Chis O’Dowd says these days he would happily take a walk in nature over clubbing
(Picture: AFP via Getty Images)Chris O’Dowd says these days he would happily take a walk in nature over clubbing and “that happens when you reach middle age”.
The 43-year-old Irish actor says that getting outdoors makes him feel more grounded and “less stressed”.
Speaking to the Standard, he explained: “When you’re walking through a forest, a tree takes nearly eight minutes to breathe so you naturally slow down your own system to be more at one with it I suppose, whether you want to or not. So nature forces you to slow down — that’s very kind of it.
“Increasingly in my life I have spent a lot more time in nature, I think that’s just something that happens, of course, when you reach middle age.”
He added: “Being inside for two years straight [with lockdown] and I find that friends that I’m talking to we do talk about going for walks in the same way that we talked about going to clubs and I can’t imagine that’s going to change any time soon.”
O’Dowd — who is married to author Dawn O’Porter, with whom he has two children — is best known for his role in the comedy series The IT Crowd and movie Bridesmaids.
He will next be seen starring in fantasy adventure Slumberland with Jason Momoa, and has lent his voice along with Whoopi Goldberg and Jacob Trembley to animated movie My Father’s Dragon — both of which hit Netflix this week.
Drawn on what attracts him to projects these days, the answer is simple: “good people”.
“For acting work it needs to be something that I feel I haven’t necessarily done before in some way, [but] more than anything it’s about working with good people. You tend to get pulled into things because there’s somebody you admire,” he explained.
“Increasingly I want to try and create stuff as well so I spend most of my time at the moment writing. But I like to do different pieces, I get very easily bored — it’s an absolute affliction.”
He has once again partnered with Redbreast Irish Whiskey to mark its second year of Robin Redbreast Day, a day in the calendar year to raise awareness and donations for the brand’s charity partner BirdLife International, and their joint mission to keep the common birds common.
As part of the campaign, he has appeared with Redbreast’s iconic mascot Robin in a light-hearted video with an important message.
For every share and like the video receives, 25 cent (€) will be donated to BirdLife International, which use the funds for their vital work in species and habitat protection, advocacy and conservation.
“Well it turns out that birds are still in trouble, that we didn’t solve it last year,” he said, expressing his desire to make a long-term commitment to the cause.
“We’re hoping to give a substantial amount of money to Bird Life International every year and to raise awareness for common birds whose numbers are going down and are more of an indicator about ourselves than endangered species.”
