Liam and the Lyric Theatre, in Belfast

1)

In 2004, Liam gave the SAG-AFTRA Foundation an approximately two-hour interview in which he talked about his life and how he became an actor. At one point, Liam spoke about his time at the Lyric Theatre in Belfast.

The career retrospective interview with Liam was conducted by Todd Amorde.

Liam mentioned that his parents placed great importance on education, and that meant:Education, education, education!

Todd Amorde asked Liam, " And how did they feel about you kind of drifting away from that and wanting to be an actor?"

"They were very, very, very concerned. Very concerned. And I ... my little story of how I changed from being an amateur actor to a professional actor. I was working in my hometown ( Ballymena) as a reprographic assistant in a architects office, you know,  just doing xerox prints of stuff. And I got an audition at the Belfast Lyric Theatre, which is the only then ... the only professional theater in operation in Northern Ireland. And I had called and got this audition. I, I  was living at home at the time. So that day I took off work. It was a Thursday, I remember, and didn't tell my parents and took the train up to Belfast which was 30 miles away. "Did this audition for this Lady called Mary O'Malley who build this theater and ran it. I wasn't very good but I think I showed some sort of guts or passion or something and at the end end of the day she was looking for an actor over 6 feet for the production. "

2)

To which Todd then replied,"What ever gets over there, right ?"

"I was like 6'4 feet, you know. But anyway, that afternoon I remember signing a British Equity contract and I become a professional actor that afternoon and it was like ... I remember walking down through the streets of Belfast and this is 1975*¹. And of course there's still armed cars going up and down streets and there's happening, you know? And I was like shaking hands with soldiers and saying,' Look at this. Look I'm going to be an actor', you know? So when I got off the train back home, I went into my local pub because of course I had to show the guys how my life was going to change forever. And, by the time I staggered home, which was like 11:30 at night, and my parents were expecting me back after work at 5:30. Let's be in Northern Ireland 1975 , which was not a happy place. And when I walked in the door their faces wear the colors of your shirt*² (white) and it was like, 'Oh, what have I done? Jesus.'. And they were just like.  I ...I  ... I  can't begin to even act just the shock on their faces . That was in at 11:30. I was also quite drunk. And I was also delirious with joy. "

Todd said,"Yeah, that contract!"

And Liam goes on to say, " And by this stage this contract is like a an ancient parchment folded so many times, you know. So they looked at that and they didn't really speak to me for like a week afterwards. It was a shock to the system and that was good to me too. Because it gave me a week to think to think about what this could actually mean,  you know?" 

"Yeah, what did that decided meant to you at that point?" Todd asked. 

3)

"It was just ... it was like a gateway to paradise,  you know. That's what it was. And in those days at the Lyric Theatre we were doing a play every four weeks. So it was like, I mean it was the greatest actors training you can get", answered Liam. 

Todd then asked," So your training really was a matter of learning by doing and you take the training?"

"Yeah,  and with these wonderful,  wonderful actors on ... on ... at the the Lyric in those days,  you know? Fantastic actors and actresses. And doing plays every four weeks from Shakespeare to Czechov to the Irish cannon of plays. It was fantastic. "

4)

Liam had his first professional role at the Lyric Theatre when he was 24 years old. In the play *The Risen People* written by James Plunkett,  he played the role of the Irish labor leader Big Jim Larkin*³. His role was just a very brief cameo appearance that lasted only a few minutes. 

❤️🇮🇪🍀💚🤍🧡

Maidin mhaith a Liam, a chara, guím lá iontach síochánta ort agus tá súil agam go mbeimid cupán tae againn le chéile go luath agus go mbeimid in ann comhrá a bheith againn. Sin go léir ba mhaith liom. Éist ar feadh uair nó dhó, labhair, agus coinnigh i do lámha uair amháin. Ba mhaith liom nóiméad sona a thabhairt i mo shaol. 

Tabhair aire mhaith duit féin agus do do theaghlach agus fan sláintiúil. Tá sé iontach go bhfuil tú ann. Go raibh maith agat as do thacaíocht do UNICEF. 🙏🫶

❤️🇮🇪🍀💚🤍🧡

*¹)Liam said it was 1975, but it was actually 1976.He was simply a year out. The Lyric archives state the year as 1976. However,I'm sticking with 1975 so as to reproduce the interview exactly as it was originally given.

*²) Liam was referring to the T-shirt that Todd Amored was wearing during the interview. 

*³Jim Larkin is a fictional character. He never actually existed. 

Photos:

1and 3: SAG

2 GhettyImage

3 Lyric Theatre