New vampire thriller with two rising Irish stars gets exciting update

'It's an incredible script. It's kind of a vampire story, and it spans a lot of time.'

During the interview, though, we had to ask the British actress about her experiences working with Hardwicke and Oliver on To Make Ends Meat.

The upcoming film is written and directed by Luna Carmoon, best known for her acclaimed 2023 coming-of-age drama Hoard and for making several Fontaines D.C. music videos. The plot synopsis for To Make Ends Meat reads: "Winnie, Toni, and Cat are all tied together by debt to despicable men and a shared past of violence.

"As pressure builds from the men who hold power over them, they’re forced into a brutal kind of bargaining, where survival is negotiated in control, desire, and violence."

You can watch a clip from JOE's chat with Naomi Ackie and Max Minghella below:

Speaking to JOE, Ackie opened up about teaming up with Hardwicke and Oliver on the project.

She said: "It's called To Make Ends Meat. Luna Carmoon's the director. It's an incredible script. It's kind of a vampire story, and it spans a lot of time.

"And [Hardwicke and Oliver] are absolutely incredible to work with, like some of the best actors, blown away, like truly blown away."

After this, Ackie noted that she recently worked with another rising star, Eve Hewson. This was on the upcoming boxing drama Sugar Raye.

Eve Hewson

Ackie added: "I actually worked with Eve Hewson as well. We have a boxing film coming out next year as well. So it's three, three lovely Irish actors."

The British actress was speaking alongside her Clayface co-star Max Minghella. When we asked Minghella if he had any Irish connections, he laughed: "I dated Eve Hewson. Does that count as an Irish [connection]?"

This was before adding: "I don't have a ton of Irish connections. I love Irish people. I did a film with Cillian Murphy actually yonks ago that never came out. It was one of those fascinating sort of Batgirls."

Minghella was referring to the British drama Hippie Hippie Shake, which is said to have been set in 1960s London. The story would have followed the romance between the editor of the satirical radical magazine Oz, Richard Neville (Murphy), and his partner, Louise Ferrier (Sienna Miller).

Chris O'Dowd and Cillian Murphy in Hippie Hippie Shake

"Hippie Hippie Shake, we did this film together," Minghella continued. "Chris O'Dowd was also in the movie, who I love.

"That was a really fun experience. It was slightly unfortunate what happened with it, but it was a really special film. We had a good time.

"I love Cillian, and I love Irish people in general."

Clayface is in cinemas now. Sugar Raye and To Make Ends Meat do not yet have release dates.