Exclusive Interview: P.J. Byrne and Kylie Bracknell Talk Irreverent

P.J. Byrne and Kylie Bracknell are two of the stars of the must-see new series, Irreverent.

A criminal mediator from Chicago is forced to flee his life and everything he knows and hide out in a small Australian reef community in Far North Queensland posing as the new church Reverend. “Reverend Mackenzie Boyd” (not his real name) has made a mess so bad he can never go home, but he’s going to need all his considerable street smarts to pull off posing as clergy—something he doesn’t know the first thing about. If he slips up, he’s dead and after a lifetime of crime, doing good work is not something that comes naturally. But “Mack” finds himself in a small beach town, with no phone or internet, amongst a community that is filled with people desperate for connection and crying out for a leader. What at first seems like a perfect hiding place from the Chicago mob quickly becomes Mack’s home. But as he reluctantly settles into his new life, Chicago commences the hunt. The only way he will be able to stay off their radar will be to maintain the illusion that he is a Reverend. To do that though, Mack will have to appear to care. Trouble for Mack is, after all that pretending, it may just become a little bit real.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to speak with P.J. and Kylie about Irreverent, the show’s tone, and more.

PC: P.J., I wanted to start with you first. You’ve done it all throughout your career. What was it about this particular project, story, and character that stood out to you?
P.J.: I knew they had cocaine on set. I was like, “Let’s get down there and make it snow. Let’s make it snow in Australia.” [laughs] No, look, I’ve read so many scripts. The first time I read this, I was like, “This Paddy Macrae wrote something special.” As an actor, I’m drawn to the idea of playing the totality of a human. All the characters had it. It’s this heart and humor, living through these horrible situations. I always say every home has a story, and everyone lives that totality in their lives. I jumped on that.

My character, at moment one, is in crisis. He’s in an absolute crisis. He’s a good, sweet childlike guy, and he’s dealing with his world blowing up. I was like, “I’m in on that. I’m in on that.”

PC: Kylie, this series is shining a light on the incredible talent from Australia, yourself included. What has it meant for you to be a part of a project that’s so inclusive and that gets to show your country to a broader audience?
Kylie: Immense pressure. No, I’m kidding. That’s a great question. Thank you. I feel incredibly blessed, no pun intended, to be a part of this project and to have audiences around the world see us through the people of Clump. I’m native to Western Australia. Upon seeing this beautiful country, hopefully, people will see and feel the essence of our ancestors and how rich a culture we have here in Australia.

There’s a magical essence to the country itself, so belonging to that place and drawing on that as an actor to bring these characters to life and create that sense of community in all of their flaws and glory is something that I’m very excited for the world to see. Hopefully, they understand a bit about Australian humor. Hopefully, our accent isn’t too quick or sideways for people in the States to keep up with. It’s been an absolute joy to be a part of. Piper is my dream role to date. I’m so, so over the moon to be a part of this project.

PC: The series does a beautiful job balancing comedy and drama. For each of you as creatives, is one more challenging than the other?
Kylie: I haven’t been doing this as long as P.J. Personally, I love all the layers of it. I’m kind of a fearless person in a way. I don’t fear one any more than the other. But what I will say is that I’ve grown up around a lot of comedy—a lot of dry humor and a lot of wet humor in my family. Comedy is what got us through many years of stuff. It’s always been a friend of ours. I feel like I’ve been able to revel in that. This is what I love about this show, the way it’s written, and particularly with Piper, I get to tune into a lot of my upbringing and bring it to the forefront. I really love it. I love it all. I know that sounds very cliche, but the comedy in there, the subtext, the emotional stuff, the relationship depth, and the trickiness and prickliness of that…I loved diving into all of it.

P.J.: That’s a great tee up for me. Thanks, Kylie, down in Australia. As long as you play everything, whether it’s comedy or drama or horror, as long as you play it grounded, honest, and true, you’re going to win. It doesn’t mean you don’t have to do the work. You have to put in the work. Comedy is very technical. Sometimes the drama part can actually be hysterical as you rip through these emotions. As long as the writing is good, you just have to find your way into your mind and the scene.

PC: Paddy created this series and serves as the showrunner. What was it like getting to collaborate with him as you brought these characters and this story to life? How did that trust that he instilled on set allow you to take agency over your characters?
Kylie: His leadership has been unparalleled to any experience that I’ve had on set. Paddy was there with us. I always felt incredibly supported. He’s so easygoing. He’s so focused and highly intelligent in the work but also emotionally through relationships. You can tell that he had such a fantastic upbringing, family-wise. He’s so in tune and asks the right questions. He gives the right feedback. He’s probably blushing right now because maybe he’s tuning in. He’s a wonderful person to work with and incredibly talented. I would work with him again and again and again. I felt incredibly supported throughout this whole journey.

P.J.: That’s the perfect answer. My favorite thing to do is work with friends. I say it all the time. When you meet Paddy, you’re like, “We’re going to be very close.” We all know he’s a great writer, but some of the great directors or writers in my life, they’re really good about giving the talent the confidence to catch the big touchdowns. Go Cats! That’s a little homage to Australia. They let you run and let you go. He gave me that confidence. He was always open to my thoughts, suggestions, and ideas. Then we would piggyback off each other.

That is a wonderful way to go to work. He started a backbone, and then we were able to make a little volcano come out of the whole thing. No one has ever said that before. Backbone to volcano, you didn’t see that coming. [laughs]

PC Volcanoes and cocaine are two things that I didn’t think I’d hear today.

Make sure to follow P.J. (Twitter/Instagram) and Kylie (Twitter/Instagram). Watch Irreverent on Peacock today.