Covid-19 has pushed the pause button on whole sections of the film, TV and theatre industries Amy de Bhrún is one of those affected. The Dublin actor has to park the Scouse accent she perfected for the role of Steph Corbett in Line of Duty, as filming on the series has been postponed. To fill the gap, Amy has turned her hand to podcasting, as she told Oliver Callan on The Ryan Tubridy Show.
In Year of the Selfie, Amy interviews actors, designers and directors about the balance between their creative work and their mental health. As a busy actor, with credits on Coronation Street, Vikings and Penny Dreadful, Amy understands the kind of course corrections many artists are now making. She says some are finding new ways to think about themselves and their work, which helps:
"I think a huge thing is being able to create a gap between yourself and your art form. So it doesn't mean that you have to be less passionate about what you do, but that your identity isn't solely tied up in it, so that when something goes good or bad that you can kind of keep even, not constantly on this rollercoaster of emotions, sort of dependant on your work."
Amy says she has kept busy with writing and voiceover work, as well as the new podcast. She's also mum to a one-year old daughter, Billie, and Amy says pandemic parenting has provided opportunities and challenges:
"You're indoors the whole time with a tiny little baba, so it's very intense. In one way, both myself and my husband were so grateful because I'd worked constantly through pregnancy and afterwards, so it's great to have the time with her. But it's this kind of double-edged sword; the intensity of not being able to get away from it at the same time."
On her personal work-life balance, Amy says she didn't go public on her pregnancy until shortly before Billie was born:
"I only mentioned it online when I had a month to go. I was really lucky in that I was quite neat, in that it was easy to hide. But a lot of that was as well, you know there's a huge fear with actors when you have a baby that you're never going to work again."
Now, over a year later, Amy thinks she was probably tougher on herself than she needed to be:
"Now, looking back I think I could have taken it easier on myself, but there's definitely a kind of a fear there because, I suppose, in an industry as small as ours, particularly in Ireland, you're kinda going 'Oh well someone else can do the job and they won't have a bump'
The entertainment world can be an insecure place for mothers, Amy says:
"I think it's a mark of where we are as mothers in the industry. There's an expectation to be able to do it all and almost like a fear that if you let people know that you have children that you seem less capable, or you're not going to be able to do that gig, or you're not going to be able to stay longer, or you know, commit in the same way that you could before."
These issues and more are all up for discussion on Year of the Selfie. Amy says when times are tough, this is a great place to talk it out:
"It's kind of just creating a very quiet safe space to have the chats."
You can hear more about Amy's podcast, working with Adrian Dunbar and how she developed her scouse accent for Line of Duty, in the full interview with Oliver Callan here.
Amy de Bhrún's podcast The Year of the Selfie is available wherever you get your podcasts.
Ruth Kennedy