Irresistible charm
You know those conversations you have with someone where half an hour has passed and you look at your watch and go “where has the time gone?” Natasha O’Keeffe is one of those conversationalists. Twice in the recording of our early exchanges I state, “OK so I better start this interview now,” only to swing off in another tangent. She’s just such a nice person to talk to.
We chatted for over 30 minutes, never mentioning her appearance in Sherlock, playing opposite James McEvoy in the adaptation of Irvine Welsh’s Filth and only briefest of references to her star turn in Misfits and Peaky Blinders.
Or even that her mother Caroline O’Keeffe, nee O’Reilly, used to sing in one of the great Cavan bands ‘The Apaches’. So what did we talk about?
Well at the start we spent a good chunk of time talking about dogs. I mean, who doesn’t love talking about doggies?
Natasha lives by the sea in Margate and is being interviewed on her phone while walking the aforementioned mutt. She gives the impression that time efficiency is a mark of the woman: “It’s a bit windy, but I have big earphones on. I’m trying to keep my hands warm because I didn’t bring my gloves out,” the giggle that accompanies her opening statement is a feature throughout her conversation.
That soft, genuine laugh punctuates her gloriously melodic accent. It’s an infectious laugh that tumbles from the phone receiver like someone is playing it on the higher keys of a piano.
“I’m just talking like a madwoman to the open air,” Natasha recounts as she walks her dog. Bobby was meant to be a Jackapoo, but apparently he’s definitely not that. He’s a Jack Russell mixed with a Staffordshire Terrier, a Parson’s Terrier and perhaps a couple of more dilutions.
“He’s a great little dog, he’s just lovely,” but then most dogs are. “I don’t mind the interview being about my dog, he’s a big part of my life,” and that one line says a lot about the actor.
There’s no “don’t you know who I am” or “I have worked with Jon S. Baird and John Hardwick”, it’s “lets talk about Bobby”. So, 500 miles away from Cavan in the salt air of Margate, Natasha starts talking about being in “the very early stages of parenthood”.
“I have two children, one is two and a half years old and the other is 10 month old. I have worked more since having the children than before hand. You wonder as a woman if you should get the career in a good place first before you have your kids. In my profession having a child takes a long time out of work, while you are pregnant,” she explains.
“Being an actress is an aesthetic thing, it’s about the way you look. Having a baby takes up quite a lot of time, but I am so glad I’ve done it. It’s funny how things have panned out. Maybe they are the lucky charms,” again the giddy laughter rings down the line.
Natasha says her children have changed her: “I’ve never been a very patient person, but I’ve had to relax. My patience has been tested. They [the children] are my biggest teachers.”
Connecting her children with her parents’ home is something that Natasha says is important: “Definitely. Mum (Caroline) and Dad (Paul) are Cavan born and bred. They still have the accents and the Irish sensibilities. Even though they don’t live there any more, Cavan is part of who they are and they are a massive part of our children’s lives.
“I really want to bring them to Cavan and travel around Ireland with them at some point. I just want them to be old enough to appreciate it and get a sense of it. I definitely have a great pull to Ireland.” That draw to Ireland appears to have manifested itself in her career. The Celtic connection is part of two of her recent jobs.
As she speaks her accent is quintessentially that of her southern English home, but when she says ‘Cavan’ it has the blás of a local. That imprint not only came from her parents, but from holidays in the Breffni county.
It may even have fed into her life path: “We went to Cavan on every possible holiday when I was young. Whenever I returned to England, I had picked up a bit of the Cavan accent. I would go over on my own sometimes and stay in granny’s house. It’s such an easy going way of life.
“You can just just knock on next door’s door and hang around, I would not go home until dinner time. On holidays I would try my very best to lose my English accent – I think I wanted to be Irish. When I went back to school people would go ‘what is wrong with you?’. I think that may have played a part in me wanting to be an actor.”
