“I am a 27-year-old Irish actor currently completing my final year at RADA. I was born in Co. Antrim in the north of Ireland and grew up in Rush, Co. Dublin. After secondary school (and a year of Primary School teacher training) I completed the four-year Drama and Theatre Studies course at Trinity College Dublin, before taking a year out to work, travel and audition for drama school. I moved to London to start the BA Acting course at RADA in 2019. When I look back on myself as a child, I always loved acting. I would mouth along to my favourite movies and mimic the accents that I heard on tv shows like Coronation Street. Outside of acting, I spend a lot of time swimming, cooking and swooning over dogs.”
What kind of actor do you aspire to be?
I’m interested in comedy and playing characters who stretch me. I love to work with accents and physicalities different to my own. Above anything else I’d like to be an actor who is interesting to watch and easy to work with.
What performance piece did you choose for the showcase and why?
I chose a monologue by the character Shane in The Ferryman, by Jez Butterworth. Both of my parents grew up in the time and place that this play is set – Northern Ireland – during the troubles. The questions and issues of identity in the North of the country are absolutely as intricate today post-Brexit as they were at the time when this play was set. I was specifically drawn to Shane’s passion, determination and conviction with which he presents his argument in this piece.
I felt the character of Eric from The Inheritance, by Matthew Lopez was a contrast to Shane, both in his temperament and the way in which he goes about things. More so than Shane, I see aspects of myself in Eric. He is sensitive, emotionally intelligent and lashes out only when he feels wronged. The Inheritance does a beautiful job of presenting the reality and complexity of gay relationships today and the experience of reading the play for the first time is one I will never forget.
What book, theatre, film or TV production has most inspired you?
The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne, and Call My Agent (the French version).
How do you keep creative?
I am quite introverted, meaning that I feel most creative when I am alone with my thoughts; listening to music, walking or swimming. Alongside the techniques and ideas that I’ve been introduced to at RADA, I take inspiration and ideas from people-watching at parks, pubs and airports. Music is pretty constant in my life. I find creating playlists specific to each play I work on helps me to curate an appropriate mood to immerse me in the world of a play or the mind of a character.
What is the dream role you’d love to play?
Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors, or Hamlet! I’d also really love to land a role in a series like It’s a Sin.
What do you hope to be doing this time next year?
I hope to be well en route to acting full-time. I would love to be seen for work in varied genres of theatre from comedy to Shakespeare, Ibsen, musical plays to new writing. I would love to be performing on some of the big stages across Ireland and the UK from the Abbey, to the Gate, to the Globe, Royal Court and everything in between. I would also hope to have my first opportunity to undertake some screen work in a series or short film.