Rough Diamond
Muireann Bird plays Sheridan Carrick
When 17 year-old Muireann Bird first heard she'd been cast in the role of Sheridan Carrick in Rough Diamond she was in an airport about to board a plane back to Ireland from a family holiday in Portugal.
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"When I hadn't heard from my agent after a week, I was convinced I hadn't got it and was pretty much resigned to the fact.
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"We were in the airport and you know that feeling when a holiday is over and you don't want to go home and you think life is rubbish – well, that's what I was thinking when I got the call from my agent. The family thought I was winding them up. They didn't believe me at first."
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She had never acted professionally, was studying for her leaving certificate (A-Levels) and had been attending local drama classes at weekends when the call came from her agent. But her life soon became a whirl of clapper-boards and focus-pulling when she landed the part of the feisty, teenage daughter of the ruthless businessman Charlie Carrick.
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"It was the first audition I've ever had. I went to drama school on Saturdays for a year and got an agent through that – the head of the drama school was also the head of the agency and she put my name forward for the job." she says.
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"I was asked if I had any experience with horses or being around horses and, of course, coming from Edoxtown, everyone either has a pony or rides or knows someone with horses, so I hit it right on that score."
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Sheridan is the daughter of Yolanda and Charlie Carrick. She is gutsy and brave and has her mother's affinity with animals but is a real daddy's girl. She wants to be a jockey but her father doesn't approve. She knows he's never going to say yes, despite the fact that she is talented and would make a good little jockey.
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Sheridan and Jonah are constantly sparring – teasing and playing tricks on one another. She's quite capable of behaving like a spoilt little princess in order to get her own way.
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"I based Sheridan on lots of teenage girls I know, including myself ... it was great fun to be able to play a cranky 15 year-old who tries to get her own way. I can't quite get away with that behaviour any more as I am nearly 18 but it was fun at the time!"
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Like most teenagers, the thought of missing school to hang around on a film set would usually be welcome but for Muireann this is exam year and crucial for University.
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"Filming began during my summer holidays but carried on through until the end of September so I did miss a bit of school which was crazy as it's my sixth form and I have my leaving certificate this year.
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"However my teachers and classmates were so supportive and really helped me keep up with my course work. I would do some homework when I wasn't filming and go to school when I had days off, so I was fine and working through the course work myself was a lot easier than I thought it would be."
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Muireann's friends and family have not allowed the teenager to get too cocky with her success on the small screen, keeping her feet firmly rooted on the ground.
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"My friends have been nothing but excellent with me ... not a bit jealous or resentful. They literally rip me to shreds, but in a nice way – they laugh at me a lot," she adds.
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"I have a twin brother, Eoin, and he and Ben Davies who plays Jonah became good friends. Ben and I had so much in common; it was his first acting job, too. And because he was away from home and we are the same age, we ended up hanging out together a lot ... it even became a bit of a family affair at one point," she laughs.
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"Eoin, my younger sister Sibeal and friends Rachel and Eimear all had parts as extras in the drama which was great fun – a lot of laughing was done that day," she continues.
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The part of Sheridan requires Muireann to ride race-horses and you might be forgiven for thinking that living next door to a champion jockey must have rubbed off on her a bit.
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"I have been riding since I was six years old and, living where I do in the country, all my neighbours have ponies and horses. I live next door to Paul Carbery who is a champion jockey but I don't actually know him," she laughs.
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"Despite having grown up in the saddle I've never ridden competitively and, of course, race-horses are a whole different ball game. It's like driving a Ford then getting behind the wheel of a Ferrari!"
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Help was always at hand, however, with the constant presence of Horse Master Simon MacDermott and his first assistant, Irene Lawlor.
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"It was really important for me to trust Irene because it is difficult getting on a new horse everyday. I have had three different ponies in my life and you learn their ways and different character traits and how they are going to behave and react in situations."
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Filming was second nature to Muireann and she didn't seem phased by any of it.
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"Strangely, I wasn't nervous on my first day filming or even at the readthrough, which I breezed through. Ha! Little did I know why all the other actors were really jumpy – it was the fact that there were really important ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ executives present. I hadn't a clue ... rest assured that at my next readthrough I will be really nervous," she giggles.
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It was a good thing that Ben and Muireann got on well on set as their characters become quite close towards the end of the series.
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"We get it together as much as 15-year-olds can do, which amounts to a few sneaky glances at each other. But it was hilarious filming those scenes as we just kept laughing and also it's tough to make yourself vulnerable in front of loads of people.
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"Simon Massey (director) would give me notes telling me that I looked terrified which is true because I was terrified."
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When filming came to an end, Muireann found herself at a loss.
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"It was awful after the wrap party when the realisation kicked in that I wouldn't be seeing the rest of the cast every day. I really missed them. I do hope we get a second series as it would be brilliant to catch up with everyone again."
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