Chris O’Dowd has revealed that he asked for one of his Black Mirror scenes to be changed as he feared his children, Art and Valentine, would see the show. The Irish actor and comedian features in the new series of Netflix’s Black Mirror, which is released on the streaming service today (April 10).
The 45-year-old stars in the first episode of the show’s seventh series, titled Common People. Chris (Mike) stars alongside actors Rashida Jones (Amanda) and Tracee Ellis Ross (Gaynor). In the episode, Mike’s wife Amanda is seen fighting for her life. A desperate Mike signs her up for Rivermind, a high-tech system that will keep her alive – but it comes at a cost…
When asked which of his scenes were the most challenging/rewarding, The IT Crowd star said: “Oh god, there were a few. Those days that we were in the house where the culmination of the whole show happens, that was pretty dark.
“When Charlie (Brooker) sent me the script initially, I was like, I’ll do it, but my character gets to a point where he electrocutes his own balls. And I was like, my kids are going to be eight and 11 when this comes out, so I can’t do that. I can’t have them have that as a gif,” he said. “So that was the only thing that I asked to change.”
Chris then revealed he was given “a dildo on a finger instead,” although he wasn’t sure if that was any better or less embarrassing…
“But that’s what we ended up with,” he continued. “We have this absolutely horrible email chain where essentially; we’re sending each other options of what the dildo finger could be like based on Google searches. If anybody ever finds that, I mean, that’s it. That’s the end of both of us.”
Chris and Rashida’s onscreen chemistry is unmatched – and it’s not the first time the two have worked together. “We had worked together before, so we knew each other going in, which made it much easier,” Chris said.
“But I really loved working with her this time. It’s funny when you haven’t worked with somebody in years, and you realise you still just trust each other. She’s such a talented performer, but also a very easy person to be around.”
The new series features a range of star-studded guests, including Peter Capaldi and Barbie star Issa Rae. Since its inception, the show has attracted established talent with the likes of Miley Cyrus, Jon Hamm, Salma Hayek, Jodie Whittaker, and Michael Cera starring in Charlie Brooker’s vision of the future.
Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads.
At Reach and across our entities we and our partners use information collected through cookies and other identifiers from your device to improve experience on our site, analyse how it is used and to show personalised advertising. You can opt out of the sale or sharing of your data, at any time clicking the “Do Not Sell or Share my Data” button at the bottom of the webpage. Please note that your preferences are browser specific. Use of our website and any of our services represents your acceptance of the use of cookies and consent to the practices described in our Privacy Notice and Cookie Notice.
