Putting the ‘green’ into Green Gables
The actress playing the plucky Canadian heroine in the hit TV series Anne With An E, is from Donegal – and drew inspiration from her own great-grandmother who was sent out to work at 11. Amybeth McNulty, 16, who was born and raised in Letterkenny, plays the 11year-old orphan who finds a home with a spinster and her bachelor brother. While the couple mistakenly end up with Anne after applying to adopt a boy, they fall for the teenager who uses her vivid imagination to cope with a harrowing childhood. Amybeth, who is just as articulate as her on-screen character, said the book touched a chord with her. ‘My great-grandmother Martha was hired at 11 years old to be a worker to people. I dedicate the role to her because it definitely chimes in on some of the things that she would have gone through. ‘As far as I know, it was two men and things would happen where they would say “Go get me a glass of water”, and if she got back to them and there wasn’t still bubbles in the water from her putting it in, she would have to go back and do it again and again and again until she got it right. ‘I really did draw on her circumstances.’ The teen, who beat off competition from over 1,900 girls to land the role when she was 14, has started to experience the first inklings of fame since the first series won plaudits around the world last year. ‘I did get recognised a few times in Letterkenny, which is still very strange to me. I don’t consider it normal at all. They are always so lovely.’ And she gets to hang out with veteran actors too. The rising star has formed a close bond with RH Thomson and Geraldine James, who play the elderly siblings who give her character a home. ‘I just absolutely adore Geraldine and RH. They are my second parents. ‘That’s the one thing that isn’t just on screen, but also off screen.’ The series is the creation of Emmy-winning Breaking Bad screenwriter and producer Moira Walley-Beckett, who has made an edgier version of the well-loved story. Amybeth said the second series sees Anne settling into her adopted home and coping with issues which still resonate in the 21st century. ‘She is not afraid she is going to get sent away at any given moment if she does something wrong, so we definitely see her become comfortable. ‘She is 14, so we get to see the trials that come along with that and her growing up, and we’re bringing in new characters and new topics of conversation like bullying and sexism and racism which I’m excited for people to view.’ Amybeth said her character is a feminist, long before that became acceptable in a maledominated world. ‘She was a feminist even before feminism was even a perceived thought. Whether it be in the 1800s or 2018, it is still a very topical discussion. It shows how far we’ve come, but how far we need to go in the future. It’s interesting to see how things have changed and not changed.’ After spending eight months on the Canadian set filming the second series, Amybeth, who is an only child, said she is delighted to be back home with her family. ‘It’s just so lovely to be at home and in my own bed surrounded by people I’m so close to.’ And the teenager, who has been home-schooled all her life, has a remarkably sanguine approach to her future on screen. ‘That would be a dream. If life doesn’t work that way, and this is the last thing I ever work in, I would be more than happy with that.’