Tom Vaughan-Lawlor, best known for playing Nidge on the TV show Love/Hate, was awarded honorary patronage of DU Players yesterday.
Vaughan-Lawlor began by explaining his path into acting. His father was an actor and that he would often be in the theatre out of a babysitting capacity. Quietly waiting by the wings of the theatre, munching on fruit pastilles while his father had his throat slit playing Macbeth. He admitted to not understanding the larger themes he was present for the first time he acted on stage at the tender age of eight in Waiting for Godot.
During his time studying drama in Trinity, Vaughan-Lawlor admitted that he was somewhat shy. Although he was member of DU Players, he only acted in two plays during his time here. Despite his limited involvement in the society he highly commended DU Players for putting on such stellar performances, especially when students in courses not related to theatre get involved as is the case with many of the society’s productions.
Recalling his lectures, he remembered how one of his acting teachers used animals to look at physical and emotional form in acting. It would then be left up to the students to theorise what “animal in life” each student was. Comically he remembered how he expected or rather, hoped, the other students to say he was a bear or some strong creature, when the student then decided that he was a wet homeless dog. He aptly stated that acting is often more about taking off a mask – rather than putting one on.
Vaughan-Lawlor reflected on his time in the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London, where he went straight after his undergraduate degree. He felt that he was free to do what he wanted in London and he was adequately bold and crazy there.
Discussing the hectic and damaging life an actor can live, he spoke of a friend who embarked upon a six-month tour of a play and was then offered a world tour and declined. The six months had taken so much out of the actor that they couldn’t fathom any more. Vaughan-Lawlor asked: “When does an actor eat?”. He stressed the importance of looking after oneself physically, as forgetting to eat before a show or not eating much are common pitfalls. He highlighted the physical and emotional stress of professional acting.
Anticipating the crowd’s main queries, Vaughan-Lawlor talked about acting as Nidge and how he envisaged the character as being like a rat in a corner – trapped and vicious and very lean. When it came to filming Season 2 of the series, his wife had just given birth. His obvious stress and weight loss gave him the perfect gaunt look for Nidge.
A member from the audience asked him how he sustained himself in periods where he was unemployed. He told the crowd that he has gone up to six months without any work as an actor reminding any aspiring actors that in those times, you have to look at what drew you to the profession. He acknowledged that those periods in life can leave you feeling defeated but he encouraged any aspiring actors to work hard and just keep going.
