to me and I hope that we’ll continue to have a relationship through her working life. We’ve often talked and we still do, so I am really pleased, very pleased for her and it’s such an important subject for the Irish people.
I think it’s good to have that story told. Some people said ‘this is territory we’ve already covered with Magdalene Sisters, do we need it?’ and I think yeah we do actually. We need to reiterate what happened, exorcise those demons and we need to try to look at a truth, however harsh it was. It was that harsh, certainly from the research that I’ve done.
It’s one of those movies I’m proud of, I’m really proud that it did well and I think it’s a credit to the Irish audiences and the film industry in that it was recognised, it wasn’t pushed aside.
The Raggy Boy shoot must have been very different to Tara Road, dealing with such different subject matters?
Yeah, Song For a Raggy Boy was dictated by forty wild kids (laughs) . They were uncontrollable as they’d all been hand picked by say boxing clubs around Ireland, so that was a pretty wild dynamic that had to be dealt with every day. Tara Road was much more subdued, sweeter and more easy going, I guess with a very established cast. There were kids in it but they were very professional about their work, don’t get me wrong, Raggy Boy had a lot of fantastic kids who were a joy to work with but paradoxically they had a very different feel.
Did you offer any advice to the young actors?
Don’t do it like me (laughs) No, Gill i es was fantastic with the kids and I wouldn’t interfere with that. A couple of times when you have to be somebody’s Daddy and you go up and say ‘listen it’s okay, I’m gonna come and grab you, throw you up in the air and give you a kiss on the cheek, lets rehearse that so it doesn’t feel odd’.
And what advice would you offer aspiring actors?
Oh dear (pauses)…I’d say if you really wanna do it you should go for it. It will be tricky, it’s never how you’d imagine it to be and there’s no real logic to it, how a career shapes or if it ever shapes at all. If you’ve got a passion for it, you should go for it but don’t get caught up in all the showbiz shite. Keep your feet on the ground, each job is what it is and all you should focus on is trying to get better at what you do.
Have you always wanted to be an actor?
I didn’t think about it until I was about 19 when I was at university, that’s when I decided to go for it.
What was it that spurred you on?
Ummm, I don’t know. I was a bit thick at school and I had to spend an extra year getting to University so a lot of my contemporaries had already gone. I went to Aberdeen University and when I arrived there a couple of my good mates had joined the drama society for a giggle and then I got involved. I took a small role in The Crucible playing Marshal Herrick, which funnily enough I am going to at the RSC next year playing John Procter. (pauses again and smiles) Yeah, I think there was a girl who I quite fancied at the time who came to see it. She walked up to me afterwards and said ‘yeah, you looked alright up there’ and I thought ‘Oh? Okay right, well I’ll stick with this then’. (laughs)
By Tanya Warren
Tara Road is a UK-Ireland co-production produced for Surefire 3 Film Production LLP by Ferndale Films (TR) Limited and SRP Tara Limited. Produced by Noel Pearson, Sarah Radcliffe, Miron Blumental and Annemarie Naughton.
Tara Road is released nationwide from the 7th of October through BVI (Ireland)
Credits:
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In alphabetical order:
Andy JEAN-MARC BARR
Annie SARAH BOLGER
Brian JOHNNY BRENNAN
Secretary JENNIFER BUCKLEY
Mrs. Doyle VIRGINIA COLE
