In an analysis of the film in the "History & Memory" journal, Aileen Blaney wrote that it is Nesbitt's real-life household name status that made his portrayal of Cooper such a success. She reasoned that Nesbitt's celebrity status mirrors that of Cooper's in the 1970s: "A household name across Great Britain, Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic Nesbitt's widespread popular appeal is emphatically not contingent upon his Protestant Ulster identity, and consequently the double-voicing of the character he plays does not alienate viewers of an alternative, or no, sectarian persuasion." "Guardian" journalist Susie Steiner suggested that his appearance in "Bloody Sunday" was an attempt to resolve the expression of his "Irishness" on screen: "Where he has taken part in a sectarian theme, his intelligence as an actor has often been masked by an excessive, cartoon-style comedy. Yet in his more successful, high-profile roles, (notably in "Cold Feet", and as Pig Finn in the gently pastoral film "Waking Ned"), Nesbitt's Irishness has been exploited for its romantic charm. It has been sugared and, in the process, de-politicised." A critic identified "Bloody Sunday" as Nesbitt's "coming of age" film, and Nesbitt called it a turning point in his career. He refers to his career since the film was released as "post-"Bloody Sunday"".