Roxanna Nic Liam is an actor whose first role was in the movie 'Agnes Browne'. After joining the Dublin Youth Theatre, she worked in TV, where she appeared in several episodes of 'Love/Hate', and in theatre, most recently in Pirandello's 'Liola' in the National Theatre, London. She grew up in Dublin and is currently based in London
Marion and I first met at a reading before we started filming Agnes Browne. Anjelica Huston couldn't come so Marion read that part. I was 10 and didn't really know what was happening; she came up and explained and was just really really nice. When we started filming, she took a liking to me, became like a surrogate auntie. Everyone took pity on me 'cos I was surrounded by five boys; the lads were all older than me and they would be kind of roughhousing. Marion was so generous to me, I'd wander around the set, bring her little things. Anjelica and the others were really nice as well. I was spoilt rotten really.
My dad's an actor and he'd done the movie The General. I played the daughter in that. I hadn't gone to drama classes, I was just thrown into it. It was during the summer, so for me it was great craic. I wasn't thinking I wanted to be an actor.
I’ll never forget the last day of my filming. Marion and I were hugging for ages, then she got upset and I got upset. She gave me her address and said write to me. She was cleaning out recently and sent me a picture of a letter I’d written: it starts “Hi Marion, thank-you so much for your letter. I went to the pictures last week; I got a medal for Irish dancing.” It was the most boring letter in the world. She always remembered my birthday, she’d bring me out and buy me something, brought me to the cinema, we’d send each other Christmas cards.
When I started working as an actor at 18, we'd see each other more. Until I was 17, I hadn't decided to be an actor. Then I joined the Dublin Youth Theatre and that shaped my career, my life really. I didn't have a massive role in Love/Hate. I played Lyndsey, Elmo's girlfriend. In one of my first episodes a guy punches me in the face and it was quite graphic. It did get people noticing, especially round where I lived in East Wall.
We are living together now in Galway, while the Druid show's on. The play is incredible but the themes are dark and controversial; discussing them in the rehearsal room, it is kind of strange, I'll think, oh God, would Marion mind?
In the last couple of years, we’ve both been so busy, we play this game, Words with Friends, online. We sound like such nerds. But you can send messages to each other on it. She’s getting good, she’s beating me a lot.
In this job, at some stage, age stops mattering – we’re all in it together. Marion is a really close friend. I do still think of her as my auntie Marion. We’ll always have that close connection.
Marion O'Dwyer is an actor who started her career in the Gate Theatre, Dublin. She has worked extensively in theatre as well as in TV and film. She and Roxanna Nic Liam are currently appearing in a new Druid Theatre production in Galway. She grew up in Clontarf and still lives there
Roxanna and I met about 16 years ago when we worked on the movie Agnes Browne. I played Marion [Agnes's best friend] and Roxanna played her daughter, Cathy. She was about nine or 10 at the time: there were seven children and she was the only girl. There's a good age difference between us alright – I could be her mother. All of us on the set would have minded Roxanna a wee bit more because she was the only little girl.
She overheard me saying one day that I loved Danish pastries: the next thing, I’d get a knock on my caravan every day at lunchtime and Roxanna would come in bearing a Danish pastry. She’d be giving out about the little boys making a mess in the playmobile – that’s where the children went when they weren’t working. She’d come in saying “I’m not tidying that playmobile again.” She was much more of a granny when she was 10 than she is now.
She was a gorgeous little girl. I got to know her mum and dad and her grandfather Malachy, who was her chaperone on the set . I’d also worked with her dad [actor Eanna MacLiam] in the Gate Theatre. After the movie was finished, I’d meet her on her birthday and we’d go for lunch. I haven’t seen her much on stage because during her different shows, I’d be working as well. But I remember going to see her when she was in the Dublin Youth Theatre – I was the proud auntie.
I remember one time very clearly: Roxanna and I had lunch, I think it was her 17th birthday. We were chatting about politics or some complicated theory about something and I realised with a shock, she’s an adult. I said, will we order some Champagne? She says she remembers that moment too: she looked at me and said, “my mam allows me have the odd glass of wine, yeah, okay”.
This is our first time working together since Agnes Browne. It's amazing it's taken this long. We went to the premiere of Mrs Brown's Boys D'Movie. Some people hadn't seen Roxanna since we made the first film and it was a shock for people at the premiere because she does look so the same, but now she's an adult. She's quite a livewire. She's very quick, quite a fearsome character to be dealing with. She's not a pushover, she has strong opinions and she's quite forthright about them. She's also very, very funny, there's great charm and wit about her. I feel very proud of my Roxanna.
Roxanna and I are sharing accommodation in Galway. We cook together now, swapping recipes. And she doesn’t bring me Danish pastries any more thank God, I’m fat enough.
‘Be Infants in Evil’ by Brian Martin, runs at the Mick Lally Theatre during the Galway International Arts Festival. Finals shows today at 3pm and tonight at 8pm, druid.ie.