Plum role in 'Dirt' makes Hart an actor to watch

The new FX series "Dirt" dramatizes the twisted world of the paparazzi in Hollywood. They are ethics-challenged journalists whose greatest dream is to catch Vince Vaughn in a bar fight, or to snap Britney Spears falling down drunk.

In "Dirt," which airs Tuesday nights at 10, British actor Ian Hart plays a gonzo paparazzo named Don Konkey who photographs celebrities in compromising positions for a tabloid editor played by Courteney Cox. While Cox is the star of the show, Hart is its heart. His Don is a functional schizophrenic who lapses in and out of reality as he hides in trees aiming his camera. That's right, he's a sympathetic invader of privacy and dignity.

Fans of independent films first encountered Hart when he played John Lennon in two early 1990s movies, "Backbeat" and "The Hours and Times," and then followed him through other indies such as "Hollow Reed" and "The Butcher Boy." And despite his work in the likes of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" and "Finding Neverland," Hart, 42, is still best known for his smaller films. As his first series-TV work, however, "Dirt" may change that. His lovable, scrappy, self-destructive Don Konkey truly deserves a show of his own.

Q Don't you want to say the name Don Konkey over and over ?

A It's a great name. It's a kick.

Q Did you research schizophrenia to get inside Don?

A Two of my uncles are schizophrenic, and my brother-in-law's brother is schizophrenic, too.

I did do some research. But there comes a point when, unless you're doing the same research as the show's writers, there's a potential for, conflict of interest, shall we say. Know what I mean? "That's not what I read." "Oh, well, that's what we've written because we need the story to move on in a certain way."

Q Obviously Courteney Cox is approached by paparazzi. Do you ever have close encounters with them?

A No! Except for research work. For another job I did [on the movie "Rag Tale" ], I went out with these guys back home in Eng-land.

To a degree, there was a pecking order. There are those that the studios and publicists and actors have reached an agreement with. And those are the ones everyone knows are going to be outside of the restaurants or at a premiere. They're easy to talk to. They love to tell you the story of how one time they sat in a ditch for two days to get a photo of Princess Diana or whatever.

The guys who drive around back alleys on mopeds are a different thing. I never met any of those guys because they don't want to talk to you.

Q You do a lot of indie work, but still, your face is out there in mainstream movies like "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone." Are you ever recognized?

A No. Never.

I did get recognized once. Some guy thought I was some kid who was in a thing called "The Wizard." One, I didn't know what "The Wizard" was; and two, I wasn't in it.

Q Would you like to be recognized?

A There's one advantage. The sick nature of the business I dwell in is that it values fame. Because that's how it sells its product. . . .

If you have a script about two miners in the north of England, they're going to look for, well, basically, Clive Owen . They're not going to go for two guys who happen to be fitting for that project. They want to get as much fame attached to that project so they get the financing and the distribution.

On the other hand, being unrecognizable doesn't prevent you from doing acting. And once you're known as a personality it gets harder for the audience to suspend disbelief. Say if Brad Pitt plays a mine worker in Scotland -- I'm sure he can do it, I don't think it's a problem for him as an actor -- but you're always going to know it's Brad Pitt. That's not a slight against Brad Pitt.

Q At 42, what made you turn to the small screen?

A Basically, I wanted a job, dude. It's as simple as that.

I do movies back home, and we take the festivals, and I've been very fortunate in that some of them have won some prizes, and I've won some prizes and whatever. And it means absolutely nothing. You're still back being unemployed for a year. As I get older, I am less and less able to sustain a year out of work. Not just financially, but emotionally.

Q Well , TV has done a lot for your compatriot Hugh Laurie. Thanks to "House," he's huge now.

A I auditioned for "Flight of the Phoenix," and Hugh Laurie got the job. Not to talk out of school, but the director pretty much told me, "It's not that he was better than you or better for the part. The issue is, can I get my movie made with a bunch of unknown guys? And the answer is no."

Q Any small movies in your resume that you wish had gotten more attention?

A I did a movie called "Blind Flight. " Too much effort and work went into it for it to just be like it never existed. [Director-writer John Furse] spent five, six, seven years writing it, and raising finance for it. Shooting it, we ran out of money and people put their wages back in the pot so we could keep on filming. People believed in what they were doing.

At the end of all that, you hope somebody appreciates all the effort. But no one does because there's no money to be made out of it. When reality and the bubble touch each other, they seldom interact in a pleasant way.

Q As Don Konkey, your American accent is flawless.

A I worked with a voice coach many years ago when I was filming in Boston with Denis Leary [on "Monument Ave."]. . . . When an accent is off, it undermines so much of what's going on, not just with that particular actor, but with everyone he's speaking to.

Q Thanks for the time, Don Konkey.

A A pleasure.

Matthew Gilbert can be reached at gilbert@globe.com. For more on TV, visit boston.com/ae/tv/blog.