MICHAEL Flatley has insisted his new film isn’t “a vanity project”, despite financing it himself.
The Lord of the Dance star makes his film debut as a troubled secret agent in Blackbird, which he also wrote, directed and produced.
The 60-year-old previously appeared in two short movies, but he has himself to thank for his first major starring role after shelling out to get Blackbird onto the big screen.
However, he insisted it’s not about fuelling his own ego, explaining: “I want to be clear about this – I didn’t finance it because I wanted to make a vanity project.
“It would have just taken too long to raise the money, and I didn’t know what I’d be doing next year.
“And when the window was there, we had to get it done.
“We’ve since had several offers already for people to come in and take the film, which is really good.
“So it won’t be on my dime at the end of the day.”
The Chicago native also told how he wanted to retain control of the movie because he’s used to being in charge of all his dance shows.
He told Hollywood Reporter: “I was my own cheapest labour to do as much of it as I could.”
The superhoofer, who made his name in the lead role in Riverdance, went on to create a series of hugely successful dance shows including Feet of Flames and Celtic Tiger Live.
At the height of his fame, his legs were insured for €35 million, making them one of the world’s most expensive celebrity body parts.
Since hanging up his dancing shoes in 2016, the multi-millionaire has been busy following his acting dream.
And he said he’s fulfilling a childhood ambition to make a film, explaining: “I’ve wanted to do it all my life, but I’ve never had the opportunity.
“I remember when I was six years old in the backyard of our house in Chicago we used to reinvent John Wayne movies with my buddies.”
The new film got off to a bad start when it emerged that the leading female actresses were uncredited on the promotional posters.
One of the images features four fully clothed men alongside three younger women in bikinis, sparking claims that the film perpetuates sexism.
Yet Flatley insisted he has no worries about how the film might be portrayed in light of the MeToo movement, saying: “it’s a very respectful movie in that regards”.
While he wasn’t involved in the promotional posters, Flatley conceded that omitting the name of the leading actress was a “mistake”, adding: “It could actually be argued that she’s the real star of the movie, in my opinion.”
Blackbird, which was shot in Barbabos, is an old-school spy movie which features Flatley as a retired secret agent who runs a glamorous nightclub in the Caribbean.
It stars Patrick Bergin and Eric Roberts as well as Nicole Evans, and received its premiere last week at London’s Raindance Festival.
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It’s inevitably being compared with the Bond franchise, but Flatley said he never intended to try and emulate 007, saying: “Never would I try to be Bond.”
He added: “I couldn’t possibly compete with Daniel. Or Pierce Brosnan. That wasn’t even on my mind.
“No, if it has a Bond feel, I should be lucky. No, I think this is a completely different movie. Absolutely not. I love watching Bond films but that’s not something I aspire to. I wouldn’t be able to do that at all.”