Chris O'Dowd chats about 'The Sapphires' and the weekend his life changed

Hollywood has been turning everyday actors into overnight sensations since the earliest days of movie stardom. It's a time-honored tradition, the grand showbiz dream realized.

So it's no surprise that Chris O'Dowd says one weekend in May 2011 changed his life forever. The actor began it as the guy from the moderately well-known British sitcom "The IT Crowd" and ended it as a man everyone seemed to be talking about. The reason: His sharp, likable performance as Kristen Wiig's love interest in "Bridesmaids," which morphed from a box office hit into a cultural sensation.

If O'Dowd's Officer Nathan Rhodes made you want to see a lot more of the 33-year-old Irishman, you're in luck. He stars in the new flick "The Sapphires," playing the manager of a group of soul-singing Australian Aboriginal women. The movie, based on a true story, follows their tour of Vietnam, where they entertain the American troops in 1968.

amNewYork spoke with O'Dowd about the film, which opens Friday.