Nora EILEEN COLGAN
Barney ALAN DEVLIN
Rosemary MARIA DOYLE KENNEDY
Waitress CATHERINE DUNNE
Limo Driver ENRIQUE FONSECA
Heidi JIA FRANCES
Mona BRENDA FRICKER
Polly BRONAGH GALLAGHER
Danny IAIN GLEN
Hubie JAMES HERRICK
Accountant BOSCO HOGAN
Pianist ALISON HOOD
Dale CHRIS JACO OLCKERS
Busker CHRISTOPHER LAWLOR
Marilyn ANDIE MACDOWELL
Bernadette HEIKE MAKATSCH
Jerry MAC McDONALD
Taxi Driver PAT McGRATH
Finola DEARBHLA MOLLOY
Henry LESLIE MONGEZI
John SEAN POWER
Colm STEPHEN REA
Zach DAVID TEN VELTHUIS
Carlotta RUBY WAX
Ria OLIVIA WILLIAMS
Greg AUGUST ZIRNER
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Director Gillies MacKinnon
Screenplay by Cynthia Cidre
Shane Connaughton
Producer Noel Pearson
Producer Miron Blumental
Producer Sarah Radclyffe
Director of Photography John de Borman BSC
Production Designer Derek Wallace
Film Editor Pia Di Ciaula
Music Composed by John Keane
Casting Nuala Moiselle
Frank Moiselle
Executive Producers
James Atherton
Chris Auty
Jürgen Biefang
Bill Godfrey
Michael Henry
Norman Humphrey
Herbert G. Kloiber
Brendan McCarthy
AnneMarie Naughton
Mark Woods
Line Producer Des Martin
Line Producer – South Africa Brigid Olën
Costume Designer Lorna Marie Mugan
First Assistant Director PETER AGNEW
Second Assistant Director CATHERINE DUNNE
Sound Recordist KARL MERREN
Supervising Art Director IRENE O’BRIEN
Production Accountant ROB QUIGLEY
Location Manager CATHY PEARSON
Script Supervisor KATHLEEN WEIR
Chief Make-Up Artist AILBHE LEMASS
Key Hair Dresser DEE CORCORAN
2 ND unit Director ( south Africa) RONAN O’ LEARY
Focus Puller ALAN BUTLER
Clapper Loader CONOR CROWLEY
Trainee Loader BRÍAN DUNGAN
Grip JOHN MURPHY
Steadicam Operator ALASTAIR RAE
Video Assist WILLIAM ROTHSCHILD
“B” Camera Focus Puller DAVID GRENNAN
“B” Camera Grip AIDAN GRIFFIN
Boom Swinger DANNY CROWLEY
Sound Trainee IAN JOHNS
Art Director Co-Ordinator LINDA MURPHY
Standby Art Director MICHAEL HIGGINS
Art Department Trainee MELANIE DOWNES
Assistant Location Manager MICHAEL SWAN
Location Trainee LEE RUSSELL
Assistant Accountant EMER EGAN
Accounts Assistant ORLA COLLINS
Dialogue Coach BRENDAN GUNN
Production Co-Ordinator AOIFE CASSIDY
Assistant Co-Ordinator STEVEN DAVENPORT
Production Assistant KAREN MORAN
UK Co-Ordinator REBECCA FARHALL
UK Assistant Co-Ordinator THOMAS FICKLING
Assistant to Gillies MacKinnon EDEL KAVANAGH
Assistant to Sarah Radclyffe ANNA WEBSTER
Third Assistant Director SANDRA CORBALLY
UK Runner EMILY MARCUSON
Production Trainee JULIEANNE CAROLAN
Trainee Assistant Directors DAISY FORTUNE & CIARA LYONS
Trainee Assistant Director Stand In JENNIFER Mc CANN
Extras Co-Ordinator ANNE WARTER
Make-Up Assistant ASHLING NAIRN
Hair Assistant LORRI ANN KING
Costume Supervisor SUSAN O’CONNOR CAVE
Assistant Costume Designer DEBBIE MILLINGTON
Costume Assistant CASSANDRA STEYN-TAYLOR
Costume Trainee CATHY YOUNG
Props Master EAMONN O’HIGGINS
Props Buyer / Decorator EMER McAVIN
Trainee Buyer ANNE FITZSIMONS
Standby Props ANTHONY NUGENT & DAVE WALLACE
Dressing Props DARRAGH LEWIS & RENE KNOL
Store Person ARAN BYRNE
Runabout Props CONRAD PHILLIPS
Stunt Co-Ordinator ( Ireland) PATRICK CONDREN
Stunt Co-Ordinator ( South Africa) MO MARAIS
Stunt Doubles LEANDER LACEY
DARYL ANDREWS
Gaffer LOUIS CONROY
Best Boy NOEL CULLEN
ElectriciansKIERAN DEMPSEY, STEVEN CARTY, BARRY CONROY, NOEL HOLLAND
Genny Operator SEAN CREAGH
Construction Manager RUSS BAILEY
Supervising Carpenter MANUS DALY
HOD Painter OWEN MURNANE
Painters MARTIN O’SHAUGHNESSY & BILLY RICHARDSON
HOD Stagehand TONY KELLY
HOD Rigger ROBBIE REILLY
Standby Carpenter PAUL KEOGH
Standby Painter GERRY RICHARDSON
Standby Stagehand SHANE DONNELLY
Standby Rigger RICHARD LANG |