His bambi eyed Love/Hate bad boy Darren Tracey won our Irish hearts, but Portlaoise's own Robert Sheehan looks set to become an international teen heartthrob when The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones lands in cinemas on August 21st.
Fame outside Ireland is nothing new to the 25-year-old, who charmed the backside off Britain as Misfits immortal Nathan, but as we sat down ahead of his very first trip to Comic Con, it was clear that Sheehan knew Mortal Instruments would take him down a whole new avenue.
The film, based on the New York Times Bestseller of the same name, tells the story of Clary Fray, a young girl who discovers that she's descended from a long life of half-human half-angel warriors known as Shadowhunters. Her mother's been on the run for years, but when she's kidnapped Clary must unlock the secrets of her past in order to save her.
Sheehan joins Lily Collins (Clary) and Jamie Campbell Bower (super sexy and mercilessly mysterious Shadowhunter Jace) as Simon, Clary's loyal and loving best friend. He's the only one in the gang without any powers, and as he watches his best friend instantly fall under Jace's spell, he's determined to hang on for dear life. If Clary needs help finding her mother, Simon is definitely going to offer it up, no matter what the personal cost.
With his signature curls swept back, he exuded something of a Captain Jack Sparrow swagger, and much like Johnny Depp's on-screen creation, you never quite knew what he was going to say next. However, the boy who played Cormac in Foreign Exchange still shone through, and if there was one thing you picked up on immediately, it was that the fame hadn't gone to his head. From his own Mortal Instruments to the sheer size of his new fanbase, Sheehan was more than happy to wax lyrical about all aspects of his career, while sending this here interviewer into several fits of unprofessional laughter. His quite frankly disarming charm made it difficult to remember what age I was when Love/Hate and Misfits landed on the telly.
Nevertheless, I regained the old composure, and asked Rob the questions his fans wanted answered. What was it like to work on such a big production? How did it feel to have so many fellow Irish lads among the cast? (Aidan Turner, Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Richard Harris' son Jared to be precise) How was life treating him after Love/Hate? And most importantly, have we lost him to Hollywood forever?
Have a listen to our chat below, but be warned: I wasn't kidding when I said this fella would say anything. And if you haven't seen every single episode of Love/Hate yet, I'd suggest you skip over that part of the interview, because it's pretty much full of spoilers.
Catch The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones in Irish cinemas from August 21st.