Leading Lady

Angeline Ball is well known for her feature debut The Commitments. Since then she has appeared in numerous feature films, television series, and has won two Irish Film and Television Awards. Simon Hudson talks to her about her experiences, acting approach, and her career to date.

Simon: Your training was really The Commitments, but before that you went to school for performance?

Angeline: I was a Billie Barry child [the Dublin-based stage school], where I learnt everything. It was a great outlet as a kid; you made really great friends, and sometimes stayed in each other's houses, so it was very social. For us it was a form of escapism, something to do that was exciting and educational, and I needed that kind of outlet to express myself as I was a very competitive person. I was there from the age of nine till about fourteen, and was always doing shows and even bits of television. It's really thanks to my mother though. She scraped together the pennies to get me into the school and keep me there, and pushed me to go to everything and took me to all the auditions. After that I got a few commercials. That was my only experience as such before The Commitments. But while the training was performance based, it was really song and dance and not acting.

Did you get anything in terms of training or guidance when you did those commercials before The Commitments?

I think the First time you step in front of a camera you're learning. It can be quite imposing and frightening, and the directors can be fearsome although really that fear is what you feel inside. But time is limited and you have to get your act together really quickly. For me it worked and gave me a bit of experience in front of the camera, in dealing with a director, and being 'on set'. You learn to think on your feet. I don't think I could have gone into a drama college and acted like a tree; my learning was on set and I think I was very lucky to get it that way.

How did the learning process go for the part of Imelda, was there somebody teaching you as you went or taking you through the role from the beginning?

No, it was pretty organic really. I began by reading the book a few times, and then we had four weeks of rehearsals. Alan Parker was very good with us, giving us freedom as well as gentle direction during that period. We also recorded the album at that time, so we got a chance to bond without the pressure of cameras on us. I guess we all fell into place both as the characters and as friends, which came across on screen I think, and allowed us to add to the ongoing changes in the script during filming.

The full article is printed in Film Ireland 101