Money or credibility? It’s tough in the early days.
Acting is only possible as a career if people are willing to sit down and watch you do it.
To survive in the world of acting, both emotionally and professionally, you’ve got to earn a living and nourish your artistic credibility.
Nobody knows more about this than Liam Cunningham, who has spent a career juggling this delicate balancing act between feeding his soul and putting food on the table.
As he says himself, if he took every job that was offered to him, he’d be a millionaire.
But the life of an actor can be a trying existence, so when work is limited and you have to make difficult choices between a pay cheque and artistic integrity, it’s not an easy situation to be in as Liam describes on this week’s episode of Ireland Unfiltered with Dion Fanning.
Here’s what Liam had to say about having to say ‘no’ to offers that have come his way over the years.
Liam: On a practical level… you’re wondering are you going to have the money together for next month’s mortgage and your child needs clothes or whatever it may be, when you’re not working and something comes in with quite a few zeros attached to it and you have to say no.
Dion: Why do you have to say no?
Liam: Because it’s shite. If you say yes you can have a Mercedes instead of a Micra in your driveway, or whatever, I don’t have a driveway. You’ve got to make those calls for the people that you love and also for your artistic conscience.
Listen I’m not hard and fast, I might end up doing Ironman 75 for 200 million and you’ll be going, ‘Liam, what about that impassioned speech you gave me about your artistic credibility?’
And I’ll go, ‘Shut up I’m driving a Ferrari!’.
You can listen to the show in full below.
Ireland Unfiltered, brought to you in partnership with Carlsberg Unfiltered, will be available everywhere you get your podcasts and on YouTube every Tuesday.
