Q: As a native Irishman, how do you relate to U.S. history?
A: I kind of have an interest in all history. And I suspect it comes from being Irish -- we like stories, we like telling stories, which makes a lot of us lean towards being writers or actors or directors.
Q: How does Hell on Wheels fit into your historical interests?
A: It's fascinating the way the writers have been able to bring in so many issues about the railroad that are still relevant today. How should you build a great project like this? Do you allow private capital to do it? Should the government be involved? My character Durant is prepared to go to any lengths to get the thing built and it's an interesting debate whether that's justified or not. It's not like it's just about the issues of 1860 -- all those issues are still relevant today.
Q: What stands out to you about the time period of the show?
A: At the time, to go from New York to San Francisco would have taken six months -- you had to do it by sea. With this railroad, you could do it in seven days... For us in this age of jet travel and all, it's astonishing to kind of get your head around the fact that communication was very slow, travel was slow, and it was very different world.
Source: Full Q&A @ AMC
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