What happens when forbidden romance meets oddball characters? Find out in 'House of Guinness'

Steven Knight’s historical drama “House of Guinness” became a huge talking point when it recently dropped on Netflix. 

In this dramatised eight-part series, which is centred on the celebrated family behind the brewing company in 19th-century Ireland and New York.

On the back of the passing of Benjamin Guinness, there is significant anxiety surrounding the succession plan.

His four children - Arthur Guinness (Anthony Boyle), the eldest son; Edward Guinness (Louis Partridge); Anne Plunket (née Guinness) (Emily Fairn); and Benjamin Lee Guinness II (Fionn O'Shea) - find themselves surprised by the contents of his will, bequeathing a chunk of the family fortune and legacy to Arthur and Edward. 

However, as the eldest son, Arthur, is given privileges befitting his status, while Edward is meant to support him. Should they decide against taking up the baton to work together, they forfeit their inheritance. 

Meanwhile, relatives are also swarming around, looking to claim a stake in the empire.

The personal challenges between them also feed into the drama. 

Arthur is in the closet and has to find a wife for appearances. Edward needs to do the same; however, his savvy businessman skills don’t extend to relationships. 

When it comes to popular offerings, the main characters tend to hog the spotlight. However, the supporting characters play a crucially important role in the show’s success. 

This series is a fascinating brew of scandal, power struggles, rebellion, forbidden romance, betrayal and political intrigue.

Now let’s unpack the curveballs and the characters behind them.

Mixing business with pleasure

The dashing looks of Sean Rafferty (James Norton), who is the head warehouse foreman at Guinness Brewery as well as a security-cum-fixer for the family, cannot be overstated. 

He’s a mix of enigmatic and menacing, at the same time. It’s not difficult to see why the sister in the family had an affair with him despite being married. 

As much as Arthur cannot be a husband in the true sense to Lady Olivia (Danielle Galligan), they share a mutual love and respect for one another. 

To this end, he strikes a deal with Sean to ensure his wife is taken care of. Of course, discretion is key to the agreement. 

Expanding on his character, Norton revealed, “I think he was an amalgamation of different people from Steven (Knight) and Ivana’s (Lowell) research.”

“I mean, it’s lovely to be able to research a person who you're playing, and there’s a responsibility there. It gives you a certain kind of gravitas, which I've done before, but Rafferty was a kind of clean sheet, and I think Steven had a real fun time writing him. 

“You can really feel the relish that he took in creating this kind of bag of contradictions. Yeah, I loved it. I mean, like any good role, he continued to be more and more mysterious.”

The actor added: “He presents as someone who is quite a simple man,  a man of loyalty …  that he's got a job to do, he does it very well, he has very strict kind of parameters within which he lives his life. And the truth is that he's not that at all. He's incredibly complicated.”

The chemistry between Norton and Galligan is unmistakable in every frame.

Of course, Galligan is not to be outdone. She plays her role with praiseworthy chutzpah. She’s the feminist the time period didn’t know it needed - certainly from a storytelling perspective as well. 

In unpacking the scene where she meets Arthur to discuss their arrangement, she speaks her mind so freely that he is immediately drawn to her. 

This meeting is crucial as she seeks to leverage his name for social standing, a necessity given her family's dire financial situation. However, she doesn’t beg. She stands on business. 

Galligan laughed: “Yeah, that scene is one of my favourites because it was actually my audition scene. So it was really nice on the day. Tom (Shankland, the director) was there, and I kind of always saw Lady Olivia like a poker player. 

“My nana taught me to play poker at a very young age, and I see Lady Olivia as strategic and I think the way that she plays that scene, you know, in life we're all dealt hand, I guess, and her, as a woman at that time, they're so constricted and they have all this potential and no outlet for it. 

“I think watching her call people's bluff and knowing when to up the ante and also, equally, to fold and save face, I think, is really interesting; not only in that scene, but every scene. She's constantly pushing the boundaries on what she can and can't do.”

The oddballs in the series 

Jack Gleeson plays Byron Hedges, a distant Guinness-Fenian cousin and de facto business partner. While he has a hunger to help expand the business into New York, he’s a bit of a sketchy character. 

On landing the part, he shared: “The Guinness family, obviously in this brewery, has such an important place in the city and its history.  I knew bits and bobs, but it was an opportunity to educate myself, so it was really interesting to learn more. 

“For my character, I just took the lead from the scripts in Steven's writing and just really trusted him. I fell in love with the character, and it was really easy to immerse myself in his world.”

Co-star Niamh McCormack felt the same. Slipping into the skin of Ellen, the local Fenian organiser, she’s feisty and tough as nails. 

She admitted: “Being from Dublin, you are kind of surrounded by Guinness, where the brewery is there, and a lot of pubs that sell Guinness. I hadn't really known the whole story behind the family that brought Guinness to what it is today. 

“So I was kind of finding it out as I was reading.”

Most actors delight in going back in time. However, the wardrobe was certainly not a breeze for McCormack.

She shared, “I had so many layers to put on every morning. I really had so much respect for women just to get dressed and undressed, you know …

“It was such a transformation, I had an incredible wig - I just couldn't even recognise myself. So, putting on the corset, looking at how women were so restricted back in those days. Then, walking onto the set, you don't feel like yourself, you are immersed and that reality.”

Rating: **** a standout series with exceptional qualities.

∎ “House of Guiness” is streaming on Netflix.