Speaking to Marc Maron, the actress daughter of Romulus Linney admits that the late playwright 'burned a lot of bridges', but she still considered him 'a challenging, brilliant and fascinating man.

• May 5, 2020

AceShowbiz - Laura Linney had a tougher start than most actresses when she was trying to book stage roles at the beginning of her career because so many people hated her playwright father.

Romulus Linney had a bad reputation for hard drinking and that fell on his daughter, who had to prove again and again she was nothing like him.

"He burned a lot of bridges," she told Marc Maron on his WFT podcast. "He was a very passionate man and a very powerful person. He didn't go to any (rehab) programme so there was no tool to help him. I would go into auditions and people would meet me and I would say, 'Yes, I'm his daughter'... He angered a lot of people, and a lot of people adored him... Either people loved him or he had been really awful to them."

"Then when I actually started working and people would realise it, it would take them a while to realise that I was not my father. Then I just got to the brave part when they said, 'I knew your father' and I would say, 'How was that?' - knowing it could be one way or the other."

But Linney never resented her dad, who died in 2011, insisting he was "a challenging, brilliant and fascinating man".

"I adored him...," she added. "It was hard for him to see my work and hard for him when I started getting some attention. And then he was extremely proud. I think I had it much easier than he did, as far as my professional life and getting along with people. I also wasn't an alcoholic."

"More than anything else, I was born with the right disposition for this business. I don't freak out if I don't get a part. I'm not mortally wounded if I get a really stinky review. Fortunately, I was able to grab onto my friendships and the work more."