Ten Questions with Rob Delaney
He made his name on social media and Catastrophe — now the actor and writer bares all in a raunchy new drama
Lily Craigen
- Laura Rutkowski
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American actor Rob Delaney, most famous for ribald comedy Catastrophe, which he co-created with Sharon Horgan, stars in new drama Dying for Sex. The series, based on a podcast of the same name, tells the true story of the late Molly Kochan (Michelle Williams), who left her husband after being diagnosed with stage four breast cancer, and embarked on a sexual odyssey. Delaney (48) plays Molly’s neighbour, and here discusses his disdain for private healthcare, becoming a British citizen and why his hairy body is a political statement.
Dying for Sex has a lot of, well, sex — did you work with an intimacy coordinator?
Yeah, and it’s getting better and easier every time, because just from a technical standpoint, why not choreograph that stuff? It makes everybody more comfortable. When people resist it and do whatever in the scene, it usually stinks. I say that as somebody who created a show [Catastrophe] that had a lot of intimacy, and that was before intimacy coordinators. We would be like, “Is it OK if I do this?” “Can I caress this?” Now somebody else does that for me.
Is it hard to strip down on screen for intimate scenes?
We scrutinise our bodies, particularly in this business. Sometimes I’ve been like, “Am I too hairy?” I tried to trim my chest hair once, but that looked weird, so now I just let it happen. With everybody trying to be perfect, people start looking the same, and that’s boring. It’s actually a very conscious and focused political decision to be as hairy as I am, to help others appreciate themselves!
Rob Delaney as Neighbor Guy in Dying for Sex. Sarah Shatz/FX
Are you ever worried about your sons seeing some of the scenes when they get older?
Some of it would horrify them big time. I try to pad my career with other things, like an animated film, or a cartoon – things where I’m not being repeatedly kicked erotically in the nuts by a woman with a riding crop.
Being hairy is a conscious decision to help others appreciate themselves!
Rob Delaney
Dying for Sex is about living life to the full — what’s on your bucket list?
My wife, Leah, and kids asked me what I would do with unlimited money and my answer would be to get a live-in drum teacher and guitar teacher, so I could make music. For my bucket list, I’d force Led Zeppelin to reunite with me on drums. They would hate it, but too bad.
Catastrophe co-stars Sharon Horgan and Rob Delaney in 2017. Chris Terry
How did watching Molly using dating apps in the show make you feel?
I love getting older, getting grey hair and having vegetarian chilli with Leah and then going to bed at a sensible time after playing Bananagrams. If Leah left me, I still wouldn’t use dating apps. I’d be that weird 48-year-old-guy who talks to people in public, says hello and makes eye contact.
Your character is very open with his emotions in the show. Do you think it’s still hard for men to express their feelings?
On paper, we all know we’re supposed to do it, but it takes a while to get engrained. I can still resist leaning into my emotions, and accepting that the stuff that comes from my heart is probably more important than what comes from my head, but it’s great to share the gift of your real feelings. Anger is out of fashion these days, but it’s just one of the colours of the emotional rainbow. If you try to fight it or stuff it down, it’ll come out in another, more destructive way. Be angry! There’s a lot to be angry about.
Sharon Horgan, Rob Delaney and Carrie Fisher in Catastrophe.
What makes you angry?
Private health insurance is just evil – I really hate it and anybody supporting it. When you see an advert for it in the UK, because private insurance is making inroads, at the bottom it’ll say, “pre-existing conditions not covered”, which, for the moment, remains illegal in America. It’s like, “Please give us your money, but not for things you want to use us for.”
You were born in Boston, live in London, and Dying for Sex was filmed in New York. How do you split your time?
At the ceremony when I became a British citizen last year, there were people from all over the world and it was so beautiful. For me to leave the UK, it has to be a good job that I really want to do. I strive to stay close to home so I can be around for my kids. Once they’re older, I can make stuff in Madagascar, Myanmar and Siberia.
You write, act and produce. Would you ever direct?
Never. After a couple of takes, my patience would end. Plus, I don’t want to get up too early. The greatest joy is to write something and have it produced. I’m psychotic about what’s on the page, so it’s really important to me that the thing I wrote gets said the way I wrote it.
You became known for your comedy on Twitter, now X — are you still a fan of social media?
I actually quit social media a few months ago, I gave away my logins and passwords [for other people to run the accounts]. I’m almost 50. I’d given enough energy to that stuff, and the fun times were some years ago now.
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Dying for Sex streams on Disney+ from Friday
Authors
Laura RutkowskiCommissioning Editor
Laura Rutkowski is a Commissioning Editor at Radio Times magazine, where she looks after the View From My Sofa slot, and the "What it's like to…" column, which spotlights behind-the-scenes roles within the TV and film industry. She loves finding out how productions are made and enjoys covering a wide variety of genres. Laura is half-American and half-British and joined Radio Times in 2022. She has a degree in Psychology and a Master's in Magazine Journalism.
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