When Bradley Cooper steps behind the camera again in 2025 with IS THIS THING ON?, he’s assembled a cast that reads like a masterclass in understated brilliance. Among the names—Will Arnett, Laura Dern, Amy Sedaris—sits Ciarán Hinds, the Belfast-born actor whose face you know even if his name doesn’t immediately register. Hinds will play Jan in this exploration of divorce and stand-up comedy, a pairing of subjects that promises the kind of uncomfortable humor that lands like a punch to the gut before you realize you’re laughing.
For an actor who’s portrayed everyone from Julius Caesar in ROME to the tormented father in BELFAST, from the sinister Steppenwolf in JUSTICE LEAGUE to Albus Dumbledore’s brother in HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS, adding a character named Jan to the repertoire feels almost refreshingly ordinary. Almost. Because with Hinds, nothing is ever quite ordinary. He brings gravity to fantasy, warmth to prestige drama, and a lived-in authenticity that makes you forget you’re watching someone act. His Mance Rayder in GAME OF THRONES felt like a king precisely because he never seemed to be trying to convince you he was one.
IS THIS THING ON? marks another chapter in a career that’s been less about headlines and more about the slow accumulation of indelible moments. Cooper, fresh from his ambitious turn with MAESTRO, clearly understands that sometimes the most interesting stories about falling apart require actors who know how to hold themselves together on screen. With Hinds in the mix alongside Arnett’s comic timing, Dern’s emotional precision, and Sedaris’s sharp wit, the film has the ingredients for something that could cut deeper than your typical comedy about life’s wreckage. And in an industry increasingly obsessed with spectacle, there’s something quietly radical about a project that seems content to explore the messy, ordinary devastation of a marriage ending and a comic trying to find the joke in it all.
Aisling Bea is going to Mars 🚀
The Irish actress and BAFTA TV winner has joined the cast of STARMAN, starring alongside Brendan Fraser and Jeff Daniels, playing defiant Irish photographer Julia Hanley opposite Fraser`s stranded astronaut.
Full details via 🔗︎ in bio!
Irish director Lenny Abrahamson (NORMAL PEOPLE, ROOM) is set to direct YOU ARE HERE.
The eight-part screen adaptation of David Nicholls` best-selling novel will star Claire Foy (THE CROWN) and Matthew MacFayden (SUCCESSION)
Full details via link in bio 🔗︎
Barry Keoghan heads back into Irish indie territory with LEMONADE 🍋
First-look images and details have landed for Kim Bartley`s narrative feature debut, a story about first loves, second chances, and the ties that make a family.
Full preview via link in bio 🔗︎
We`ve lost a national treasure 💔
Oscar-winning singer-songwriter, Glen Hansard, has died as a result of a motorcycle accident in Dublin this morning.
THE COMMITMENTS and ONCE star leaves behind a monumental cultural legacy on screen and stage.
Full tribute via link in bio 🔗︎
Brothers. Betrayal. Drag queens.
STARLINGS, the debut novel from RUSSELL TOVEY (THE NIGHT MANAGER, ANGELS IN AMERICA), has landed as an Audible original — and Andrew Scott has lent his voice to this amazing, brave work.
Listen now via link in bio 🔗︎
Domhnall Gleeson`s acting range is simply unreal.
The STAR WARS and HARRY POTTER star talks his new Peacock mockumentary hit THE PAPER, upcoming work in Werner Herzog`s BUCKING FASTARDS and the current Sundance breakout THE INCOMER.
Watch now via link in bio 🔗︎
Andrew Scott is heading to @tiff_net!
ELSINORE, Scott`s biographical drama about legendary actor Ian Charleson, has landed a Special Presentations slot at TIFF 2026, starring alongside Olivia Coleman.
Full details via link in bio 🔗︎
Who loves truly scary horror?
Ahead of its release, Irish director Damian McCarthy (hows_themovie_goin) talks the art of scaring the bejesus out of his audiences.
New interview via 🔗︎ in bio.
Saoirse Ronan is officially a filmmaker.
Her directorial debut PAPER PLANE — written by Ronan herself and starring Martha Malone, Clare Dunne, and Tim Creed — heads to Venice this September, competing for the Orizzonti Award for Best Short Film.
More at irishfilmtv.com 🔗︎
