Star Wars' Domhnall Gleeson on new TV show and self-isolation at Dublin home

In 'Run', Domhnall Gleeson and Merrit Wever play former college sweethearts who reunite as part of a pact they made 17 years ago.

Remember a pact you made with a friend in your youth? Some promise to remain friends for the rest of their lives. Others promise to even marry each other when they grow up!

In the seven-episode series, Run, college sweethearts Billy (Domhnall Gleeson) and Ruby (Merritt Wever) made a pact that if one of them ever texted “RUN” and the other replied with the same message, they would drop everything they’re doing, meet each other at Grand Central Station in New York and take a train ride across United States together.

Well, it turns out Billy and Ruby really meant it.

Some 17 years after making the pact, self-help guru Billy finds himself at a low point in his life and texts Ruby, an exhausted mother of two eager to break the monotony, the magic word.

And just like that, the old flames reunite for the first time.

In a phone call from Dublin, Ireland, Gleeson – who played General Armitage Hux in the recent Star Wars sequel trilogy – mulls over whether he has ever made a childhood pact in real life.

“I’ve never done anything quite so dramatic. But there was one thing that was kind of cool, ” he tells StarLifestyle. “I started making these little movies with one close friend in particular when I was 16 or 17. We would get people to dress up or put fake blood on people... We did all these crazy things.

“And I always thought, wouldn’t it be great if we got to make something together now, like with a real budget and real actors? And we actually got to do that recently.

“So, it wasn’t a pact but it was a long standing wish that I really wanted to get done with that person.”

Gleeson describes the Covid-19 pandemic as the strangest experience of his life.

Had he made an actual childhood pact, the 36-year-old doubts he will be able to fulfil it.

“As you get older, there are commitments and decisions that you’ve made. I think that pact does not take that into account.

“And that’s one of the more interesting aspects of the show – the difference between the idealism of youth and the reality of being a little older and having built a life.”

But for Gleeson’s character Billy, there is a sense of desperation when he calls on Ruby. Though he has amassed a lot of success as a motivational speaker, recent events have caused him to second guess himself.

“He’s finally beginning to question whether he’s a good person and whether he lives selfishly.”

The characters on Run may not be the only ones going through an existential crisis.

With countries all over the world imposing varying degrees of stay-at-home measures in an effort to stop the spread of Covid-19, people naturally have a lot of time to think and reflect on life.

“I wouldn’t say I’ve had any sort of existential moments, ” Gleeson shares about his stay-at-home experience so far.

“I’ve had moments in the last couple of weeks where you look at the map of the world with the red dots growing and you feel like you’re in some disaster movie. It just feels like it’s not real life.

“I’ve just missed my family and my friends terribly and hope they’re all safe. But that’s no different to anybody else on the planet.”

Gleeson last played a romantic role in 2013's 'About Time'.

The actor, who also describes the Covid-19 pandemic as “the strangest experience of his life”, has a few projects temporarily stalled.

“I was actually working on another television show, we only had a few days left to film and when the pandemic struck, it became irresponsible to continue filming, ” he says.

Gleeson is reprising his role in the sequel of live-action/animated film Peter Rabbit. It was due for release this year but has been pushed to January 2021.

“It was disappointing but it is the least important thing happening at the moment. I also understand how lucky I am in the scheme of things, and how other people have much harder things to deal with.”

The actor says he has been keeping the Covid-19 frontliners in his thoughts: “I’m just very thankful to all the people who are doing the work that we all need them for, the healthcare workers and so forth. I’m just in awe of those people.”

Run airs every Monday at 10.35am/11.35pm on HBO (Astro Ch 411). It is also available on HBO Go.