American actor John Mahoney may be instantly recognisable as Frasier's dad Martin Crane, but the seminal sitcom is far from the beginning or end of his acting career, as visitors to the Galway International Arts Festival (giaf.ie) over the last decade or so can attest to.
Since 2002, John has been showing Irish audiences some of the many more strings to his bow with powerful stage performances. He returns this July with the European premiere of Chapatti, a new play by Irish playwright Christian O'Reilly.
"This is actually my fifth play in the festival, and I also have done a couple of musical things over the years with people like T Bone Burnett," John tells me.
"I just keep coming to Galway. It all started in 2002 when I was doing Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey Into Night with the Irish Rep Company in Chicago. We were invited to bring it to the Galway Arts Festival, and performing it there was one of the highlights of my career, genuinely.
"I met Paul (Fahy, now the artistic director of the festival) the first time I came over and we struck up a friendship that goes beyond the theatre. I'm not just saying this to blow smoke up you, but my two favourite places in the world are Galway and Chicago."
John was personally involved in making Chapatti happen as a co-production between the festival and Northlight. "I came off stage one night at the Town Hall Theatre (in Galway) and went to my dressing room and there was a script on the floor. Christian O'Reilly (the playwright) had slipped under the door," he says.
"I recognised his name immediately for his work with Druid. I had seen his play The Good Father and was tremendously impressed by him. But I was wary about reading it. We were always taught in Frasier never to read unsolicited manuscripts or things that don't come through an agent because of legal repercussions that might arise with people claiming you stole their ideas or whatever. But, when I was on the plane coming home, my Kindle had run down and I had nothing to read, so I snuck it out like a spy and read it without almost breathing. And I just went crazy about it."
To read the full interview in the Irish Independent click here.
Chapatti makes its European debut in Galway at this years Festival. Don't miss out! Book your tickets here.
