Sean Scully & Adrian Dunbar: 'His view of Britain is that it doesn't really exist'

The artist and the actor met at a dinner party in Dublin

Dunbar, right, says of Scully: 'I really think he is one of the greatest artists of our time. He has pursued a path entirely his own, and people all over the world understand and react to his work, not because it is simple but because he demystifies it so well'

Sean Scully, 70

Born in Dublin and raised in London, Scully (left in picture) is a celebrated artist who has twice been nominated, in 1989 and 1993, for the Turner Prize. He is married, with a five- year-old son, and lives in New York

I met Adrian at a dinner party in Dublin a few years ago. He had bought a few prints of my work, so of course we got along. I knew his name and was aware of him, but I didn't realise he was such a star. We talked about art, politics; he is a very verbose man. But we mostly talked about Highgate in north London. At that time, I was looking for a place to live. Adrian told me I should come to Highgate, that it was the place – he had a beautiful flat there. He got me interested and put me on to an estate agent, but to be honest I still haven't acted on it. I think I prefer the fantasy, sometimes, to actuality, you know?

We bonded over many things: Ireland and England; and we both loved literature, history, art, so we always found a lot to talk about. He's quite a bit younger than me, but I often make friends with younger people these days. I get fed up with older people; they get on my nerves. Old people can get stuck, and I am not stuck at all. Sometimes people ask me if I feel old to have a five-year-old. I tell them I should have waited a bit longer, until I was older still, until my career was under control a bit more.

A while back, I wrote a piece which was a compression of my early life in Islington and the writings of Samuel Beckett. Adrian is a big Beckett fan, and he read this piece of mine at the Beckett Festival in Ireland in 2014. I couldn't make it, and was desperately sorry to have missed it. But I did get to see Adrian on stage a while after that, in New York. He was in a play about the final years of [the writer] Brendan Behan, for which he got rave reviews – and I'm not surprised. He was a tour de force, throwing himself about in a hectic performance. It was visceral, fantastic.

He came to see me at my studio while he was in New York and I showed him some of my work in progress. I think he liked it. But then I'll show anybody anything. I'm not precious.

We don't talk about art too much – we're more likely to talk about Beckett or Joyce – but the subject does crop up, inevitably. He told me recently that he thinks that all we really need to worry about is beauty, because everything else in life we throw away. I thought that was quite profound. Occasionally we talk politics, but Adrian is a little more aggressive, politically, than I am. His view of Britain is that it doesn't really exist. I think it does, but I'm not really willing to get into it with him.

I don't think he has bought any more of my work since we became friends. I don't know how much money he's got, or how much appetite. Because how much do you really need? You might only need one piece by somebody, and be happy with that. If I had one piece by, say, Raphael, I think I'd be very happy. Perhaps Adrian feels similar.

Adrian Dunbar, 57

An in-demand actor for the past 30 years, Dunbar has appeared in films such as 'My Left Foot' and 'The Crying Game', and in TV series including 'Cracker' and 'Line of Duty'. He lives in London with his wife and two children

I was a big admirer of Sean's work, even before his Turner nominations. I had two of his prints: Barcelona Day and Barcelona Night. One day I was looking at his work in a gallery in Dublin and as ever I was amazed at the level of sophistication, the emotion, the vocabulary and colour. I happened to mention to the gallery owner how much I loved it, and he asked if I would like to meet Sean in person. "He's downstairs in the canteen," he said. So there I was, sharing a cup of tea with the great man. He was a big, powerful presence, and I was a bit overwhelmed. I felt somewhat diminished in his company.

He invited me to a dinner party, and we've been friends ever since. It's wonderful to be able to follow his career close up, as it were, because I really think he is one of the greatest artists of our time. He has pursued a path entirely his own, and people all over the world understand and react to his work, not because it is simple but because he demystifies it so well. Like all the great artists, he demystifies style and content. Seamus Heaney did that with his poetry: sophisticated but accessible.

I think Sean's life story is fascinating, from his Catholic school education in London to being an Irishman in the capital in the 1970s and 1980s, and the fact that he went on to become this huge person out in the world. I think it's rare to make such good friends later in life, so to be able to do it with someone as interesting as Sean has been a wonderful thing for me. I'm grateful he has allowed me into his life at all – me, some actor who has just wandered in off the street.

I haven't invested in any more of his work yet, but then I'm not sure I can afford it. There is a very long queue for his oil paintings, and he is mostly being bought now by museums and galleries. And rightly so.

You should see him with his son. He's a wonderful father, so vibrant and vital and so clearly up for it all. I think he is a huge advertisement for having children later in life.

We don't see each other as much as I'd like, not just because I'm in London and he's in New York, but because we are both incredibly busy. That's why I'd love to make a documentary on him for television – his life and work, his interests, his inspirations. I think it's important at this point in his life to properly document his achievements. I've spoken to Sean about the idea and he's keen, so I hope it happens. It will be the ideal way for us to continue to see each other a lot.

Adrian Dunbar will appear in part two of 'The Hollow Crown', the BBC's adaptation of Shakespeare's history plays, later this year. For more about Sean Scully: sean-scully.com