Australian actor James Frecheville said he "put everything on the line" for his role in the new thriller Black 47, which is set during the Famine and sees him play an Irish ranger on a quest for revenge.

The Aussie star, best known for his role in 2010's Animal Kingdom, not only had to master an Irish accent for the part, but also learned how to speak as Gaeilge.

The actor said he was delighted to return to Ireland to shoot the film having worked here before "in about 2015" when he "fell in love with Dublin and had a great time and made lots of friends".

Speaking to RTÉ Entertainment at the film's premiere in Dublin on Wednesday night, Frecheville admitted that as an Australian playing an Irishman he felt "a lot of pressure to do it right" but said he "had enough time, that was the major thing".

"There wasn’t a rush to try and cram it in," he explained. "I had ample time to do all my homework, I really put everything on the line for it.

"It’s hard to say where the challenge was because it was all challenging. It was all very cold. I’m not so good at learning languages so to pick up a language that not a great number of people speak was pretty tough, but apparently I passed a few tests but I still have to see what the public thinks."

He added that it was "a big responsibility on my part to not be half-baked". 

"When people see the film, I think the character that I played is sort of the emotional channel for people to lock into so I had to be ‘on form’ and I’d like to think I was but we’ll see what everyone thinks", he said.

Frecheville heads up director Lance Daly's tense thriller alongside an impressive ensemble cast that includes acclaimed actors Stephen Rea, Jim Broadbent and Hugo Weaving as well as young stars Moe Dunford, Barry Keoghan and Freddie Fox.

"It was a really challenging role but really filled out by the ensemble and everyone that was involved", Frecheville said.

"I just think everybody else is immense so it’s a really cool thing to be part of for sure."

When asked if he has retained any of his Irish since wrapping on the film, Frecheville said: "I’ve got a good teacher so I’m thinking of brushing back up because I love it here I want to come back."

Black 47 will be released in cinemas in Ireland later this year.

Watch our interviews from the red carpet here:

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