Adopted Dara O’Briain says Dame Judi Dench inspired him to start the search for his birth mother
- Comic O’Briain, 51, said he knew he was adopted but something I kind of forgot.
- Judi Dench’s performance in Philomena inspired him to search for the birth mother
Dara O’Briain has revealed how Dame Judi Dench’s powerful performance in the film Philomena inspired him to search for his birth mother.
The Irish comedian, 51, said he always knew he was adopted but it was something “I sort of forgot”. It wasn’t until after he saw the 2013 film that he realized his birth mother might be wondering what happened to him.
“I really walked out of the theater and said, ‘Oh you Eejit, you’re not the main character in this story,'” he will tell today’s Desert Island Discs.
“Here is a woman who gave up a baby for adoption 45 years ago and you have made yourself invisible for not participating in the search.”
Inspired: Dara O’Briain (pictured) has revealed how Dame Judi Dench’s powerful performance in the film Philomena inspired him to search for his birth mother
Powerful: Judi Dench in the 2013 film Philomena, which inspired O’Briain
The Oscar-nominated film is based on the true story by Martin Sixsmith about Irish woman Philomena Lee and her 50-year search for the son she had to put up for adoption.
O’Briain said he had already thanked Steve Coogan, who adapted the story for screen, but never met Dench.
He met his birth mother in 2020 and said the fact he had a happy upbringing, a wife and his own children meant the reunion “didn’t fill a void.”
- Desert Island Discs airs today at 11:15 am and will be repeated Friday at 9:00 am.