Actor Ingrid Craigie on who would play her in a biopic: ‘Oh no, another part I'm not going to get!'
How agreeable are you?
I think I am very agreeable. Sometimes maybe too much. I'm collaborative by nature; that's how I work best and how I negotiate life. I'm open to other people's opinions. I find conflict difficult, and the power of language to wound and deeply distress people. Language is so much a part of what I do, so I think I'm very sensitive to that.
What's your middle name and what do you think of it?
My middle name is Emily. I was named after my grandmother, my father's mother, who died before I was born. I've always liked the name.
Where is your favourite place in Ireland?
There's Mayo and Kerry and west Cork, but I always go back to Howth Head because we lived in Sutton for a while when I was growing up, when I was about 16. If I ever leave Ireland for work, I always have to go there and walk to get that sense – the smell, feel and sound of it – of being on the edge of the country.
Describe yourself in three words.
Empathetic, resilient, optimistic.
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When did you last get angry?
What makes me angry is the idea of children living in fear and pain, children who are clearly powerless. It makes me feel almost ill. I get distressed more than angry by seeing people being belittled, like the way Trump belittled
Zelenskiy
. I find it incomprehensible that people can behave in such an arrogant and ignorant way.
What have you lost that you would like to have back?
I don't think of things that I've lost, but of the people who have died, particularly people who have died too young. Obviously, the people that you love, like parents. I try to live in the present. I try not to waste the time I have. I'm very much aware that as the decades go by, I have less of it.
What's your strongest childhood memory?
I had a happy childhood, but my strongest memory is a poignant one. When I was seven, my mother was in quite a serious car crash. She was in hospital for, I think, a couple of weeks, but I never visited her. While she was in hospital, I went into my parents' bedroom. There was a blouse or a cardigan of hers resting over a chair. I remember picking it up, and her scent, her perfume, was on it. She always wore the same perfume – L'Air du Temps by Nina Ricci. Even now I get emotional thinking about it, that sense of 'When is she coming back?'
Where do you come in your family's birth order, and has this defined you?
I'm the second of two, so I'm sure it defined me. I came into the world very sunny and optimistic, but I think it's easier for a second child. My brother is four years older than I am, and apart from the early years when you just irritate each other, once we got into our teenage years, we became very close – and still are. I remember we'd have long, long talks about life and all sorts of things that were going on.
What do you expect to happen when you die?
It is the ultimate mystery, isn't it? In recent years I've had a sense of deep connection with people who have gone before. I am comforted by that sense because we never actually disappear forever, do we, because on a cellular level, we will always be here.
When were you happiest?
I know how fortunate I am. I'm very lucky to have good health, and I love my work and the people I love, and I have the ability to enjoy that. Do I have a reasonably constant level of contentment? Yes, I would say so.
Which actor would play you in a biopic of your life?
Oh no, another part I'm not going to get! Well, Zara Devlin is playing a younger me at the moment in Lovesong at the Gate. She's a terrific actor, so I'll let her do it.
What is your biggest career/personal regret?
In 2006 I was in a production of The Faith Healer at The Gate. It was directed by Jonathan Kent and featured Ralph Fiennes and Ian McDiarmid. I knew before we did it in Dublin that the show was going to Broadway, and that for various reasons – visas, Equity, and so on – they would not get permission for me to go. You don't know before you start rehearsing a play if you think it might be your part. Will you be able to do it? Will you be good? However, it turned out to be one of the most wonderful experiences in my theatre career. We finished the run, and they went to New York, but it broke my heart. It was like a love affair being torn apart for no good reason, and it took me a long time to get over that. Personal regret? I take responsibility for the choices in my personal life, and I'm absolutely at ease with those. Sometimes I think I could have done things differently, and obviously, I regret if I caused pain to people.
What psychological quirks do you have?
I'm not superstitious, but I cannot not salute magpies. You have to salute them or it'll be bad luck. I don't believe that, of course, but I still have to do it.
In conversation with Tony Clayton-Lea.
Ingrid Craigie performs in Lovesong, Gate Theatre, Dublin, until Sunday, June 15th,
gatetheatre.ie
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