If ‘Life’s A Breeze’ - Lance Daly’s new recession set comedy drama- proves itself one of the biggest Irish cinema highlights of the year, then much of its success will undoubtedly be attributed to newcomer Kelly Thornton.
Only 14 at the time she landed the role of Emma, Ms Thornton impressively holds her own against acting heavyweights like Fionnula Flanagan and Pat Shortt, proving every bit their equal despite her young age.
For all the comedy moments provided by Pat Shortt, it is the relationship between Emma and her Granny that is the heart and soul of the film, and Emma, rather than the grown-ups, who ultimately saves the day.
Ahead of the premiere of ‘Life’s A Breeze’ at the Galway Film Fleadh this evening and its Irish cinema release next week, IFTN spoke to Kelly Thornton about landing a role in what could well be the springboard for a major acting career.
Kelly, how do you feel about going to the premiere of ‘Life’s A Breeze’ at the Galway Film Fleadh? I’m really excited! My Mam is going with me.
Do any of your classmates have any idea of how famous you’re going to be? Nah, I don’t think so. Haha! I’m not expecting anything.
One of the biggest parts of ‘Life’s A Breeze’ is definitely the relationship between your character Emma and the Granny played by Fionnula Flanagan. What was it like to act with Fionnula in real life? It was brilliant. She is so lovely. She’s very laid back and very nice!
Did she have any acting tips or lessons she would teach you on set? Yeah, she’d tell me little things all the time and she told me all about James Joyce. It wasn’t to do with acting - she just told me his life story. We were chatting about things a lot when we were in Bray. She’s very interesting.
Was Pat Shortt, who plays Colm, as funny in real life as he is onscreen? Yeah, he’s very funny! I really liked the scene when we’re showing Gran the new house and Colm goes ‘great feng shui’. He couldn’t say it right and they kept it in the movie. It was so funny. All the crew were laughing!
How did you first get into acting – had you been in school plays before ‘Life’s A Breeze’? No, I was just walking down Grafton Street when I was 14, shopping with my friends, when a woman came up to me and asked me would I like to audition for a new film. My friends were like ‘go on!’ and I was like ‘alright’ and I didn’t think I’d get anywhere with it, but I did!
In Life’s a Breeze, the story kicks off when the Granny’s life savings get thrown out. Have you ever lost anything valuable yourself over the years? I’ve lost many phones! When I was nine, I got this gorgeous little flip-phone for my birthday and I went to the Green with my friends, put it in my shoe and it got robbed on the day.
Do you have any favourite actors? My favourite actress is Mila Kunis and my favourite actor is Will Smith.
Do you have any more auditions or parts coming up in other films you can tell us about? I have nothing lined up right now but hopefully something will come along soon!
You’re nominated for the Bingham Ray New Talent award at the Galway Film Fleadh, which is an incredible achievement for someone so young. How did it feel to get that news? I was very surprised! I’m delighted about it. Whatever happens, I’m very happy to get nominated anyway.
'Life’s A Breeze’, distributed by Wildcard, is released in Irish cinemas on 19th July.
An Irish-Swedish co-production between Fastnet Films and Anagram Produktions, ‘Life’s A Breeze’ is produced by Fastnet’s Macdara Kelleher, Tomas Eskilsson and Martin Persson of Anagram Produktion.
The film was funded by the Irish Film Board, BAI, Setanta Ireland, Film I Vast, Magnolia Distributions, Section 481, Eurimages and The Swedish Film Institute.
For anyone who missed it, the trailer for 'Life’s A Breeze' is attached below:
