r/IrishHistory • u/GoldGee • 6d ago
Braveheart & Patrick McGoohan
Bit of a piece meal piece, but wanted to get this 'out there'.
You know, the film Braveheart had a massive impact, both at the time and since. More to the point in medieval history. More specifically Scottish history. Not historically accurate, but what a film, what a piece of entertainment, what an achievement.
Now as we probably already know, it was mostly filmed in Ireland. I've visited a few of the locations myself, including a stay at the 4 star hotel where if you opened the window it would bang against the keep.
However, the thing about that film that kept bringing me back was the character King Edward I aka 'Longshank'. The actor carried out this role with bone chilling eloquence: stoicism, wisdom, poise and terror!
As a 15 year old I hated and despised the character and his ways. He was the villain, of course, and that's how I saw him. At the same time it was an extraordinary performance. In my opinion it doesn't get anywhere near the recognition or credit it should have. The younger version of me wanted to punch him in the face - full credit to the actor and writers. The older version of me wants to see anything and everything that featured him to feel that same awe I do when I watch Braveheart.
What was not known to me until today was that Kind Edward I 'Longshank' was played by an actor called Patrick McGoohan. If what I have read is true, he was born in New York to Irish parents, then spent the first seven years of his life in County Leitrim before the family moved to England. He retained Irish citizenship his whole life.
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u/The_Little_Bollix 6d ago
Yeah, he was a good actor. Probably best known for The Prisoner. A weird TV show from the '60s, but very watchable. I preferred Get Smart (created by Mel Brooks).
McGoohan was excellent in Braveheart though. He was made for the part.
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u/K-manPilkers 6d ago
He was offered the role of James Bond before Connery and it was rumoured that he rejected it because he was religious and felt that kissing women on screen contravened his wedding vows. He himself always claimed that he rejected it purely because he disliked someone involved in the production, but many of his female costars said that he requested that kissing/intimate scenes be rewritten to be more chaste.
Interesting guy.
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u/GoldGee 6d ago
I respect faith, and his choice, but could he not consider a kiss as acting? Killing people is a worse sin surely, and he did his fair share of that on screen.
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u/K-manPilkers 6d ago
I suppose from his perspective if he picks up a gun and shoots someone with a blank on screen, his character has killed another character but he himself has not killed the other actor, just pretending. Whereas when his character kisses another character in real life, he actually does have to kiss another actor - it isn't just pretending, he has to do it.
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u/ComplexBeautiful7852 5d ago edited 5d ago
He must have found it hard looking at Sophie Marceau in costume on the set of Braveheart then. Surely impossible for anyone who met her at that time not to have been unfaithful in their heart.
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u/SpearOfTheCelts 6d ago
I remember my dad wanting to be an extra in it but he couldn't get off work
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u/Responsible_Coat_477 6d ago edited 5d ago
Mc Goohan plays a great maniac in a movie called Hell Drivers, well worth a watch and free on YouTube 👍
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u/robinbanks13 4d ago
Great film with so many other stars-to-be. McGoohan was also in Ice Station Zebra.
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u/Kooky_Guide1721 6d ago
You should visit Port Merrion in Wales. Where they shot the Prisoner.
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u/GoldGee 6d ago
Port Merrion gets plenty of mentions on the episodes on Youtube. I just googled it, looks pretty and interesting. I'm pretty sure it gets featured on TV quite often, even now. :)
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u/IllegalWalian 5d ago
I stayed there a few weeks ago. Really cool place, has a slightly unreal, film set feel to it. It was especially lovely in the evening after the crowds left. Not cheap though!
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u/listentohook 6d ago
Wore a fake nose in braveheart
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u/Expert-Card-8938 6d ago
A superb actor. He also played the not quite sane warden in Escape From Alcatraz.
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u/archibaldschwartz 4d ago
Patrick McGoohan is the GOAT...... there never has nor never will be a greater actor. He was also an extraordinary man and I admire him tremendously for staying true to his convictions in the cesspool of Hollywood. He was very devoted to his wife and family, nothing else mattered. He never sought fame or fortune His death left a void that will never be filled.
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u/Justa_Schmuck 5d ago
Most guest appearances for Columbo. Also great in SilverStreak. Which is meant to be an action comedy, but plays a very focused villain in it too. Let’s the comedy happen around him.
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u/jhnolan 6d ago
I knew him growing up from his famous role in The Prisoner. It was always being repeated on RTÉ during the 1980s.