‘I said, “We need a play, so what about Frank McGuinness? Somebody has to ask - you’re Stephen Rea, you do it. I’m not the one with the Oscar nomination”’

Derry actor Judith Roddy on life during Covid, being ‘pretty blunt’, and how lockdown spurred herself and Stephen Rea to finally put on a play together

Actor Judith Roddy

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March 27 2021 02:00 AM

Derry born Judith began her career interviewing pop stars at 13 on a BBC kids’ show. She studied drama at Trinity College and has been a regular on the Abbey stage, The Royal National Theatre, Field Day and the Peacock. Her TV roles include The Fall, Derry Girls and Rig 45. Judith lives in London.

What’s your earliest memory?
Foreigner’s I Want To Know What Love Is. I remember sitting in the living room and my daddy put the big headphones on me and I remember him turning up the music.

What’s your best holiday memory?
Camping in Saint-Jean-de-Mont in France. Swimming and ice cream every day.

What’s your greatest passion in life?
My love for theatre. I feel well knowing this is where I’m supposed to be. I can’t wait to go and see a show again. It’s what I do in my spare time, I go and see shows.

What are your interests outside work?
I’m big into my yoga, always have been. I like to outdoor swim and I’m a huge walker. I’ve these books of London’s Hidden Walks and I’ve done them all.

Who’d you most like to go for a pint with?
My daddy. It’s been a while. We bought him an iPhone over lockdown and on a Friday night, he FaceTimes me and we sing together down the phone. He rang on St Patrick’s Day, and I said: “Daddy, sing Grace for me.” I think it is important to do those things, and I join in, and sometimes I dance. Why not embarrass yourself for the joy of it?

Who are your heroes?
Joni Mitchell, when she yodels in the middle of Woodstock everything makes sense. Nina Simone’s melismatic freestyle on Wild Is the Wind is as near to religious as it gets.

What did you learn about yourself over the last year?
I always wear my freedom like a badge. I get to make my own choices every day and what a privilege. Instead of going, “What can’t we do?” I thought, “What can I do?” I started horse riding in Richmond Park and swimming in Hampstead Heath, in the pond with friends, and afterwards, we’d play boardgames. I really learned to be my own friend.

When did you last cry?
When I had to cancel a flight home. I was tired of being strong and I felt deeply lonely.

How are you coping with the lockdown situation?
Routine. I talk about routine like it was just invented. I listened to a lot of Adam Buxton podcasts. There’s a great humility to him and he is super smart.

Were you able to work throughout the lockdowns?
Yes, we worked in bubbles and were tested regularly. I just finished a Martin Clunes series for ITV called Manhunt. I did a film, and a documentary for the BBC. It’s quite funny because my agent said to me, “It took a pandemic to stop you doing theatre.”

That didn’t last long and your next role is back on the stage at Dublin’s Gate Theatre. How did that come about?
Stephen Rea and myself have been talking about doing a two-hander for a while. We’d mention it in passing and nothing really materialised. I rang Stephen and said, “Right, I think maybe now’s the time for our two-hander. We need a play, so what about Frank McGuinness? Somebody has to ask him, so you’re Stephen Rea, you do it. I’m not the one with the Oscar nomination.” Stephen asked him, and two weeks later, there was a play. It’s about a father-daughter relationship. It’s Frank at his sensitive best.

What’s your least, and most, attractive quality?
I’m pretty warm, but also pretty blunt.

What’s the first thing you’d do if you were Taoiseach?
House the homeless.

What fictional character do you most identify with?
Mr Snuffleupagus from Sesame Street. Ever since I was small, I always thought, “Yeah, I know him.”

What is your most treasured possession?
A little handwritten poem Sam Shepard gave me during tech week of his play, A Particle of Dread, in New York.

What’s your guilty pleasure?
Jerk chicken, rice, peas, gravy, coleslaw, plantain and a Red Stripe [beer].

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?
Take your space.

What item in your wardrobe do you wear the most?
Pants and a Burberry Couture nubuck tan jacket I found in a charity shop. I was pretty broke and there it was. It fits like it was made for me.

What are you going to do right after this interview?
FaceTime my nephew Aodhán. I pretend to be a train and he pretends to be a conductor. He thinks it’s hilarious.

What keeps you awake at night?
I have to work very hard to rest, ironically. I have a working class guilt about relaxing.

If you had to choose only three adjectives to describe yourself, which would you choose?
Playful, loving, driven.

What’s your favourite film?
Synecdoche, New York. Its written and directed by Charlie Kaufman with a brilliant Philip Seymour Hoffman.

What’s the last TV show you binge-watched?
Succession.

What one piece of advice would you give your 18-year-old self?
Be a friend to yourself.

How do you approach the written word in new roles?
Sometimes I can get a bit afraid of words on a page. I think it reminds me of school or something. A script can sit on a table and burn a hole for a quite a long time with me before I reach it. It’s not because I’m procrastinating about the work — I care so much, I’m nearly afraid to begin. But once you begin, you’re in.

Judith will be performing in the Gate Theatre’s streamed world-premiere performance of The Visiting Hour by Frank McGuinness with co-star Stephen Rea. Directed by Caitrīona McLaughlin, it is the first Gate at Home production. Tickets from gatetheatre.ie