‘I thought I’d be a liability’ Bad Sisters’ Amy on hiding her motherhood on sets
LINE Of Duty actor Amy De Bhrún revealed she hid pregnancies and would not discuss motherhood on set because she was terrified she would appear ‘a liability’.
The Dubliner, who is in Sharon Horgan’s critically acclaimed new series Bad Sisters alongside a slew of Irish and international talent, is married to storyboard artist Seán Branigan, who also works on movie sets. They have two children, Billie, three, and one-year-old River.
In an interview with the Irish Mail on Sunday, she said: ‘I’ve seen first-hand people saying, “Well I don’t know about Amy because she has kids or she’s had a baby” but Seán [still] being given projects – when people in the industry know full well we’ve just had the baby together.
‘I remember when I had my first child Billie, for the first few months I wouldn’t talk about her because I was terrified to be like “I’m a mother” because it would make me a liability.
‘You’re trained as an actor to get the job and always be available, there’s so much pressure to keep the gig once you’ve got it.’
Amy, 38, worked during her pregnancies and soon after giving birth because she loves her job and has a support system that allows her to do so.
But she said many female actors cannot return to set after having a child because of a lack of support from production teams and the wider industry.
Amy told the MoS: ‘In our industry, an actress might disappear for a few years and the assumption is they’ve given up. But often it’s the case that the job is just not feasible any more when you have kids.
There’s a fear you might never work again and it doesn’t seem to affect the man’s career at all whereas sometimes it can affect the woman’s.’
Amy has seen indications of changes for the better. In a recent social media post, she praised the production team on Bad Sisters for providing support to her and her then five-week-old baby at home.
She wrote: ‘It doesn’t happen often enough, so when it does – it is much appreciated.’
But she says Ireland has some catching up to do on more progressive US film sets, many of which have nurseries and childcare supports on site.
‘We’re a bit smaller and that will take time, but the conversations are starting to open up. There was a time when you just had to shut up and put up. When talking to crew members that are from an older generation, they said you couldn’t talk about your kids at all or how hard it was to be a parent on set.’
Long and intensive working hours going beyond eight-hour filming schedules means it’s sometimes difficult for actors to see their children.
Amy added: ‘There’s a huge amount of support needed and
I’m so lucky that I have a family, husband and childcare when I’m filming, because others don’t.’
Some production teams are beginning to support working mothers by dropping them home first to see their children when travelling from the set or letting them leave early for birthdays.’