Those experiences assisted in a most recent television role. In the RTE drama ‘Resistance’ Natasha plays Agnes Moore, a Dublin academic and barrister with the Sinn Féin midnight courts: “It was a great help there, because I think regardless of accent there is an Irish way of speaking, I can’t really explain it, but I am proud to know it and be part of it. I feel strongly rooted in Ireland, it’s coursing through my veins.”
She says working on the War of Independence drama was an eye opener: “The only way ‘in’ to Irish history when I was growing up was through my father. In the UK you don’t get taught Irish history. The British Irish history is swept under the carpet.
“I had an inkling about it. During the filming of Resistance I was exposed to things like the Sinn Féin midnight courts, things I would not have had any knowledge of before.”
Playing a Blinder!
Her other high profile historic drama, BBC’s Peaky Blinders, has also an Irish tinge: “I play Lizzy Stark, a 1920s strong female,” she says of the Birmingham-based story. “Northern England has very strong links with Ireland. The emigration from Ireland that happened at the time. I think my own Irishness bleeds into the role of Lizzy.
“I came to Peaky Blinders in a very small role. I thought that was it. Then I got a phone call for the second series and was asked would I come back. There was no question about that. It grew and grew and I was just asked back every year. It’s like a family. It’s great and I am really proud of being part of it,” she told the Celt.
Working with actors of the calibre of Cillian Murphy, Helen McCrory and Tom Hardy was an opportunity to develop her acting ability: “It’s a great tool. It helps you sharpen your skills. In a way it’s like a school of acting. I started that job seven years ago, how crazy is that? In that seven years a lot has happened. As I grow, I am getting better at my work and I definitely think Peaky Blinders has been part of that.”
Early days
Back in 2008, the days of the band Oasis were numbered. Falling Down was their last single and the promo video was a stylish wordless story. Natasha was the central character playing a fictional Royal Princess who indulges in parties, one night stands and drugs.
The actor’s skill at telling a story through movement was evident even a decade ago: “That was my first job. I was very excited going for the audition. I was a big Oasis fan. I don’t think there are many actresses that would not want to play that modern day Princess Margaret character. The wild one, the black sheep of the family. I just remember it being a really lovely day, going around in fine clothing. I remember seeing it quite recently and there are bits I squirm at. You learn from it and how to do it better next time.”
That first experience was a stark introduction: “The camera being that close to your face! Even now sometimes I think “what am I actually doing for a living? I’ve got this camera right in my face”. It’s a funny old game. You get better technically the more you do it. I’m not saying I have it down just yet, but I am getting more and more comfortable with it.”
Roles in Sherlock, Misfits, Jekyll & Hyde and Law & Order: UK all build toward an impressive show reel: “I am better at playing a character than at playing myself. I am more comfortable putting something else on. That larger than life character means that I can get away from the shyness of myself. I don’t have to expose me. I think the whole point of entering the profession was wanting to play character roles.”
“In drama school my teachers would say “can you not just do one role where you are near to yourself”. I don’t mind that, but any opportunity to look really different or put on a different accent or voice. If someone asked me what my dream role would be the female version of Beetlejuice. I think that splash of every colour would be great,” and again that mirthful chuckle accompanies the statement.
Natasha’s latest work is on an upcoming Sky One television series, a remake of Norwegian series Valkyrien: “I am doing a small role in a TV production called Temple, which stars Mark Strong. He is amazing. I had a scene with him. It felt so live, I don’t know if that was because of his way of acting or what. It was a two hander, a really interesting tennis match. I enjoyed it.
“I was doing it in parallel with Peaky Blinders and they could not have been two more different productions. Going from the cigarette smoking 1920s woman to this modern character,” but there is no doubt that she has the range to cover such disparate characters.
A visit to Cavan is on the agenda: “I will be paying a visit over, maybe when we are out of the ‘little people madness’ and we can stay for a little wander around Ireland and make Cavan a part of that trip,” she concluded.