Sevlene’s Emmy nomination
BELLURGAN woman Sevlene Roddy has been nominated for an Emmy for her work as a hair stylist on the hit television series ‘Penny Dreadful’.
This the fourth time she has been nominated for her work and she will know if her team have won when the 69th annual Primetime Emmy Awards, take place on September 17, in Los Angeles.
‘It’s really such an honour to be nominated for an Emmy award,’ Sevlene told The Argus. ‘I feel proud, like anyone would, when their hard work and accomplishments are being recognised on such a global scale. To be nominated along side professionals I admire and aspire to is very thrilling. To have been nominated with other such popular TV shows like ‘Downtown Abbey’, ‘ The Crown’ and ‘Westworld’ is amazing.’
The youngest daughter of Maurice and Rose Roddy, Selvene attended St Vincent’s Secondary School before going on to study at Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology which is renowned for its courses for the film and television industry.
She cut her teeth as trainee hairdresser on the successful Irish TV series ‘Love is the Drug’ and ‘Pure Mule’ in 2004 and had worked her way up to assistant hairdresser on the popular RTE series The Clinic.
She was key hair stylist on John Boorman’s highly acclaimed film ‘ The Tiger’s Tale’ and has worked on other movies including ‘Love Rosie’, and ‘Albert Nobbs’ which were shot in Ireland, as well as the tv series ‘Neverland’.
More recently, she has found work on some of the most popular television series on both sides of the Atlantic, including ‘ The Borgias’, ‘ The Tudors’, ‘ The Vikings’ and ‘Penny Dreadful’.
While it’s the acting nominations for awards like The Emmys, which catch the public attention, nominations are important for all those working behind the scenes to bring the films and TV shows to life.
An enormous amount of work takes place away from the cameras for these shows, with a huge amount of research and attention to detail required for lavish historical drama series such as the ones which Selvene has worked on.
The hair stylist and make up artists are the first ones on the set in the mornings to get the cast ready for a day’s shooting and have to stay there all day to ensure that the stars are always looking their best.
‘It’s not glam at all!’ she says. ‘I have sacrificed a lot, working abroad and at home, often seventeen hours a day, sometimes six days a week.’
There’s a irony to the fact that her busy work schedule means that she confesses ‘I barely watch television at all’.
However, she points out that getting her fourth Emmy nomination is proof that hard work plays off.
Last year she was also nominated for ‘ Penny Dreadful’ which is made by Showtime in association with SKY. She was nominated for her work on ‘ The Borgias’, another Showtime production, in 2012 and 2013