From jetsetting abroad and working with Hollywood A-listers to rejection, tears and long days on set, we step into the world of Ireland’s child actors and the parents supporting their dreams
Behind every child actor, there often lies a supportive and encouraging family, yet the cliches remain: that the parents of child actors are attempting to live out their unfulfilled dreams via their children, or that they push them into the industry to live vicariously through them. According to Maureen Ward, owner of Talented Kids Performing Arts School and MVW Talent Agency Ireland, the reality couldn’t be further from the truth.
“The child very much has to want to do this,” she says. “If a parent wants the child to do this [career] and the child’s not interested, there’s absolutely no point. We’ve had children come in and they’re not interested in the fame side of things, and that’s absolutely fine. I’ve seen it many times – any parent who wants it more than the child, the child eventually wins out in the end.”
Ward has seen actors like Alisha Weir, Niamh Algar and Seána Kerslake attend her classes and be represented by her agency, but in her 22 years in the business, she has seen a huge mix of children.
“We have students or clients who’ll join us, who simply want to socialise, have better coordination and be able to build confidence,” she says. “But then we have the kids who really, really want to be famous. We’re lucky that the kids we see want to be famous because of their talent, and not because they want to be a celebrity. I mean, there’s a difference. They love being a character and learning scripts and researching characters.
“It’s up to the parents then to know if they want their children to go down that route, to be able to create a website profile and be able to stay on top of responses for auditions, because we get those on a daily basis.”
Ward notes that casting directors and producers often have a certain type of young actor in mind. “They want natural-looking children – thankfully, in the industry I’m in, we’re not looking for the fake tan and hair done a certain way. That’s the beauty pageant side of things and that’s not what this industry thankfully is. They want children who are the kids that you see playing out on the road most of the time – no stagey fakeness at all.”
Film and TV work doubtless sounds glamorous, Ward also warns parents that the reality of life as a child actor requires plenty of hard yards and commitment on the part of both child and the wider family.
“It’s long waiting hours that are required if you’re on set,” she says. “You might be called in for a certain amount of hours and you could be sitting for the majority of those hours in a trailer dressing room. And the child has to be able to sit there and do that.
“School is obviously a big part of things, and a lot of the time, if a child gets a big job, a tutor would be on set for many, many months. I have to say that the majority of schools have been very helpful and accommodating with these kinds of things.”
Asked what advice she might give a parent whose child has shown an interest in acting, Ward says, “I always say to my students, you have to have the skin of an onion, and there have to be many, many layers. Because [rejection] happens time and time again. It’s the biggest thing you’re going to come across in the industry. Just because you got a particular job, doesn’t mean you’ll get the next job. It’s like all businesses, and if you take it personally, you’re really not meant for this business.”
Weekend spoke to a handful of parents whose young children have worked steadily as performers from an early age. For them, it’s often a matter of divining a balance between helping their children achieve their dreams while keeping things as normal as possible.
‘Every time the phone rang and she’d done an audition, I’d be jumping out of my skin’
Child actor Francesca Europa and her mother Jade Black at The Gaiety Theatre. Photo: Gerry Mooney
Jade Black from Clondalkin in Dublin is mum to 11-year-old Francesca Europa. Francesca’s screen credits include House Across The Street and the Hallmark feature My Norwegian Holiday. She also appeared recently in The Ferryman at the Gaiety Theatre, Dublin. She will next appear in Why Me? opposite Linda Martin and Clare Monnelly
Jade Black recalls the first time she set foot on a film set with her daughter. “I’m thinking, ‘God, we’re not in Kansas anymore, is this real?’” she recalls with a laugh. “There’s this little child, and there’s assistants following her, holding her coat.
“In her first scene, she had to cry because she cut her knee. Internally, my nerves were gone. These days, I let her do her thing, and mind my own business in the corner.
“That said, it’s very tiring work,” Jade adds. “You might have to do a scene 30 times. My advice to parents is get your kid onto a set and you’ll know very soon if they want to do it. I’ve seen a lot of kids crying and having to leave sets because they’re too tired, and it’s just very mentally draining for them. They just don’t know what it entails.”
