Anthony Boyle - IFTA Masterclass

IFTA was delighted to present a special Acting Conversation with Anthony Boyle, the IFTA & Olivier winning and Tony-nominated star of Netflix's hit House of Guinness, Masters of the Air, Manhunt, and Say Nothing.

As part of the Academy's ongoing Casting Conversations series, this masterclass was moderated by Louise Kiely, Emmy-Nominated Casting Director of Normal People and The Banshees of Inisherin. The masterclass took place on Tuesday 28th April at the IFI Cinema Dublin.

Anthony spoke in-depth about his evolving career and creative process, including the skill of developing a character across leading roles in episodic TV dramas, how he prepares for and gets into character, insights into working on major international productions, collaborating with directors, and his current and upcoming slate of roles. Speaking about his approach to performance, Anthony said:

“I really like playing real people. There's something about it. It's the kind of work that I've been drawn to for the last while. The difference between a man like Harry Crosby (in Masters of the Air) and John Wilkes Booth (in Manhunt). With Harry, there's footage, and immediately, as an actor, sometimes you're like an investigative journalist. You're like “Who is this person? How do I build this human being so much, make it three dimensional, that I believe the choices that I'm making so much that everyone else watching will believe it?”

Anthony Boyle at his IFTA In Conversation, moderated by Casting Director Louise Kiely, reflecting on discovering his love for performing!✨#ifta #anthonyboyle #louisekielycasting pic.twitter.com/i5p6X3DXyb

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For the second portion of the in-conversation, the discussion was opened to audience questions. Speaking to emerging actors, Anthony emphasised the importance of authenticity in both performance and career development, saying:

“When you're starting out, I would say to embrace the authenticity of you. I spoke to an actor last week who has started going to auditions and his agent told him he shouldn't wear tracksuit bottoms, but if that's who you are, be who you are. Authenticity is key. You're much more interesting than some sort of version of yourself. When I was starting off, being interviewed, I thought I had to be some sort of tortured actor. And I was like “That's not who I am”. I wish I could go back and tell myself ‘No, you're much more interesting, and your art will be better if you're not trying to do something because you think the industry wants it.”

Anthony is a two-time IFTA winner, recently winning the Lead Actor award at this year’s ceremony for his role as Arthur Guinness in Netflix’s House of Guinness, from Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight. He is a previous winner of the Screen Ireland IFTA Rising Star award and has won both an Olivier Award and a Critics' Circle Theatre Award in 2017 for the West End production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, and was Nominated for a Tony Award for his Broadway performance of the same show. Anthony previously starred opposite Austin Butler, Callum Turner and Barry Keoghan on Apple TV’s Masters of the Air, produced by Steven Spielberg; as Brendan Hughes in Hulu’s Northern Irish set drama Say Nothing; as Lincoln assassin John Wilkes Booth in Apple TV’s Manhunt; opposite Sean Bean in Disney’s Shardlake; HBO’s The Plot Against America with Winona Ryder and John Turturro; Sky’s Patrick Melrose starring Benedict Cumberbatch; and appeared in two episodes of the beloved Derry Girls.