Leah McNamara: Ex-UCC student about to hit the big time in new Sky thriller
Destv Leah McNamara in a scene from Then You Run.
She has shone in high-profile shows including Normal People and Dublin Murders, where her scheming character left viewers shocked in the final-episode twist. Now Irish actress Leah McNamara is taking on her first major leading role in an edgy new series. Then You Run stars McNamara as Tara, a rebellious teenager sent to live with her estranged father - who happens to be one of the most notorious drugs dealers in Europe.
When a deal goes disastrously wrong, she and her friends end up on the run across the continent with three kilos of heroin, pursued by some of her father’s deadliest rivals. “She kind of goes through the depths of hell and back during this series,” says the Limerick actress of her role in the darkly funny thriller. “For an actress it’s basically a dream role because you get to go through everything across the course of the series - it was really exciting for me to have the opportunity to do a character like that.”
It’s set to be quite a year for McNamara, who studied at UCC and has happy memories of Cork’s arts scene during her time living in the city. In the coming year, she will also be playing a villain in the forthcoming Hellboy movie, while she has a starring role in Guy Ritchie’s new TV series.
The actress has been impressing filmmakers and casting agents for some time, shining as one of two estranged sisters in Irish drama Metal Heart, before being cast by Lenny Abrahamson as Rachel in the global smash that was Normal People. Her role as the devious Rosalind in Dublin Murders, who had viewers’ collective jaws dropping in a series finale with a big twist, showed her skill with dark material.
When offered the leading role in Then You Run, she grabbed the opportunity. “It's been something that I feel like I've been working towards for a while,” she says. “My career has, slowly but steadily, been kind of leading up to that point. So I feel like when the opportunity of this came along I was just so ready to be in that role, I felt lucky that my first big lead was going to be in something that I feel is so strong, and seeing those first episodes back now I think that's really translated into what everyone has put together and the whole thing that we worked towards.”
McNamara was immersed in the arts from a very young age in Limerick as both of her parents performed in amateur theatre, while her grandmother worked as a voice coach. “I was going to plays and things like that literally from when I was old enough to be sitting up in a chair. I would be in theatres, straining trying to see up over the stage, in vivid memories that I have. I was very lucky in the sense that if I wanted to go dancing, I got to go to dance classes and I was in Spotlight in Limerick.”
As a student, McNamara moved from her native Castletroy to Cork while attending UCC. She has very fond memories of student and cultural life in the city, where she lived before studying full-time acting in Dublin’s Bow Street. Studying drama and theatre in UCC helped foster her love of acting. “I lived in Cork for three years and it was so much fun. It was a more theoretical course and I did it with English down in UCC, but looking back on it now I'm so happy I got to have that experience,” she says.
“I actually got to have amazing moments of freedom - I got to do plays and join the drama society. I did my first serious play, Hedda Gabler, with the Drama Soc. All these moments going to the theatre and being around that scene in Cork was such a great experience for me to have had at such a young age. Having those experiences where you get to learn and look at texts and be around fellow people like that was so beneficial for me.”
Then You Run is one of three major projects we’ll see McNamara in this year. She’s set to play comic-book villain Effie Kolb in the forthcoming Hellboy: The Crooked Man. She has just completed filming on The Gentlemen, a TV-series spin-off of Guy Ritchie’s fun gangster romp.
It was during her time in UCC that the actress first met top Irish casting agent Louise Kiely and her team, after dashing across the city on hearing about open auditions for Kerry-shot movie The Lobster. Cork-born Kiely, a former UCC alumnus herself, has cast dozens of prolific movies and TV shows.
“I remember sitting in the class and I was like, I have to go, I'm sorry!” McNamara recalls. “I ran the 20 minutes and I met Thyrza Ging who works with Louise Kiely. I ended up in an audition for The Lobster and she ended up giving me not that part, but my first acting role was from her. Louise has been such a huge support to me throughout my career.
“Judy Harkin, another Irish casting director, gave me my first role out of London, which was Dublin Murders. After months of living in London, it was really hard - (I) kept getting down to the last few. And then finally when you get that call: ‘You’ve been cast’ it was just the best feeling ever. I remember just being so ecstatic, because it was such a long slog leading up to that. Those are moments and people that come to mind, and people I'll always be so appreciative of.”
All episodes of Then You Run are available on Sky Max and NOW from Friday, July 7
"I’m currently reading Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton.”
“I saw Harry Styles at Wembley which was such an amazing concert, while I’m on my way to see SZA. I love music and I love getting out in the summertime in London when it's so much fun to live here. It’s a great city to be in if you feel like going to a gig or want to go to a show.
“I saw Hamilton for the second time a few weeks ago and I’m going to get to see more shows and have people come over to see stuff in the West End."
