Irish author not to ruin the upcoming adaptation of her best-selling novel, Grown Ups.
Marian, 60, watched her 2020 novel about the trials and tribulations of the fictional Casey family sell thousands and eventually win her author of the year the British Book Awards in 2022.
The novel’s popularity eventually caught the attention of , who have now commissioned a TV adaptation from the team behind acclaimed spy series Slow Horses.
But amid the excitement is some concern, as Marian has admitted to being she’s heard in TV and film over recent years.
‘It would be so, so nice if they use people who can do Irish accents,’ she said, adding: ‘I mean, the accents are just… I weep! I am corroded with pain!’
also reported that, during her comments, which were made at Hay Festival, Marian expressed a wish to be as involved in the show as Netflix will allow.
‘If I really am executive producer [of the Grown Ups adaptation] it means that I can choose. I’d also like a cameo. And my mother wants one as well.’
She continued: ‘The [most realistic] place we could be would be a chemist. We both enjoy bad health. That’s what we want.’
In recent years, bad Irish accents have actually been more common than you’d think, with several non-Irish A-list stars coming in for heavy criticism.
Wild Mountain Thyme, the 2020 film which starred Emily Blunt, Christopher Walken, and John Hamm, received a Rotten Tomatoes score of just 25%, with the accents proving a major sticking point for viewers.
The Rotten Tomatoes consensus described the film as being ‘fatally undermined by dodgy accents’ before referring to it as a ‘wild misfire’ for everyone involved.
Fantasy romantic comedy Irish Wish, released in 2024 starring Lindsay Lohan, also received intense backlash for its characters having not just bad accents but the wrong accents.
Irish critics lambasted Welsh actor Alexander Vlahos for his attempt at an Irish aristocratic accent, while the film was also criticised for how the Irish were portrayed full stop.
In 2007, Scottish actor Gerard Butler was forced to apologise after his performance as Irish character Gerry Kennedy, who leaves a love letter to his wife, played by Hilary Swank, from beyond the grave.
During an interview shortly after the film’s release, he said: ‘I was hoping [Irish viewers] would be quite forgiving of me, being a Scots boy whose whole family are Irish – they really are from all over Ireland.
‘I thought [PS I Love You] was so beautiful towards Ireland and the Irish people, so I thought I’d just go in there and do my best. But I would like to apologise to the nation of Ireland.’
Grown Ups will be on Netflix soon.
