He is a civil servant turned novelist who decided to “chance his arm” with one of Hollywood’s most celebrated stars. As the adage goes, “if you don’t ask, you don’t get”—a strategy that paid off spectacularly for Rónán Hession when Julia Roberts agreed to narrate the BBC Northern Ireland adaptation of his bestselling novel, Leonard and Hungry Paul.
The Oscar-winning actress described the book as “magical” and expressed her delight at “being a tiny part of this novel becoming a television series.”
For the Dublin-based author, who continues to work full-time in the civil service, this development marks just another unexpected turn in the journey of his book, which was first published six years ago.
The adaptation, starring Derry Girls’ Jamie-Lee O’Donnell and Alex Lawther from Andor, will premiere on Friday night, featuring narration from the acclaimed Hollywood star.
The chain of events leading to Roberts’ involvement began unexpectedly a few years ago with an email that struck Hession as “very American.”
“It was like: ‘I’m Julia Roberts’ PA. If you don’t believe me, look me up,'” he recounted to Good Morning Ulster. “So we did, of course, and she wanted to send me a letter, or a note about the book.”
According to Hession, communication subsequently “fizzled out,” leaving him to wonder, “did that really happen?”
The connection was only revived when his publisher, Kevin Duffy, mentioned the email to the series’ producers. They decided to take a chance and directly contact the Academy Award winner to see if she would be interested in narrating. Hession said the Pretty Woman star replied within hours, saying “she’d love to do it.”
Securing Hollywood royalty for a TV adaptation is a significant achievement for an author who “never really had an ambition to be a writer.”
Hession, who still works full-time, shared that the idea for writing emerged after the birth of his children. “I began to notice quiet people,” he explained.
“The world seemed like a very intense place and it was going in the wrong direction. I’d been reflecting on that and I’d started thinking about all the gentle people and how much kindness is expressed in private.
“We know what confident people think because they never stop telling us and they speak with such certainty. It’s the people who are maybe standing back and the people who are still reflecting on life. I just wanted to write about that and celebrate it.”
