STARRING WITH NORMAL PEOPLE
SLIGO ACTRESS MEADHBH MAXWELL TALKS TO CIARA GALVIN ABOUT HER ROLE IN THE POPULAR TELEVISION SERIES ‘NORMAL PEOPLE’ AND HOW SHE’S HOPING FOR MORE ROLES IN THE FUTURE
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IT’S been a worldwide hit, called a ‘small-screen triumph’ and watched by millions, but what was it like starring in ‘Normal People’? Ransboro native Meadhbh Maxwell (23) who plays Lisa in the show tells The Sligo Champion being apart of it was ‘magical’. She explains that though the eponymous book by Sally Rooney was such a success it was hard to know how people would welcome the show.
“The book was such a success and people had absolutely fallen in love with Marianne and Connell, it’s so realistic.
“We knew we were working on really strong material but you never know how it’s going to go.”
Meadhbh says its been amazing to see the reaction the show has received and was just like everyone else across Ireland and the UK when she sat down to watch the show in April.
“I got to see some of my scenes beforehand, but the first time I saw it was when it came out in April,” says Meadhbh, who is back in her family home in Ransboro during lockdown.
Having studied at the prestigious Lir Academy in Dublin, Normal People was Meadhbh’s first professional acting role.
“I got cast before I finished in the LIR. I missed the last play with the LIR. It was magical in a sense, you don’t think about it until the trailer came out and then it became real.”
Asked what being on set was like, Maxwell says it was like being with friends as many cast members were LIR classmates or had attended the acting school.
“A lot of my cast mates were in LIR. Rob my boyfriend in the show was in my class and Paul [Mescal] was two years ahead. There was a huge gang of us. It was like being with your friends, we became really good friends,” she explains.
Having starred in five episodes, Meadhbh got to work with both directors, Lenny Abrahamson and Hettie MacDonald.
“It was a dream to be in the hands of such amazing directors, they made it so relaxed. It was always a relaxed atmosphere.
“We’d sit and talk about the scenscene and do takes. They had a really good way of working with people, they got the best work out of everyone.” Shooting in Dublin, and her native Sligo, Meadhbh explains that even auditioning for the coming of age show brought a lot of memories back.
“When I was going to the audition it hit home, memories of school, memories of the debs, fear of not being asked, we all have some horrid memories of school. It’s a really strong story.”
Asked what she believes is the secret to the success of the show which has captured the hearts of everyone from Jodie Comer, she of Killing Eve fame, and even Kourtney Kardashian, Maxwell said its the culmination of many things.
“Connell and Marianne are such lovable characters, the story is good, the writing is amazing, the directors, everything was just perfect. They’re so relatable, but it’s not just Ireland, it expanded globally.”
Maxwell says it’s a story with themes that have never been shown on TV before.
And what about those sex scenes
IT WAS A DREAM TO BE IN THE HANDS OF SUCH AMAZING DIRECTORS. THEY MADE IT SO RELAXED
and the accompanying hysteria by some?
“I think it was done brilliantly, the acting was remarkable.”
After her role in Normal People Meadhbh landed a role in season two of Finding Joy with Amy Huberman, but, with Covid-19, like thousands of others around the country, for now, Meadhbh is not able to work.
“When Covid happened it slowed everything down. Pre and post production stopped.
“Until everything picks up again it’s a scary time, but it’s nice to know it will pick up again.”
Having returned to Ransboro for lockdown to be with her family, Meadhbh is enjoying beach walks everyday and just being a normal person, like everyone else!
“There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”