Irish actress Máiréad Tyers secured a lead role just shortly after graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, a role which would land the 25-year-old her first BAFTA nomination.
Delving into the details of her early acting inspirations, Máiréad Tyers shares the moments that have shaped her recent successes.
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With a somewhat traditional entry into acting, a spark was kindled by acting that allowed for creativity and group interaction. Opening up about the more old fashioned acting exercises she had to partake in early on, she admits, “To be honest, I didn’t really enjoy them to start with because it was a lot of having to speak poetry and follow boring elocution exercises. What I did love was the games and being in a group of people devising improvised pieces.”
Looking broadly at her earliest acting memories and inspirations, Máiréad admits, “I think I really loved TV as a kid. There would be serious arguments if ever the TV was turned off. Recently, I rewatched Mrs. Doubtfire again, and I think only now, watching something that I loved so much as a kid, when I then go back to it in my later years, and now that I am an actor, I realise the influence something like that had on me.”
Television played a significant role in shaping this young actor’s aspirations, including her recent BAFTA nomination, which saw Máiréad be nominated for Best Female Performance in a Comedy, something she didn’t see coming. She recalls fondly, “It was completely unexpected. Jeepers I really didn’t anticipate a BAFTA to come from a job like that. Especially at this stage in my career, it felt like a really overwhelming experience, but a really special one. I think the fact that me and Sofia [Oxenham] were also nominated made it all a bit more calming. It meant that we had each other through the whole process. We could go and look at each other and say ‘what the hell is happening’ together rather than by ourselves. I think I would have felt more of an imposter syndrome if she wasn’t by my side through all of that.”
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To be nominated for her contributions to female comedy, she revealed that it was not a category of acting she had ever thought possible for herself. “When I was watching Mrs. Doubtfire the other day, I was thinking how much I loved it and how much I loved Robin Williams films and I loved the realm of comedy. When I think about it, as I have got older and from drama school where comedy is far less of a focus and there is not really training given there, I didn’t really see that as a viable route or a route that was open to me. I just assumed if you go to somewhere like RADA, you are a classically trained actor and that is what you do. You are on stage and you’re speaking Shakespeare.”
Speaking candidly on her naivety when auditioning, Máiréad shares, “It was my first experience of going through a long audition process, coming in and out of the room over the course of a few weeks. Since then, I have had more experiences of that. But I look back and realise how naive I was to the pressure. When I had my first audition I was just going in and having a nice time, so it helped my audition style.”
The journey of an actor is often dotted with significant roles that mark the milestones of their career. Overcoming setbacks, such as losing a job to illness, can make subsequent achievements even more meaningful. She explains, “I had a small part in Tell Me Everything. That was my first telly job and I think I was so pent up with excitement to do that job, because I had got a job on another show a couple of months prior and got Covid and I couldn’t do it. My heart was broken because that was supposed to be my first proper job. When the role for Tell Me Everything came through I knew it was a part I was meant for. I was just so excited to be on set.”
Máiréad acknowledges the power that a character can hold, particularly when it is so removed from the actor taking on the role. She calls to mind a performance by another Irish actor, “I remember watching Love Hate when I was younger in my teenage years, which is an Irish TV show and there is a central performance in that by Tom Vaughan Lawlor, who plays a character that is entirely different from his own background and traits. He couldn’t be further from his character and I remember feeling so confused when I saw an interview with him after the series, thinking how is he so believably that character, but in real life be so different?”
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Starting a career surrounded by a supportive cast and crew can make the intense demands of filming more manageable. The morale on the set of Extraordinary meant that Máiréad was oblivious to the pressures of the upcoming series. She recalls, “I was oblivious to the fact that the show was ever going to be watched by anyone. I was just turning up to work every day and having a nice time, so it was a helpful obliviousness. But I think the crew especially and the cast aided that. It felt very normal and felt like any workplace I had been at before. We were all very chatty with each other and it was equal. It felt like a family I guess, which is such a cliché thing to say, but it did.”
With a desire to explore more diverse roles and step into the world of writing, Máiréad uncovers her ongoing commitment to growth and versatility as an actor. She discloses, “I have some ideas for writing to do with gender bias in sports. It is something that is changing, but still feels like it’s not spoken about enough. Artistically there is something to be made there and in terms of roles, there are so many characters I would love to play. I would love to play a sportsperson and do a film where I would have to train and tap into the athletic mentality.”
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