A lot of interviews these days start with an introduction of the interviewee breezing into the room with a carefree air of nonchalance, wearing a crisp white shirt and smelling like a fresh spring day. As much as I dislike that approach, there really is no other way to tell the story of the day I met Navan man Michael Hayes. Sitting in the huge lobby of the very posh Grand Hotel in Malahide, I began to wonder should I call him or text him to let him know where to find me or that I was wearing a red rose and carrying a newspaper under my arm. An hour passed and I started doubting if I had the right place/day/time, so I decided to call him only to hear that he had forgotten about me. Soon he bustled through the door, amidst a string of “I’m so sorry”s (an hour and a half late) with a curly wurly chocolate bar, all is forgiven!
We found a quiet corner and sat down for a coffee and a chat. Within minutes I felt like I’d known him for years. He is very approachable, laid back and witty. Before talking about his recent rise to fame with the hit RTE show How Low Can You Go, I asked Michael about his various movie roles (in which, according to his RTE bio, he has been “shot twice and stabbed three times”). He has acted alongside Irish legend Colin Meaney in Intermission, also starring Colin Farrell, as well as parts in Inside I’m Dancing and Ordinary Decent Criminal. I asked him about his role in Intermission. “I was a Garda in that film and we went out to Finglas West to film one day. I was filming that scene with Colm Meaney. When we arrived quite a large crowd had gathered to see us filming and me wearing a Gardai uniform, which attracted dirty looks and comments from everyone. There was a bit of hassle with one lads and one of the film crew decided to call the Gardai. None of the onlookers were impressed with us, least of all me in my Garda costume (laughs). It ended up that we all had to shuffle in a protected group slowly back to the bus and cancel filming for the day”.
They have recently wrapped filming for the latest series of How Low Can You Go – Reality Check. I asked him what the next move is for him, in terms of his career. “I don’t want to go down the road of straight up presenting, it’s very scary because it’s all you. It’s personality. But when you’re acting you’re hiding behind a character or a script and that’s what used to give me the fear on How Low Can You Go, because you think people just think I’m an *sshole. Then you get over that, not everyone’s going to like you and people do think I’m an *sshole.”
This is Michael’s first time in three years spending Autumn in Ireland and he’s been keeping himself busy with theatre and television, as well setting up his own production company. Since they finished filming How Low, he has done a bit on The Tudors, The Race with Colm Meaney and shot a new comedy pilot with David Coffey from Dan and Becs.
He is very passionate about his career and sees his future across all genres including television, stage, film. “I really, really love acting. How Low Can You Go has been such a ride, I’ve been so lucky. I thought it would just be one gig a few years ago and I didn’t know whether to take it or not. It’s hard to make the crossover from theatre to television. Theatre is part of the arts, I love the rehearsal process and finding the character. How Low Can You Go came along at a good time, I was kinda punch-drunk and exhausted from acting at that stage. You get jaded promoting yourself and becoming really, really self obsessed. So I’ve had this great 5 year rest from acting and I’m just slowly getting back to it again.”
“You do film for money and TV for money but theatre just for grá”.

You can catch Michael in his current role in ‘The Nativity… What the Donkey Saw’ at The Mill Theatre in Dundrum, a comedy nativity play from the eyes of the only truly reliable witness – the donkey.

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