Like most young children, Francesca’s love of performing was sparked while watching other kids singing and dancing on The Late Late Toy Show.
“She kept saying, ‘I want that,’ when she was two years old, and me being the mammy thought she was talking about the toys,” Jade says. “At that age, she wanted to dance all the time, was constantly dressing up. Everything was about putting on a show.”
Now that Francesca is working steadily on screen projects, Jade is a regular presence on film & TV sets. It does mean a juggle for the rest of the family, including Francesca’s younger brother Phoenix (she also has an older sister, Esperanza). “It’s a new world for us,” Jade says. “I made an agreement with her father at the start that wherever she goes, I go. I was very conscious of the fact I didn’t want her on her own anywhere. I have an incredible family and, between us all, we make it work.
“I’m not a pushy parent insofar as if Francesca didn’t want to do this, she wouldn’t be doing it. She’s not a conventional child in the way where she just wants to be out playing all the time. Right now, Francesca is learning a script, and I never have to worry about whether or not she knows her lines,” Jade says.
“For me, our biggest issue would be that we have to say, ‘Right, that’s enough for today. Let’s go off and do something else.’”
Getting used to the carousel of auditioning, self-taping and the occasional rejection has been a steep learning curve for the family.
“When it was all new, I’d be living for the phone to ring. Every time the phone rang and she’d done an audition, I’d be jumping out of my skin,” Jade says. “I’ve had to learn not to do that anymore. Francesca will do the audition, but never asks, ‘Did you hear back?’ Now, she’ll just think, ‘That wasn’t a role for me,’ and she doesn’t get disheartened. I do think that’s been a key to her success.
“If the day comes where she says, ‘You know what, Mummy? I don’t want to do this anymore,’ it’s over,” Jade says. “I’d be gutted, I’m not going to lie to you, but her happiness is paramount.”
‘When they get a gig, you’re excited for them, for this new adventure they’re going to have’
Ronnie McCann and Noella Brennan with their children Molly and Aidan. Photo: Mark Condren
Ronnie McCann and Noella Brennan, from Maynooth in Kildare, are the parents of 14-year-old Molly and 16-year-old Aidan McCann. Molly has appeared in the feature films Rosie, Herself, Vivarium and Feed, and is filming The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping. Aidan, a magician and actor, has appeared on America’s Got Talent: All-Stars and had his own segment on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, titled Aidan’s Magic Corner
With Aidan and Molly McCann’s careers in full flight, the family are fast racking up airmiles.
“Noella gets all the nice gigs,” jokes Ronnie. “She gets Columbia and Ethiopia, I get Dublin.”
“We’ll be in Germany for a bit now [for The Hunger Games prequel], and because it’s a longer stint, Ronnie and Aidan will absolutely come out at some point,” Noella adds.
To date, Aidan and Molly have worked with a long list of co-stars, among them Kevin Costner, John Cena, Sarah Greene, Imogen Poots, Ralph Fiennes and Elle Fanning.
“I remember when Molly was meeting John Cena; I think it was the first time she was properly starstruck,” Noella says. “She went on set and had to do a photoshoot with him straight away and she was like, ‘What do I call him? I can’t call him John. Maybe I’ll call him John Cena.’ Within two minutes, she was absolutely flying it.”
The children are no strangers to the world of acting. Ronnie, originally from Glasgow, and Noella met in London while working as actors, before moving home to Noella’s native Ireland. With the couple running the Brennan Performing Arts school and agency in Kildare, it was probably only a matter of time before their children caught the acting bug.
“They both started taking classes when they were about three or four,” Noella says. “They just always loved doing it. It happened all very organically. It wasn’t like they said at the age of five or six, ‘I want to audition.’ We eventually just said, ‘Do you want to go in and try this little thing?’ So they ended up doing that. They were always so comfortable on set, meeting different people. No matter what your goal is for your child, drama schools are brilliant for kids, especially for confidence building.”
