Domhnall Gleeson Booked Out Cinema For Private Star Wars Trilogy Screening

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Wed Dec 16, 2015 10:51PM

Actor Domhnall Gleeson rented out an entire movie theater in his native Ireland to watch the original Star Wars trilogy for the very first time after landing a role as a villain in the new sequel.The Unbroken star admits he was never a big fan of the George Lucas-created sci-fi franchise as a child, and so when he was cast as General Hux in director J.J. Abrams´ highly-anticipated Star Wars: The Force Awakens, he had to do a little movie research.
"I wasn´t a nut the way some of my friends were," Domhnall tells Britain´s The Independent newspaper. "One of the joys of the experience was going back. I asked for the original trilogy, so I could watch them on the big screen before I shot the film."
He decided to watch the first three releases from the late 1970s and early 1980s in one private sitting at a cinema in Dublin a day before taking part in the first script read for Episode VII.
"It was amazing," Domhnall, 32, gushes. "That was one of the big joys of going through it and letting the magic seep in - then leaving it behind to do the job you´re doing."
Meanwhile, the Irish actor admits he had a great time shooting the new sci-fi blockbuster because director Abrams is an expert at keeping morale high on film sets: "One thing J.J. is very good at doing is imbuing a whole set with a very positive atmosphere," he explains.
"Every time before they called ´action´, if the adrenaline or energy had dropped a little bit, it would be like, ´Everybody - Star Wars! Stand up straight. Come on! How great is this? Come on! Let´s go, let´s go! Action´. And then you barrel into it."