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[01 Feb 2030|07:31pm] |
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SPAM&CONTACT
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[01 Feb 2010|07:31pm] |
I remember my mother taking me to see Raiders of the Lost Ark when I was six years old. That's my first memory of movies and the cinema. We got popcorn and soda, sat close to the front, and waited in anticipation for the feature to begin. I remember being very confused by the trailers. I didn't understand why there were commercials before the movie instead of during it like on telly. I was only six, but that movie changed my life. I really wanted to be Indiana Jones after that. I started studying about Ancient Egypt and got a fedora hat and everything. I saw that movie again and again, every chance I got. I wanted that life - a life full of action and adventure, romance and glory. I was transported and transformed.
There is something magic about the cinema. You're never the same person going in as you are coming out. Movies have the power to effect us in ways that we don't even notice. But good films can change lives. At least, I've always felt that way. And I always thought that if I could tap into that somehow, if I could just make people laugh and cry at all the right moments, then things would be okay. If I could do that, then my life would be on the right track.
We didn't have a lot of money growing up. It was me and my three brothers and my mum, living in a little house in Port Laois in Ireland. Where we lived was a fairly small, country town. Lots of green, not a lot of people. There was only one cinema, and we didn't get a lot of new movies, but I watched every single one of the ones we did get. We used to sneak in the back a lot, until my older brother Johnny started dating the girl who worked the ticket booth, and she used to let us in for free. When they broke up we had to start sneaking around again. Even when my other brothers wouldn't go, I'd go on my own just to sit in the back. I'd watch the same movies over and over again until I had them practically memorized.
But things were really hard sometimes, and sometimes we didn't have time for movies. We had to put food on the table, and sometimes that meant doing things that were less than honest. My brothers and I got into a lot of trouble, especially when we were teenagers. It was easy to do in my area. I saw a lot of good men get mixed up in the wrong sort of business. I got used to a lot of violence, and a lot of that seeps into the movies I make. Of course it's all stylized in the films, but it had to come from somewhere. We did what we had to do to keep our lives going. Sometimes proper jobs weren't enough.
I didn't really see film as a way out, though I suppose it was. There was no such thing as stage school where I was from, so I just started auditioning for community theater and stuff like that. I had every shit job possible in between - I was mopping floors, flipping burgers, answering telephones, driving limos, waiting tables - all so I could save up and buy a camera. Even when I did get my first camera, I didn't even have proper editing equiptment, so I had to rewind and tape over things. I figured the only way to really learn properly was to become an actor and make friends with other movie makers. So thats what I did.
Eventually I moved to London.
Once I got to London I was able to do a lot more theater, plus a lot of short films and independant films. I met more people in the industry and was given more opportunities. I eventually learned enough and got to the point where I could make one of my own. Requiem for a Dream was a huge huge success for me, a big milestone, and still an experience I'll remember forever. I feel very proud of Requiem, almost like it was my child.
I guess my real big break was when I was tapped to play Aragorn. I'd read the books, so it was a project I was thrilled to be a part of. It was also a huge launching pad. From that, I was able to get bigger budgets for my own films, as well as more acting roles. It's been a really great experience, and I feel very lucky to have had the opportunities I've had. I've come from just about nothing, so to achieve this much in my life makes me feel so blessed.
And now I'm ready for whatever else is to come.
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