An actor's life for Marc

5/6/2003 -

TALENT and perseverance are what are required to make a success in the world of acting.

And 29-year-old Marc O'Shea has proved he has those prerequisites.

Press coverage in the last few weeks has linked him with the latest Hollywood heartthrob Colin Farrell, who was spotted on a London stage by actor Kevin Spacey playing a part which was originally Marc's.

The role - in Gary Mitchell's, A Little World of Our Own - allowed real ability to shine through and Farrell reaped the benefits.

The rest, as they say, is history.

But Marc O'Shea, whose formative years were spent in Newcastle where his parents still live, told the Democrat he remains philosophical about the twist of fate.

"I was in New York playing off off Broadway in a play called Binlids.

"It was a great opportunity to check out the States and I treasure the experience I gained there," he said.

That is not to say there have been no genuinely soul-crushing moments in the young actor's life. He remembers waking up crying every morning when attempting to make a name for himself over in London.

Acting can be the toughest of businesses, easily compounded by separation from home and family and friends.

At one point, he recalls, he attended an audition for a part in a TV advertisement.

"My agent said I was perfect for the part," the diminutive, five feet four inch tall actor said, "but what he had presumably overlooked was pointed out to me by the ad director - he was looking for a strapping, blonde, six foot tall Scandinavian type.

"Needless to say, I didn't get the part," he said.

Negativity in London could have crushed him, but a return home and some quiet soul searching provided fresh impetus for a career which many Northern Ireland actors would give their right arm for.

And it has been an unorthodox career, one which sprang not from drama school, but from the dedication of one of his teachers at Lagan College in Belfast. "I have James Burns, my old English teacher, to thank.

"We didn't learn drama, as such, but did a lot of reading aloud in English class.

"I couldn't help but get into the characters in those days - even making up accents to fit.

"Mr. Burns saw something in me which I couldn't see and encouraged me to look at acting as a career," Marc said.

From then on it was an actor's life for him.

Early radio drama led on to television parts and minor roles in movies.

Though the transition period from being a teenage actor to becoming an adult one presented difficulties, it did not deter Marc from persevering and making a name for himself.

And his favourite medium - film - offered him the chance to work with and learn from some of the best in the business.

He has appeared before the camera with Richard Harris and Gabriel Byrne, for instance, in the movie, This is the Sea, in 1996.

And at the moment he has a number of movies roles which we will be able to enjoy this summer.

No less than three films will feature the talented O'Shea.

I'll Sleep When I'm Dead, is directed by Mike Hodges, famous as the man behind the classic Michael Caine movie, Get Carter.

And in The Great Ceili War, also set for release during the summer, he appears with Andrea Corr, who stars with Bernard Hill - Yosser from Boys From The Blackstuff - and Colm Meaney of Star Trek fame.

All These Palookas, will also grace our screens in the summer months, the story of four dysfunctional young men trying to make it big in Belfast.

Marc O'Shea looks set to 'make it big' on a much bigger stage than Belfast.

He said he hopes to make a comfortable living from acting - that's his burning ambition.

Well, multi-million dollar actor Colin Farrell may have bunked the queue at Marc's expense, but O'Shea's is a name we are all set to become very familiar with.