Huberman is no stranger to striking out on her own
Irish actress Amy Huberman may be portraying a lawyer with moxie in Ireland’s No. 1 drama, “Striking Out,” but she admits confidence hasn’t always been her game.
“There was never a time I wanted to quit acting, but there have been times when I doubted myself,” she says in her rapid-fire Irish lilt.
“There were times when I just couldn’t get hired, and I have two young kids, I have a family, and there were times when they were just born that you kind of go through an identity rechange and reshift,” she sighs.
“It came along when I was going for stuff and not getting it. It happens to every actor — the tide goes out, the tide comes in. But when it goes out, it’s tricky. You do doubt yourself,” she says.
Huberman is starring in Season 2 of “Striking Out,” which is streaming on Acorn TV. She plays a woman devastated by the infidelity of her fiancé who is forced to “strike out” on her own.
Huberman, 38, knows something about that. She fell into acting accidentally, she says. But once treading water in the deep, there was no turning back.
“I always loved it as a kid, but I was in Dublin. It wasn’t like I grew up in Los Angeles, where it was ingrained in our culture. The arts are so heavily ingrained our culture, and I loved acting as a kid and always would’ve loved to have done it as a job, but I didn’t think it was a viable option.
“I didn’t think it was something that you could just DO. Also I knew going to drama school for me wasn’t an option because my parents had put me through university, and drama schools are usually very expensive. So I went to university for different stuff and got involved in drama groups, and my love of it came from there.”
The “different stuff” was a major in social services and a master’s degree in media studies.
“So it was very broad,” she laughs, “so I was not qualified for anything. But I had a great time in college, so it was fine. I was doing my M.A. when I got my first job, so they did overlap. Then I got on a drama series that ran seven years in Ireland. So I’d kind of done nine consecutive years of drama at home.”
Like other Irish actors before her, she longed to try her luck in London. But airfare was expensive, and this was before actors could send in audition tapes.
“It’s hard because you go, and then you get a ‘no’ and you’re putting yourself out there. But that’s part of the gig,” says Huberman.
One thing that provided Huberman with a wider perspective was meeting her husband, retired professional rugby player Brian O’Driscoll.
“We were set up,” she says. “It was actually very romantic. I knew who he was because Ireland is a small country, but sports was not very much on my radar. But I was taken back by how lovely and normal and sweet he was. I liked him. It was his kindness and sense of humor. And he’s tremendously grounded. He’s the most grounded person I know. He’s just emotionally clever, so he’s a great friend and a great advisor and a great supporter.”
Though he’s retired, he’s still involved in the sport and various business ventures, she says. Right now, O’Driscoll in Ireland caring for the children, a daughter, 4, and a son, 3, while Huberman travels in the States.
“We come from very different worlds but both worlds — it’s an unusual job, I guess,” she says. “And we both understand the sacrifices you make to make something work — workwise, and that you put yourself out there for success and failure in equal measure.”