While Aaron Heffernan is best known for his roles in War of the Worlds, Brassic and Love/Hate, little is known about his incredible story. This week, Jarlath is proud to present you with Aaron's first ever long-form interview about his fascinating journey.

Aaron speaks about his determination to have a more unconventional career (9:00 ), his love for the circus and how it led to the setting up of the Collapsing Horse theatre company (25:00 ). Aaron also details the subsequent success of Bears | in | Space and Monster / Clock which saw performances for Aaron on Broadway, hanging out with 'Elmo and the lads' and a game-changing New York Times review (29:00 ).

From how Stewart Carolan created a part in Love/Hate just for him (45:00 ) to working with Gabriel Byrne on War of the Worlds (56:00 ), his adoration for Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson (1:09:00 ), the hilarious story of how his elaborate proposal plans were very nearly ruined by the lockdown (1:18:00 ) and much more, this is a thoroughly enjoyable conversation with a true gent of Irish acting talents.

To hear Aaron's stories of holding the coveted position of Leo the Lion for the Leinster Rugby team, his experience working alongside Steve Coogan in Alpha Papa, the key to how they get the chemistry right on the set of Brassic, the memorabilia that he took from Solo: A Star Wars Story and more, become a patron of An Irishman Abroad for just the price of a pint on www.patreon.com/irishmanabroad. You will also gain access to the entire back-catalogue of over 250 Irishman Abroad episodes that are not available on iTunes, our new US Election series with Marion McKeone and free entry into our monthly online streamed TV show.

Supplementary research provided by John Meagher.

You can also gain access to the entire Irishman Abroad archive of episodes through our iPhone and Android Apps. Download the Irishman Abroad Android or iPhone apps for free using the links below.

https://apps.apple.com/ie/app/an-irishman-abroad-by-jarlath-regan/id1101165812

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=irishman.jarlath.com.anirishmanabroad&hl=en_IE

Our charity partner is jigsawonline.ie. In these tricky times, Jigsaw provides a range of resources, advice and care for your people to help them strengthen their mental health and the skills needed to navigate life. Please visit their website and consider making a donation.

For updates on future episodes and live shows follow @jarlath on Twitter, visit www.jigser.com or email the show directly on irishmanabroadpodcast@gmail.com.

Disclaimer: All materials contained within this podcast are copyright protected. Third party reuse and/or quotation in whole or in part is prohibited unless direct credit and/or hyperlink to the Irishman Abroad podcast is clearly and accurately provided.