Irish actor Norma Sheahan says ‘rejection still hits ‘like a bang in the head’ as she opened up on herself and famous pals in the industry being left sobbing after missing out on huge roles.
The star has a career spanning more than two decades on stage and screen, with credits in the likes of The Clinic, Bridget and Eamon, and on stage starring in one woman hit show, Shirley Valentine.
But the mum-of-three admitted dealing with the auditioning process and competition in the industry for gigs ‘never gets easier’ despite how busy she is at the time.
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She told Irish Daily Mirror: “I’m doing a lot of auditioning, and I have rejections coming out my yin yang, but that is another part in doing auditions and getting recalls and it's the same kind of people up for the same jobs, i’d be up against the same five or ten and that’s grand and someday it will go my way.
“Last summer was great, I had loads of filming work, but it has been quiet since. I’ve been busy thankfully, but you still do feel, even if you can’t do a job because of timing, rejection still hits you like a bang in the head.”
“It depends on the part,” she added, but said it is tough when you set you hopes on something that eventually falls through in the end.
“Some you don’t care about and don’t even call back about they are so sh*te and some you get attached to and then they go right that’s actually gone but we want you for a supporting lead and then that goes to someone.
“Even for Holding, I was up for one of the lead daughters and then for Pauline McLynn’s part and waiting and waiting and then sure they threw some half arsed part to me at the end.
“But there's been two others since then as well.”
Norma isn’t alone, and told how even the biggest stars of screen are also struggling with the brutal reality of rejection in the industry behind the scenes.
“I was chatting to two of the most famous actors in Ireland the other day, now I won’t name names, but they were sobbing on the phone. There was a Netflix series, a film in Australia and something in America and she just said ‘look, I was genuinely down to the last two and three and waiting and waiting’ and it never gets easy.”
In the meantime the Co. Cork native is busy on stage with the return of her one woman show in the Gaiety Theatre at the end of the month, and touring the country with John B. Keane’s hilarious dramatic comedy The Matchmaker, with d'Unbelievables star John Kenny.
She has also been busy filming a getaway surprise with former racing champion Nicolas Roche, as the pair took part in RTE’s High Road, Low Road this season.
High Road Low Road sees one of the two celebrities get to enjoy a five-star luxury lifestyle while the other travels budget style.
Recalling the trip to the Algarve as ‘perfect’ despite her luck, the actress said: “He is an absolute gentleman and absolutely gorgeous. And he is so sporty and so kind, it was just perfect. A great holiday.
“And to be fair, I don’t think it mattered whether I was high road or low road, because I was just delighted to get away for the few days and Portugal was just gorgeous.
“So spoiled really.”
“So that’s amazing because basically this trip was a bit like Shirley Valentine, she is a woman who gets away from her kids and moany husband and goes off on a trip and meets other people. Now I didn’t go off riding which is what she does, but it certainly felt like my little Shirley Valentine trip away.”
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