Molly recently signed with a major London agency, signalling a major step up for her career.
“I say to her, ‘If it’s meant for you, it won’t pass you by. If you’re happy with what you’ve done [in the audition], it’s to do with whether you’re right for it,’” Noella adds. “It’s just the nature of the beast. I don’t remember them ever getting desperately upset over any casting, and again, it’s because a lot of other stuff is going on in their lives.”
Are they ever concerned about the prospect of fame at an early age, given the high profile of the kids’ projects?
“I think growing up in Ireland makes a massive difference,” Noella says. “When they get a gig, you’re excited for them, for this new adventure they’re going to have. They love the travel and being on set. I honestly don’t think they’re going to suddenly become these crazy divas.”
“From an early age, even when Aidan was going on to Ellen’s show, we were very much, ‘Be polite, ask questions, don’t just say yes or no.’ We didn’t want them to be seen as little spoiled brats or something,” Ronnie says.
“I think it’s great for kids not to ever get tunnel visioned about it. They have lots of other activities, which is great – Molly loves her dancing, her friends, she loves art. Aidan loves going out with friends, and they’ve just joined the gym. That’s important,” adds Noella.
“I do have to say,” Ronnie says, “I’d rather sit on a flight to LA than be standing on the side of the local football pitch.”
‘Life is full of rejection, and I think resilience for kids is amazing. They have it in abundance’
Michelle Mason at home in Co Kildare with her actor children Myah and Caleb. Photo: Steve Humphreys
Michelle Mason, based in Burtown in Kildare, is mum to nine-year-old Myah and 11-year-old Caleb Mason. Caleb’s screen credits include Storyland, Little Dream Boy and Detainment, in which he played the role of Jamie Bulger. Myah has appeared in a number of adverts, and also appeared in The House Across The Street opposite Shirley Henderson. Both star in the forthcoming feature Sunphlowers opposite Patrick Bergin
Michelle Mason encouraged her son Jacob, now 16, to take drama classes, not to become famous, but as a social outlet. His younger siblings followed suit, and enjoyed it right away.
“Caleb was a natural, a real people person, and was cast in his first job when he was two,” she says. “He hasn’t stopped working since. I think Myah went for her first audition when she was two, and everything happened organically. She was just naturally good at it. Neither [my husband] Brian or I have that background – I’m an art therapist and he’s a carpenter.”
Juggling the children’s acting careers with her own has taken a degree of flexibility. “Luckily, I am blessed with my job and I pick my own hours,” she says. “I’ve got three children and a little foster girl – we’ve always been able to figure it out but not at the expense of the kids being kids.
“Myah is the one that lives and breathes for this – Caleb takes it in his stride and is very laid back,” she adds. “Myah wants to go to a performing arts school. She never stops moving, always has the head spinning, but when she’s on set, it’s amazing to see how she can be so attentive. She wants it so much, and that’s the thing, they have to want it.”
Michelle is also on hand to make sure that the kids don’t see the inevitable slings and arrows of the industry as anything personal.
“I think it’s brilliant for them to hear the ‘nos’, the fact that they would come close [and not get something] but the casting director would call them for something else – they know they’re doing something right, and it’s never a personal thing,” she says.
“We don’t sugar coat it or anything, and that’s if they even ask; usually they don’t. They might see something on telly and go, ‘Oh, I auditioned for that.’ Life is full of rejection, and I think resilience for kids is amazing. They have it in abundance. They’re very humble with all of this. They don’t tend to talk about it outside of their little acting world.
“For Caleb, he just loves to connect with people and chat to them, and the smaller-scale productions have stayed with him, and Myah, any chance she gets to get into character, she absolutely loves it,” she adds.
“I can see her taking it all the way. But these days, she gets so many things coming in the door, and if we can’t commit to something or if it’s family holiday time or something like that, she completely understands. You need their lives to be very rounded. They’re not little adults. They’re still very much kids.”