gordo' Cooper in Disney's series version of The Right Stuff
The Right Stuff is a new series, based on the 1979 book of the same name by Tom Wolfe and the 1983 movie. It premieres with the first two-episodes Friday, October 9, 2020 on Disney+.
The eight episode series follows the incredible story of America’s first astronauts, known as The Mercury 7 and a look at the early days of the U.S. Space Program.
The Right Stuff gives us the background of America’s first “reality show,” when the ambitious astronauts and their families became instant celebrities in a competition of money, fame and immortality.
Irish actor Colin O'Donoghue plays Gordon “Gordo” Cooper, the role Dennis Quaid took on in the original movie.
John Glenn (Patrick J. Adams) and Gordon Cooper (Colin O’Donoghue) meet the press in The Right Stuff.
O’Donoghue is best known to North American audiences as Captain Hook on the hit TV series, Once Upon A Time and says he was thrilled to be able to peel away the layers of Gordon Cooper for this series.
Our Bonnie Laufer spoke with Colin O’Donoghue from his home in Ireland.
ORIGINAL-CIN: Taking on the role of Gordon Cooper must have been quite daunting. But I cannot believe that you really didn't find out that you got the role until a day and a half before you started shooting.
COLIN O’DONOGHUE: “It was a bit crazy and pretty exhilarating! I had a day and a half to decide whether I was going to do it. And then I started shooting about three days after I landed.”
OC: So where did you even start? These men were legendary. And not only do you get to play this phenomenal astronaut, you are portraying a man who lived and was so revered. There's so much that you probably had to do to prepare, not just physically but mentally.
O’DONOGHUE: “Coming in late to the project freed me up a little bit and made me less nervous, because it meant that I didn't have to be as reverential as probably I would have wanted to play it.
“Luckily the pilot script was one of the best things I'd ever read and everything was already there on page. So it frees you up to be able to play what's in the script as opposed to saying, ‘Well, that's not right. That's not what he would have said. That's not the way that he would have moved.’ It gave me more freedom to make him my own.”
OC: Did you read the book or watch the film?
O’DONOGHUE: “I had read the book The Right Stuff before I had even gotten the role and I'd seen the movie. So, that was a good backgrounder and a place to start.
“I also listened to as much as I could find on Gordo on YouTube to try to cram everything in. But then what happened is that I found it can be detrimental, because you begin to overwhelm yourself. If you don't have a huge amount of time to work on something it’s usually much easier to dive right in.”
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OC: How easy does the American accent come to you?
O’DONOGHUE: “It came pretty easy to be honest with you. Luckily I could do one, because it was a very short time frame to prepare. But I grew up watching American movies and TV so I had been practicing my entire life! (Laughs).
“It's a different thing than people trying to do an Irish accent when they don't have Irish programs to watch as much as I watched American TV. Every single day since I've been a kid I've been exposed to the American accent in some form or another. So that helped a lot.”
OC: There has to be some physical preparation to play an astronaut. Even in the first episode we see how these guys have to go through the extensive testing it takes to endure space travel.
O’DONOGHUE: “We were all hoping that we would get to go to Space Camp and experience weightlessness in the “Vomit Comet” as they call it! (Laughs)
“In the end we didn’t get to go, and I think that was a wise decision. I just don't think it's a great idea to send up an entire cast of people and then fire them straight down towards the Earth.
“Jake McDorman ( who plays the first American in space, Alan Shepard) and I both got to sit in what they call the Mastiff. This contraption rotates in different directions so that you're spinning around and I’ll tell you that was not easy.”
OC: Did you hold up?
O’DONOGHUE: “ I did. It's funny because I remembered a trick from playing Captain Hook on the show, Once Upon A Time for six years. I shot quite a bit out at sea, and sometimes it's choppy. And I just remembered that you need to pick a level spot to look at and focus on it.
“When I was out on the water I focused on the horizon. But if you pick something that you know is not going to move, then you will be able to focus on that. It really helped with my balance when I was being spun around.”
OC: This series really dives into their personal lives more than what we've seen before. I never really knew about the animosity and rivalry between Alan Shepherd and John Glenn, or the family troubles Gordo had in his life. What was it like for you to explore this side?
O’DONOGHUE: “That was one of the most important things for me. It’s something that we explore more in the series than anything.
“I’m not comparing the series to the film in any way, because they're so completely different, and that's the whole point. There's no point in remaking the movie as a series. It's important to see these guys as human beings and to realize they make mistakes.
“They weren't just these American heroes - which they were, they were legends - but they also made a ton of mistakes and were in no way perfect. They and their families got thrust into the limelight and they really didn’t know what hit them. It was thrilling to be able to investigate and navigate that side of Gordo.”
OC: He had a very complicated relationship with his wife.
O’DONOGHUE: “Joining the space program was hard, and the one thing you couldn’t do was let on if there was any trouble at home, let alone be divorced. It was completely frowned upon. You could drink a full bottle of booze and hop in an airplane, but you couldn’t get divorced.
“I think they saw it as some sort of flaw in you, which was so crazy. So Gordon and his wife were actually separated when he was offered to be a part of the Mercury 7 and they had to get back together, even if it was just for show.”
OC: One of the Executive Producers on the series is Leonardo DiCaprio. How hands on was he?
O’DONOGHUE: “He wasn’t too hands on, but we did exchange emails back and forth a little bit. I remember when I got the first email from him, I thought it was one of those spam emails. But I opened it up and I said to my wife, ‘I can't believe this. I just got an email from Leonardo DeCaprio!’
“I had to show her for evidence.” ( laughs)
OC: I understand that the whole cast was invited to NASA in Cape Canaveral for a very special event, You were the only “civilians” there too!
O’DONOGHUE: “That was so cool. We got to go to the 50th Anniversary celebration of the moon landing. It was kind of crazy because Neil deGrasse Tyson was behind us, and (physicist) Professor Brian Cox and then you had all these astronauts all over the place.
“We had to stand up and wave at the cast of The Right Stuff and you could see every one kind of scratching their heads thinking, that's not the cast of The Right Stuff. That’s not Ed Harris and Dennis Quaid.” (Laughs) It was an amazing experience to get to be there, a once in a lifetime opportunity.”
OC: You created a name for yourself here in North America with your incredible run on Once Upon a Time. Much like the astronaut you play, you were thrust into the media and got world-wide attention - not on the same level of course, but still pretty life changing.
O’DONOGHUE: ”It was completely life changing. I lived in Vancouver for six years and moved my wife over to live with me there. Our kids were born in Vancouver and we made lifelong friends.
“Living on the other side of the world, you create bonds with friends who become like family, so it was truly an amazing experience. Plus the fans of Once Upon a Time are absolutely incredible, and it was humbling to see that the show meant so much to so many people. I am very thankful for the time I spent on that show and will never forget that opportunity.”