Martin McDonagh
British-Irish playwright and Academy Award-winning filmmaker
Martin McDonagh (British-Irish playwright and Academy Award-winning filmmaker) has appeared as a guest on 1 episode in TMT. Topics they speak about most include Violence in film, Political correctness, Art and social change.
In their words
Positions and remarks grouped by topic, each with the exact quote and where it was said.
Violence in film
McDonagh rejects strong Tarantino comparisons, saying their approaches to violence differ despite surface similarity.
“i don't think our approach to violence is quite the same even though it might appear to be the same”
The Daily: Martin McDonagh Has a Vision for Hope. It's Not for the Faint of Heart. (Oct 31, 2026) · Listen from 41:42
McDonagh says his work has become steadily less violent over time.
“I think I've been getting less and less violent. If you discount all the fingers in Banshees, there's hardly any violence at all”
The Daily: Martin McDonagh Has a Vision for Hope. It's Not for the Faint of Heart. (Oct 31, 2026) · Listen from 19:18
McDonagh says his stage violence stemmed from a belief that plays should be as exciting as the best films.
“I did think plays should be as exciting as the best films, and that meant you should be able to do anything on stage”
The Daily: Martin McDonagh Has a Vision for Hope. It's Not for the Faint of Heart. (Oct 31, 2026) · Listen from 18:55
Political correctness
McDonagh argues that those who object to a play's language should not stage it rather than altering it.
“if you don't like that in a play, you should just not do the play. You shouldn't try and change the play 25 years later”
The Daily: Martin McDonagh Has a Vision for Hope. It's Not for the Faint of Heart. (Oct 31, 2026) · Listen from 14:21
McDonagh says that only in the past decade has he been asked to change words in his older plays because of offense.
“only in the last 10 years have I been asked to change words in plays from 25, 30 years ago because of offense taken by certain words”
The Daily: Martin McDonagh Has a Vision for Hope. It's Not for the Faint of Heart. (Oct 31, 2026) · Listen from 13:34
McDonagh distinguishes offensiveness, which aims to hurt an audience, from outrageousness, which delights in the unexpected.
“one is deliberately trying to hurt or attack an audience, whereas the other is to almost delight in something you haven't heard before”
The Daily: Martin McDonagh Has a Vision for Hope. It's Not for the Faint of Heart. (Oct 31, 2026) · Listen from 11:19
Art and social change
McDonagh argues that art changes the world simply by existing, making it better.
“this world is better because of the poems we love and the books we love and the films we adore”
The Daily: Martin McDonagh Has a Vision for Hope. It's Not for the Faint of Heart. (Oct 31, 2026) · Listen from 49:20
McDonagh concedes that murder has probably changed more things than art has.
“I think art has changed things. But I think murder has probably changed a lot more things”
The Daily: Martin McDonagh Has a Vision for Hope. It's Not for the Faint of Heart. (Oct 31, 2026) · Listen from 48:00
Other remarks
McDonagh credits Pinter and Mamet with showing him a poetic heightening of real speech in dialogue.
“it was like pinter and mamet particularly who who made me think that there was like a poetic heightening of how people really speak”
The Daily: Martin McDonagh Has a Vision for Hope. It's Not for the Faint of Heart. (Oct 31, 2026) · Listen from 40:24
McDonagh recounts going from unemployment to a Broadway run with his first play within about a year.
“i went from completely unemployed unemployable and poor to having a play on broadway for a year within the space of a year”
The Daily: Martin McDonagh Has a Vision for Hope. It's Not for the Faint of Heart. (Oct 31, 2026) · Listen from 31:56
Catholic Church
McDonagh says his anti-religious feeling has grown more entrenched and he sees religion as one of the worst things happening in the world.
“I think I'm getting more and more sort of entrenched in some kind of anti-religious feeling in general”
The Daily: Martin McDonagh Has a Vision for Hope. It's Not for the Faint of Heart. (Oct 31, 2026) · Listen from 28:20
McDonagh links his loss of Catholic faith at 12 to the anti-authoritarian punk ethic of The Clash.
“which is sort of the punk rock ethic, naturally the Catholic Church are going to be right in the firing line”
The Daily: Martin McDonagh Has a Vision for Hope. It's Not for the Faint of Heart. (Oct 31, 2026) · Listen from 27:48
Academy Awards
McDonagh says he enjoys awards season but would never alter his work to win or make Oscar bait.
“I would never change what the work is to get one or make something Oscar-baity”
The Daily: Martin McDonagh Has a Vision for Hope. It's Not for the Faint of Heart. (Oct 31, 2026) · Listen from 46:06
Fleabag
McDonagh says Phoebe Waller-Bridge's Fleabag was game-changing and taught him about women, storytelling and love.
“Fleabag was, like, game-changing and eye-opening and just so insightful and funny”
The Daily: Martin McDonagh Has a Vision for Hope. It's Not for the Faint of Heart. (Oct 31, 2026) · Listen from 43:14
The Clash
McDonagh says that Wild Horse Nine is the first of his films Joe Strummer might be proud of for its anger and political viewpoint.
“i feel like for the first time joe might be proud of this one”
The Daily: Martin McDonagh Has a Vision for Hope. It's Not for the Faint of Heart. (Oct 31, 2026) · Listen from 33:41
Masculinity
McDonagh says he wanted Wild Horse Nine to show the gentleness and depth of male friendship rather than an empty buddy movie.
“I like the gentleness of my male friendships and I guess to show a bit more of that”
The Daily: Martin McDonagh Has a Vision for Hope. It's Not for the Faint of Heart. (Oct 31, 2026) · Listen from 23:40
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
McDonagh disagrees with critiques of Three Billboards, saying viewers misread the film as redeeming a character.
“i feel like the film was taken as a redemption to a character that i didn't feel was true”
The Daily: Martin McDonagh Has a Vision for Hope. It's Not for the Faint of Heart. (Oct 31, 2026) · Listen from 16:51
Wild Horse Nine
McDonagh maintains that his characters do not serve as mouthpieces for his own politics.
“none of my characters are ever mouthpieces for my politics or the opposite”
The Daily: Martin McDonagh Has a Vision for Hope. It's Not for the Faint of Heart. (Oct 31, 2026) · Listen from 4:10
United States involvement in regime change in Chile
McDonagh says learning about CIA activity in Chile made him doubt the West's moral narrative, since it helped overthrow a democratic government.
“to destabilize and help overthrow a democratically elected government, which ended up in fascist horrors for 15 years”
The Daily: Martin McDonagh Has a Vision for Hope. It's Not for the Faint of Heart. (Oct 31, 2026) · Listen from 2:57
Appearances
Martin McDonagh Has a Vision for Hope. It's Not for the Faint of Heart.The Daily · Oct 31, 2026 · 50 min
David Marchese interviews filmmaker Martin McDonagh about his CIA film Wild Horse Nine, provocation versus offense, violence, punk rock, faith, legacy, and whether art changes the world.
Often appears with
- David Marchese · 1 shared episode