Ahead of the new season of Finding Joy, Michael Doherty caught up with actor, writer and soon to be mum-of-three, Amy Huberman.
Follow Amy Huberman on social media (as more than 400,000 already do) and you'll know that hers is an extremely busy household. Baby number three is on the way and a new season of her TV series, Finding Joy, begins on RTÉ this week. At the same time, hubby Brian has become the King of DIY and his culinary skills have also earned him the moniker 'BO’D the Baker’.
Meanwhile, children Sadie (7) and Billy (5) have been getting acclimatised to the new normal at school, and rescue dog Phoebe is craving as much pamper time as possible.
"I’ve gone through different phases during this lockdown process," says Amy. "I think I’m on my own personal Level Two! Initially, it was a strange time when lockdown happened. We had just finished post-production on Finding Joy and I was gearing up to take a bit of time off. I found myself wrangling with homeschooling and all that kind of thing, and that was fine. But my concentration levels were at an all-time low. I felt very fragmented in general, worrying about family, friends and a sense of the unknown."
Some writers have found weeks spent at home to be positive from a creative point of view; others have remained untroubled by their Muse. "I can definitely say I did not feel inspired," she explains.
"There’s an expectation that, since you now have this time, that you’ve always said you didn’t have, the opportunity is there to go and create something. But I just fell into a creative sinkhole where there was no inspiration.
"I’m usually slow to get going, but I just couldn’t find the headspace and, obviously, the kids were at home and we were trying to reconfigure our worlds. Brian’s work was affected as well. It wasn’t like he was busy, busy, out and about doing stuff. Everything to do with what we do felt very nebulous. It has only been since the kids went back to school that I’ve been leaning back into it. But nothing has struck me from the heavens where I’ve gone, ‘Oh, that would be a great idea!’"
Amy has spoken in the past of the value of having an office away from home. Since that’s not currently an option, the bedroom has become the workspace of choice.
"It’s funny," she explains. "I’ve always said that I can’t write from home and I need an office away from everything. But needs must, so you bring your lap-top up to your room! No one is allowed in. It’s very much a case of A Room of One’s Own. The lady is writing at her dressingroom table upstairs!’ When everyone is away, I go upstairs and close my door and that’s my time. Before I had kids, I thought I could only ever write at night-time. I quickly needed to adapt. If my children are not screaming at the door, I can write some stuff!"
Like many others, the pandemic has encouraged Amy to take stock and be mindful of the things that matter in life. "In these past few months," she says, "I’ve had little or no control, but so long as my family and friends are safe, and my kids are happy, that's what I’ve concentrated on. Life has become a lot simpler."
The idea of focusing on the important things in life and embracing each day resonates especially in this annual Pink issue. Amy is proud to grace the cover this year. "The value of Breast Cancer Awareness Month is that it shows the importance of having a support network. It’s important to know that people are being supportive out there and to see people fund-raising, etc. We want to hear their stories and we want to support them in any way we can.
"I can’t imagine not being involved in such work if you feel that you have a platform that can raise awareness. If you have a voice that can be amplified, it’s important that you use it. This has been a particularly horrendous time for people living with cancer, when services are under so much pressure. that’s why I’m so happy to support the Pink issue and signpost anything that can be done to raise awareness and much-needed funds. these days, social media is also a tangible tool on which you can get a message out, share stories and offer a sense of community when people are feeling low."
Proof of the power of social media arrived in the second week of September, when Amy posted a photograph on Instagram of a lone cupcake in her kitchen oven. What appeared at first glance to be a nod to the upcoming new series of Bake Off was in fact Amy and Brian’s preferred method of announcing the pending arrival of their third child.
"It might seem strange to make that kind of announcement on social media," says Amy, "but I will be doing press over the next few weeks for Finding Joy, hopefully including live TV interviews, and I thought it would be really strange if I haven’t said anything at all and then suddenly appeared with a giant, conspicuous bump! I had been purposely trying to hide it for months, because I’m well over halfway, but once I told the kids, they were telling everyone they met, so it was starting to get out there. I thought, right, we’ll address this now with a little bun in the oven!"
