Actor Daryl McCormack: ‘I long to be connected to people and sometimes I don’t read the room’

Born in Ireland, Daryl McCormack, 30, studied theatre and performance in Dublin. In 2018, he made his West End debut in Martin McDonagh’s The Lieutenant of Inishmore, and in 2019 he was cast as Isaiah Jesus in Peaky Blinders. He stars opposite Emma Thompson in Good Luck to You, Leo Grande and is nominated for both rising star and best leading actor at this year’s Bafta film awards, which are on 19 February. He is single and lives in London.

What is your greatest fear?
Not actualising my full potential.

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
Oversharing. I long to be intimately connected to people and sometimes, among strangers, I don’t read the room.

What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Lying.

What was your most embarrassing moment?
Missing a cue on stage. I had to come on and move a piece of furniture with another actor and I completely forgot. I looked at the monitor and said, “Why is he standing on his own?” And somebody said, “Aren’t you meant to help him?”

Describe yourself in three words
Attentive, encouraging and ambitious.

What do you most dislike about your appearance?
My nose. My mum always got teased for her nose, and she used to tell me we have the same nose, so I’m conscious of it.

What has been your closest brush with the law?
Stealing a bar of chocolate at the cinema when I was 10 or 11. I didn’t get caught.

Which book are you ashamed not to have read?
I haven’t read a Jane Austen.

What is your most unappealing habit?
Sometimes I zone out.

What scares you about getting older?
Regret.

What do you owe your parents?
I owe my mum my best effort at everything, because she raised me as a single parent.

What or who is the greatest love of your life?
Acting.

What does love feel like?
A sense of home.

Have you ever said “I love you” without meaning it?
Yes, sadly.

Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
Take care.

What is the worst job you’ve done?
I once had to dress up as [fast food chain] Supermac’s bunny during a St Patrick’s Day parade and shake people’s hands. Kids kept trying to take off my gloves and punching my bunny head. It was awful.

How often do you have sex?
It’s been a while. Let’s just say, I’m focusing on myself.

What single thing would improve the quality of your life?
Less phone use.

What keeps you awake at night?
Weirdly, sometimes exhaustion keeps me awake. If I am really tired, I won’t sleep well.

Would you rather have more sex, money or fame?
Money.

How would you like to be remembered?
For being joyful.

What is the most important lesson life has taught you?
To trust in the process.

Tell us a joke
I lost a very good mate recently; he had acid reflux. I’m sad that Gaviscon.