If you happened to be at the Young Fathers gig in the Olympia Theatre a few weeks back, you may have noticed a familiar-looking face in one of the boxes.
Yes, that really was English actor Tilda Swinton - as well as American actor Michael Shannon and Irish actress Bronagh Gallagher beside her. By all accounts, Swinton enjoyed the show by the Scottish band...
It turns out that Swinton was in Dublin because she is about to shoot a film here, believed to be Joshua Oppenheimer's forthcoming musical 'The End'.
She spoke about it during her keynote speech at SXSW yesterday, but the comment that is generating controversy is her apparent refusal to wear a mask on set.
She told the crowd that she was delighted to be in front of an audience that didn't have to wear masks anymore, saying: "I’m about to shoot a picture in Ireland, and I was told to wear a mask at all times, and I’m not. I’m sure this is being recorded. I've had Covid-19 multiple times so I’m full of antibodies and very healthy."
However, the 62-year-old actress has previously admitted that she suffered repercussions from her Covid infections, saying in an interview last year: "I was coughing like an old gentleman who smoked a pipe for 70 years, and had nasty vertigo. I got off relatively lightly, but the worst thing is how it affected my brain.
"I did two films that I had to learn a lot of text for. I’m normally quite quick at studying, and picking stuff up, but this was like chewing a really big piece of gum. I couldn’t remember my lines."
Swinton is set to star in David Fincher's 'The Killer' next, while 'The End' - described as "A Golden Age-style musical about the last human family" - will see her star opposite '1917' star George MacKay and Stephen Graham. The film is a co-production between Denmark, Germany and Ireland.
