F E AT U R E
P O E T RY I N E M O T I ON : Niamh Algar in The Virtues
“Raised By Wolves is monumental, the scale of it is huge.”
relatable. It was funny and warm. These characters are trying their best not to feel stupid or ugly or lonely. They’re just trying to get by, and trying not to be screw-ups – like all of us! But the production was so lovely. The idea of these people meeting each other and becoming friends and just trying to figure out life, felt very real to our relationships on set. I made friends for life.” Algar’s ability to bond with her fellow cast-mates and crew is a testament to her own warmth and levelheadedness – traits that are bound to serve her well over the next year, which could well be life-changing. She has finished shooting the big-screen drama Calm With Horses, also starring Barry Keoghan, and is currently filming Raised By Wolves, the TV directing debut of sci-fi action icon, Ridley Scott, who directed Alien, Blade Runner, Gladiator and The Martian. The project is set to make a global star of Algar, opening up doors to Hollywood films – but for the moment, the young actress is just revelling in the utter joy and excitement of filming such a big project with such an esteemed director. “It’s monumental, the scale of it is huge. And Ridley is – well, he’s Ridley Scott!” she exclaims. “I grew up watching his movies, as did everyone. He’s established himself, and the worlds that he has created, as formative experiences for so many people, and it’s because he really builds these worlds so brilliantly. We’re shooting 24
out in the desert, and the mountains, and all around Cape Town. I can’t get over the scale of it. So I think watching it is going to be mind-blowing.” Algar has had a lifelong love affair with boxing, which helps her deal with any worries or anxiety – but it has also come in very handy for her action-heavy role in Raised By Wolves. “I play Sue, and she’s a combat medic caught up in a war between two main armies, all trying to survive because Earth has expelled all of its natural resources and oxygen levels are critical – it’s terrifying but it’s also what Ridley thinks people are anticipating about where our future might be heading! She and her husband, played by Travis Fimmel, head off, and then there’s a parallel story about two androids who are raising human children. I’m so excited about it.” Algar’s parents visited her in Cape Town, and true to Irish parents, soon made themselves at home on the set. “They disappeared for about an hour, just wandering around – and then turned up literally as I was filming a scene. I was trying to say my lines, pretending I’m on a different planet – and I could just see my mum and dad standing right in front of me, and then walking back behind the director’s monitor! I’m the only Irish one, so I couldn’t even pretend that the two randomers from Mullingar wandering around the set and asking everyone how they’re doing weren’t related to me! But they had never come to see me film before, so it was really special.”