Tristan MacManus Interview (31) - September 10, 2014

From September, 2014...

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We loved your interview on “Freshly Squeezed” on East Coast FM from Bray on Tuesday and thanks for the updates. You mentioned that Jennifer is away and that you will begin rehearsing together on Monday. Do you know your first dance yet and are you getting any time this week to enjoy a bit more of London?

Yeah, I know the first dance and have been trying to finalize how it’s going to go, but again a lot will depend on when we start and also there is a much tighter 'what you can and can't do' in terms of concepts and things here.  That’s been a little tricky so far so a lot of compromising will be done I reckon before we get where we want to be.

I’m seeing a lot here for sure, yes but that’s mainly to give my head a break from all the planning and of course to have family time.  Rehearsals will start after the weekend and that’s always an unknown as to how it’s gonna go and how much time you spend there but it’s exciting and I’m really enjoying my time here.  It’s nice going to work with a smile.

Your partner, Jennifer Gibney, seems like the perfect celebrity for you for many reasons – the sense of humor and the fact that she really wants to learn among those reasons.  You have had a bit of time to get to know each other already through group rehearsals, so what are your impressions of her so far?

Yeah, we got to talk to each other a fair bit since the unveiling and then the launch show but honestly I didn't talk once about dancing or the show or what the plans are. We just talked about our families and getting to know each other.  Jennifer is a gem. I already have a lot of time for her and her values and I’ve no doubt I will enjoy our time together and our families.  Jennifer knows exactly who she is which I think is very important and which sometimes is lost when people are chasing something. This is a major, major thing for me and one which excites me because when you know who you are there is no pretense.  You know that you can laugh at yourself because you aren't afraid of what anyone else thinks.  I love how her family works together and the balance of fun and work and perspective is what I like surrounding myself with.

What are your impressions of the cast? Did you get to know a lot of the celebrities during the early rehearsals?

The cast are super, yeah.  Obviously some I talked to more than others which is always the case.  Everyone was meeting each other for the first time, and it started with a group number so there was immediately a sense of togetherness that a team was working together.  There are some great big personalities but also quieter people who can hold their own and are very interesting.  The cast seem to cover all the bases of personalities and nobody seems to be defined by what they do.  There is a lot of good dancing and a lot of very endearing characters so I hope the audience will really enjoy this season.

We once asked you about whom you thought was the funniest pro on DWTS and you didn’t hesitate in telling us it was Sasha Farber. This group on Strictly Come Dancing seems to love to have a great time, so which SCD pros get you laughing on a regular basis?

There are a few for different reasons I guess - I get good banter from Anton daily and Ali is a funny bloke a bit like Sash.  Same humor so he is good craic to be around but the rest are all good company.  Iveta is great fun.  I’ve been around her for a while now with the Vegas show and the cruises so I have a lot of time for her and Aliona is married into Irish so she is a funny one.

Finally, you must be very proud of Tahyna’s film, OREN.  We got a sneak preview of it in the trailer (nice to see you in that as well).  As you watched that come together from Tahyna’s vision to a Kickstarter campaign into a finished film, what particularly impressed you about the project?

Yeah of course.  t’s great to see the reaction being positive.  I’m proud of the fact that she had an idea and worked her ass off to make it happen and that through difficult ups and downs and differences of opinions she stuck to it and stuck to her visions and convictions and made a film she wanted to make and how she brought a group of friends together and made it happen.  The end product was most impressive, I think.  I’m not too familiar with the usual process but for how it looked and how much impact it had to the audience, for the amount of time it took, for the amount of work that went in, for the amount of pride the actors felt, to the amount of satisfaction we got, for now the amount of festivals that are approaching her, that gives me great pride and I can't wait for the next project(s) to come out, which of course being Tahyna are already underway!!


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Admin. Note: For more on Tahyna Tozzi-MacManus's film, OREN, go to our Special Feature page which includes our interviews with Tahyna, her blog posts, and photos. http://www.macmaniacs.org/special-feature.html

To view the OREN trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNU_wIVeMSU