An award-winning actor who first came to our attention in 2003 in the hit TV series The Clinic, Amy has made her mark on the small screen with comedy shows such as Your Bad Self (2010) and drama series such as Striking Out (2017). Her big-screen output includes Handsome Devil (2018) and PJ Dillon’s Rewind (2010), for which she received an IFTA for Best Actress. A best-selling author, Amy has also developed footwear and jewellery collections. But is the role of mother the one that sits most comfortably?
"Gosh! You say ‘comfortably’, but I still can’t believe I have 2.5 children, including the bun in the oven!" she says. " There are days when I feel I have no idea what I’m doing, and so many mothers feel that, but motherhood has definitely brought a huge sense of joy to my life. I love being a mum, I really do.
"I feel lucky that I get to do what I love to do, career-wise, and I get to sometimes choose my hours, when I’m not busy filming. Writing really suits my life because I try and get as much of it done in the morning. Listen, it is a constant struggle and there are times when I feel overwhelmed with the amount I have to juggle, plates-wise. At other times, it’s all calm. That’s just the nature of what I do, and it’s the nature of life as well."
One suspects that calm will soon be in short supply now that the second series of Amy’s self-penned series, Finding Joy, is finally reaching the small screen. Season one was a success, which can bring its own pressures, otherwise known in the business as the ‘Difficult Second Album’ syndrome.
"Weirdly, I felt less pressure with this one," says Amy. "That’s not to say I had blind faith in myself that I was going to do it better, but at least I’ll never have to do it for the first time again! I allowed myself a little breather and allowed it to be what it is. I know I’ve done my best and I know that I have a brilliant team around me, so I’m just trusting my own judgment a little bit more."
That team includes director John Butler, cocreator Rebecca O’Flanagan and co-stars Paul Reid and Hannah James-Scott (sister of Andrew) – not to mention newbies for season two such as Kerry Howard (sister of Russell). But this is very much Amy’s gig, both in front and behind the camera.
"I had never written for TV before Finding Joy," she says, "and I knew what a huge undertaking it was for me, personally and professionally. I’m not going to lie, I was a bag of nerves for that entire time, but I won’t be as nervous this time around. I’m going to allow myself to enjoy it and not have my antennae up every single time that my ‘mum’s friend says’ she doesn’t like it! So yes, in ways, it is the difficult second album, but I’m going to allow myself to enjoy it. After all, this is what I’ve wanted to do my entire life."
Having interviewed Amy over the years, it’s fair to say she hasn’t always allowed herself to enjoy the reaction to her work, but experience comes with a thick skin. "I think there is an incremental shift when you’ve been in the public eye for a few years. You just cannot expend the emotional energy to deal with all that noise. With social media, I’m not paying too much attention, but that’s not to say that you don’t look at it sometimes and go, ‘Ouch!’ I do want to take on constructive criticism but the stuff that’s needling does affect me, I’m porous to it, so I’m not going to seek it out."
2020 has been an extraordinary year for everyone, but it also marks Brian and Amy’s tenth anniversary. "I know, ten years married," she gasps. "My God! I remember joking at the time that it felt way longer than that! He’s a good one. He’s like my soul-mate. And he’s a real doer. I think he misses his work, so he has redirected that energy into making loads of food, and I’m reaping the bene ts of that. ‘Who’s in charge of dinner?’ You!’"
2021 is shaping up to be an eventful year for Amy. In addition to child No.3, there will be expectations for season No.3 of Finding Joy, as well as book No.3 and even, movie script No.1. "Oh Janey; I’ve got a lot to do in lockdown!" she laughs.
"Work-wise, it looks like it will be an autumn of writing, which is really nice. It would be brilliant to get all those things o ffthe ground. So I just have to keep the kids in school and keep my writing desk upstairs, away from
the children, the husband and Phoebe and everything else! Fingers crossed, 2021 will be a busy year. And a better year!"
