Paul Ronan is a newcommer to series six of Ballykissangel and plays the cheeky mechanic Edso Foley. With only his mechanic's tools and that winning glint in his eye, he's the kind of man that men and women love. The Ballykissangel Examiner caught up with Paul while he was filming.
	Watch the interview for more from Paul

Where did acting begin for you?

It began in New York City. I had been working as a bar tender and I had been working on building sites, the typical Irish work that you do when you go over there. A fella called Chris O'Neill, an actor who used to be in the Riordan's years ago, was working in the Theatre For The New City and he and other actors used to go into the bar and I used to get free tickets. I was a bit of a joker behind the bar, and I used to do impressions of all the ethnic minorites that came into the bar and was able to make them all laugh at each other. Chris thought this was cool and said I should be an actor, of course I said no way, forget about it. A few months later Chris was starting his own theatre company, called the Irish Bronx Theatre Company and was kicking off with a great play called "Da" by Hugh Leonard. He asked me to audition for the part of young Charlie, so I did it and it was the scariest moment of my life. I fought on the Irish Karate team for years, and I've fought guys twice my size and I wasn't as nervous as I was when I first set foot on stage. That's basically how I got into it, I just kept doing play after play after play.

So you honed your skills that way rather than going to a college and learing the skills more academically?

Yeah, I had the martial arts background, which was great because a lot of the stuff in acting that you need, especially in theatre, I'd already learned in martial arts; timing, co-ordination, discipline, concentration, breathing, so all I needed was a neck hard enough to get up there and do it. Remembering the lines, that was a big worry for me. But as it turned out I was a quick study, and when I did actually get through the first play I was very happy with myself.

How long have you been back in Ireland?

About two years now.

So you know Ballykissangel?

Well no, the first time I saw it was at the screening that we had a while ago, the first episode of the next series. I have seen snippets of it, but I'm not a big telly watcher you know. I like the news, National Geographic, The Simpsons and sport of course and that's about it. My father is a huge fan of it and he told me that every episode is like a small movie, and I'd been used to doing movies and so when I saw it on the big screen it looked fabulous.

So what about Edso? What's the story behind him?

Edso is an accomplished young man in a way. He's got his business set up in Ballykissangel and he seems to have his financial things in order. He's a good worker, he's kind of conscientious and he's a bit cocky about his ability as a mechanic. He has a couple of girlfriends in tow but he is particularly interested in Sushannah Doyle's character Avril. She is not as interested in him, which kind of messes him up a bit.

Is he a man that likes a challenge?

He likes a challenge - he'll have a go at anything. He's a lovely character. A very easy character to play and it's so well written.