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Roma Downey: My return to the acting life

ROMA DOWNEY

IrishCentral.com Columnist

Published Sunday, April 26, 2009, 12:01 PM

Updated Thursday, July 23, 2009, 5:13 PM

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Read more: John Schneider, Vancouver, Celebrity News, Entertainment, Malibu, Ireland, Brooke Nevin, Jack Savage, Miami, Roma Downey

Roma Downey at the launch of IrishCentral.com

The rich are getting poorer in Ireland, but our Roma bucks the trend... Click here

Well, I decided to get back in front of the camera this year and was lured away from sunny Malibu to damp and chilly Vancouver to film a lovely movie called "Come Dance at My Wedding."

I star opposite John Schneider (you all remember him as the tall blonde actor from "The Dukes of Hazzard," and more recently, from “Smallville.")

Well, he is still tall and blonde -- and a really nice guy. The movie also stars a lovely young actress, Brooke Nevin, She is fresh, new, up-and-coming and could not be a nicer girl! Her youth makes me feel protective and maternal. I am sure I see myself in her, starting out all those years ago.

It's been a while since I acted, and I wondered how it would feel to be back on a movie set. Well, I am happy to report that it's much like riding a bike: It all came back to me in a heartbeat. But after two 15-hour workdays in a row, I crawled exhausted into my hotel bed and asked myself, "Why am I doing this again?"

But the truth is that the creative process of coming together with a group of like-minded people to bring a script to life is stimulating, exciting and fun.

Sure, the hours are long and it's hard to pretend you're feeling romantic when your nose is dripping and your hair is wilting from the endless dampness -- but that's the challenge.

Also, working with John Schneider -- a very tall actor -- reminded me of my first-ever film experience.

I had come up through the theater. I had trained for and worked entirely on the stage until I got my "break" in a TV show with the rather unfortunate title "The 100 Lives of Black Jack Savage." I know you've never heard of it! It was so bad it never actually made it on the air!

But I was naive and didn't know this at the time, so I set off for Miami thrilled that here I was, Roma Downey, formerly of Beechwood Ave. Derry City, had been cast as the female lead in an American TV show. I knew nothing about acting for the camera and I certainly knew none of the jargon and terminology that they all spoke with such ease. But afraid to look stupid, I decided not to let on that I knew nothing -- and I nooded and agreed and tried to look smart when they spoke to me.

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As the Irish people have a genuine sense of fun, Irish entertainment can be found in every town, village, city and county. One of the most popular forms is the festival, which is used to celebrate all sorts of occasions &emdash; everything from literary pursuits to a love of oysters. Here are a few highlights of entertainment in Ireland throughout the year: Londonderry boasts the biggest Halloween Festival in the world with around 30,000 celebrating the ancient Celtic New Year every October. Grab a dodgy mask and join the party! / The Belfast Festival at Queen’s is Ireland’s biggest International Festival and boasts an eclectic mix of music, talks, comedy, exhibitions and film. / The Galway Races, the Rose of Tralee Festival, Puck Fair in Killorglin, and the Oul’ Lammas Fair in Ballycastle are world famous and offer a great chance to enjoy Irish entertainment, life and laughs with the locals. / Food festivals are now a big draw in Ireland with local produce scoring high among international foodies. Head to the famous oyster festivals in Clarenbridge in Galway, or Hillsborough, County Down. / Tune in to a spot of music with the Open House Festival in Belfast, the Waterford International Festival of Light Opera, or the Feile an Phobail in west Belfast. Or grab a pint and tap your feet to some cool tunes at the Guinness Cork Jazz Festival. / If you prefer your festivals small and intimate, try the harp festivals in Roscommon or the rough and ready horse and pony fairs from Cavan to Cork. Even today, the horses are priced in guineas, and bought and sold with a spit in the hand. / At the other end of the scale of entertainment in Ireland lies the Wexford Opera Festival with full-scale opera productions, concerts, recitals, talks, cabaret, fireworks, and, of course, parties. / For something a little different, try the Magnus Barelegs Festival in Downpatrick offering a slice of Viking life, or the Eagle Wing Festival in Groomsport, County Down, which celebrates Ireland’s cultural links with America. / Theater fans should head to Dublin for both the Dublin Theatre Festival and the excellent Dublin Fringe Festival, with wildly exciting performances taking place in fabulous venues. / Around March 17, the country turns a shade of green for a host of St Patrick’s Festivals. All over the country, from the Saint’s hallowed burial place in Downpatrick to the more carnival atmosphere of parades and exceptional fireworks in Dublin and Belfast. / Literary lovers should head to Dublin in June for the intriguing Bloomsday Festival, where fans of Joyce’s Gargantuan Ulysses dress up in traditional gear and scoff old Dublin food like “nutty gizzards” and “urine-soaked kidneys”. Alternatively, seek out the delights of the Aspects Literature Festival in Bangor in September, an annual celebration of Irish literature with lectures, discussion and music. But festivals are just one aspect of Irish entertainment—let's not forget about music! From impromptu sessions in your local bar to the thrilling beat of U2, Ireland has always been home to the best sounds of music. Ireland’s massive successes in the Irish entertainment world include some bands and artists you may have heard of…U2, The Corrs, Enya, Westlife, Snow Patrol, Ash, David Holmes, Van Morrison and The Thrills, to name just a few. Unique and distinctive, the harp holds a special place in Irish entertainment and has come to symbolize the harmony of people and music in Ireland. It’s the earliest musical instrument mentioned in Irish literature and has been used as an official emblem for Ireland since medieval times. Today, it’s on Irish passports and stamps. But there's more: Fleadhs, or festivals, are a major part of Irish entertainment as well as cultural life, and impromptu trad sessions have become the stuff of legend at West Belfast’s Feile an Phobail, the Galway Racing Festival or Kerry’s Puck Fair. Rock and dance music festivals are also big news with the Oxegen Festival, Tennents Vital Belfast and the Electric Picnic held in summer.

Roma Downey: My return to the acting life

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