WEXFORD ACTRESS Charlotte (Charlie) Murphy has described her joy after winning one of the most coveted awards at the Irish Film and Television Awards (IFTA’s) in Dublin on Saturday night.
Having starred in one of the lead roles in Love/Hate playing the role of Siobhán, Murphy’s gripping performances in the role earned her the Best Television Actress award from the IFTA judges.
There was also success for local director Declan Lowney as his show Moone Boy won out in the Best Entertainment category, while Brendan Culleton, son of Dr. Ned Culleton of The Faythe, had major success, winning best documentary with Congo: An Irish Affair.
Murphy (25) captured the Irish TV viewing public’s imagination with her nuanced and gritty portrayal of a rape victim in the third series of Love/Hate, which has been described as the best series RTE has ever produced.
Speaking yesterday (Monday) she said of the awards night: “It was just so mad. Everyone was in a daze. I’m over the moon.”
She said: “When I was nominated I was just shell-shocked. Looking at the mix in the categories I wasn’t getting my hopes up and then so many different genres were represented from comedy to Irish language, to drama; you just didn’t know what they were going to go for.”
Love/Hate picked up six awards in total, sweeping the boards at the awards night.
Murphy described the show as a tour-de-force and said: “I don’t think that any of us thought that in the beginning when it started but it is just so special. The novelty hasn’t worn off with Love/Hate.”
Speaking of her joy of winning, she said she was up against Amy Huberman among a number of other great Irish actresses.
She told RTE reporter Laura Mullett (from Enniscorthy) about the difficulty and sensitivity surrounding filming the rape scene and about her excitement at being part of such a brilliant series, immediately after picking up the award.
“It was scary. Not for the fact of the logistics of filming something like that – but the importance of the subject matter. It was really important to get that right and that was actually the most frightening thing to achieve because you are dealing with portraying something that happens to people all over the world. You see it in the news everyday.”
Murphy told the reporter that the writing is the true star of the show.
“I don’t know what goes on in (scriptwriter) Stuart Carolan’s brain. A fantastic brain it is! There are just so many twists and turns you can’t presume anything, especially not as an actor. We’re always ringing each other as we’re reading the scripts saying have you gotten to page such and such! Oh my God! We are speed reading and speed dialing at the same time. When you think you are going in one direction that gets pulled away and I suppose that’s what makes it work.”
Looking resplendent on the red carpet in her gown, the self-described ‘yellow belly’ starlet was the epitome of style. Her hair was styled by her sister and although seldom home in the Model County, Murphy said she draws on her family for support and advice.
She said she has received many lovely messages of congratulations from Wexford people since winning the award, adding: “I am rarely home but I miss home”.
Shooting begins on the fourth series later this month on the show, which has become an international success, and Murphy can’t wait to reprise her role.
The daughter of Pat and Brenda Murphy, who own and run the Scissors Empire hair salon on Wexford’s South Main Street, Murphy graduated from the Gaiety School of Acting and has starred in numerous plays including Big Maggie.
Originally from St John’s Manor, Enniscorthy, Charlie and her family moved to Newtown House on the Duncannon Line in Wexford when she was 12-years-old. She performed with Oyster Lane Theatre Group and the Bare Cheek Theatre Company, among other drama groups, before going on to star in national productions.
Murphy performed in a production whose cast included Dame Judy Dench, last month in London, which she described as “something completely different to anything I’ve ever done before’ and will feature in a period drama set during World War I later in the year.
