“I am worried about the erosion of human rights and viewing the idea of human rights as some sort of impediment and how Reform are anti-human rights because they think it’s some red tape bureaucracy,” he continued.
“And I really worry about how the post-war consensus on what constituted the idea of human rights, the Geneva Conventions, the idea that you to try and aspire to some sort of decency even in war, seems to be going out the window.
“Now it’s like you can do what the fuck you like. And that I find really disturbing. The idea that nation states can say we can just kill people even if they surrender. That it’s an entirely legitimate act of war to summarily execute someone who is not a threat in that moment. And somehow that you justify it by saying they represent an overarching existential threat, therefore I have the right to kill them. It is fucking dangerous. And that bothers me.”
In this week’s Big Issue, Coogan is interviewed alongside Saipan co-star Éanna Hardwicke, who plays Roy Keane in the new film, and directors Glenn Leyburn and Lisa Barros D’Sa.
“Early on, [the film’s narrative] was 60-40 in favour of Roy [Keane]. And I wanted it to be more even-handed,” Coogan said.
“Once that happened, I wanted to be on Team Mick for the purposes of the film. I do think there is merit on both sides.
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“The old cliché that it was not the winning but the taking part is something Mick was embracing, whereas Roy Keane was fed up of the idea of the plucky underdog. He wanted to kick against that. And he did.”
But, as well as detailing how he pushed for the film to give more credit to McCarthy – whose team, without star player Keane, only missed out on a World Cup quarter final after a penalty shootout defeat to Spain – Coogan also revealed he has a new and more appreciative outlook on life.
“I try to be a bit more grateful and a bit more… epicurean is a word I learned not that long ago, which is living in the moment and life being in small things,” he said.
“In this moment, I’m healthy, I’m happy, I’m having a nice cup of tea. So I’m trying to reframe things in a way.
“Beyond that, I love walking my dog… just like Roy Keane! And I’m very grateful that I’m able to earn a living by expressing myself. That is a privilege and I never take that for granted.”
Read the full interview with Steve Coogan, Éanna Hardwicke, Lisa Barros D’Sa and Glenn Leyburn in this week’s Big Issue magazine, on sale now. Saipan is released in cinema on 23 January.
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