Charles Hallahan Feels at Home in Ireland--and in ‘Kentucky’

You can take Charles Hallahan out of Ireland, but you can’t take the Ireland out of Charles Hallahan.

“Whenever I go to Ireland, I feel at home,” says the actor. “There’s something about seeing your own psychological makeup in a culture--those things are deeply felt.” Now Hallahan (most familiar to TV audiences as Fred Dryer’s boss on “Hunter”) is playing a string of Irishmen in Robert Schenkkan’s “The Kentucky Cycle,” a nine-play, 6 1/2-hour epic opening Sunday at the Mark Taper Forum.

“In the first play I’m Michael Rowen, an Irish immigrant who comes as an indentured servant and sets about acquiring land,” he says of the story, which follows three American families from 1775-1975. “Then I play his grandson in his 50s, then his son in his 40s, then his grandson--in his 40s, then in his 60s. There’s no fancy makeup. It’s just us, creating these generations from ourselves.”

Although Hallahan admits the show is a formidable chunk of work, he says he’s loving it: “In the 20 years I’ve been making a living as an actor, I’ve never experienced anything as exhilarating as this. This piece absolutely slays people. It’s long, sure, but no one ever complains.” (The show, which features more than a dozen actors in about 70 roles, can be seen over two nights or in a marathon weekend performance.)

Hallahan, who’s father to 2-year-old Seamus and 7-month-old Liam, has often supplemented his TV work with theater--including, locally, “Rat in the Skull,” “Come Back, Little Sheba” and “Babbitt.”

“Look, TV and movies are a place to make money,” he says bluntly. “For an actor like me, none of the parts are any good. Once in a while, sure, there’s a nice scene. But most of the time you’re just filling in a plot. That’s OK. For me, ‘Hunter’ was the greatest job in town. And thank God for those residual checks that keep coming in. But that’s not why I’m an actor. If you’re looking for job security, you’re in the wrong racket.”