Amanda Donohoe [Interview] (2024)

Hello Folks! We have another wonderful interview to share with you all today. Our interview subject for this wonderful Wednesday is the legendary and Golden Globe winning master of the art of acting, the great Amanda Donohoe! Amanda is be perfecting her craft for very long time and has presented some of the best work to date in the world of film, television, and especially on the stage. On a personal note, I remember her as the “villain” in one of my favorite film’s as a child, and still a classic to date, Liar Liar. But, as it usually tends to be, Amanda has done so much other great work, some of which I was unaware of in the past. And she is here to tell us all about it!

So, without further rambling from me, let’s get this thing going! Please enjoy some wonderful words from the absolutely brilliant actress, Amanda Donohoe!

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What inspired you to get into the world of acting? Was it a passion that you had since your youth? Or did you happen to find yourself in this world one day?

I grew up watching the great Hollywood movies of the 1940s, 50s 60s and 70s from the most avant-garde to the most commercial. I loved theatre, ballet, music, opera, all of which were easily accessible in London and relatively cheap, no computers back then… At nineteen I finally summoned the courage to audition for Drama school. After 3 years training I got an Agent and landed my first paid job in theTheatre. Suddenly I was a professional Actor my course was set …

What was your very first paid gig as a performer that you can remember getting? And were there any sort of lessons learned from this experience that still affects your work today?

My first gig was a season at the Manchester Royal Exchange theatre one of the best regional theatres in the UK. A modern auditorium in the round built within the old Victorian corn exchange. It’s where I learned my craft and how to hold an audience. I went back to work there throughout my early career even after I moved to Hollywood.

In 1997, you appeared in one of the most important films of my childhood, the zany and insanely sweet film Liar Liar. I ask this question often, but in this case I would REALLY love to know…..how did you enjoy working on this film? Was it as fun to work on as it was for me to watch almost daily for a very very long time?

Liar Liar was a hoot, Jim is an extraordinary comic actor, I was nervous as hell but Jim made it fun, he always had great off the wall ideas about how a scene might play. I learned a lot.

You have given amazing performances in television, film, on stage, even voice over work. So with that in mind, I am curious to know what your preferred method of performance would be? If you were destined to only work in one field for the remainder of your career, which would you choose?

Although the Theatre is where I learned most about my craft, Film has always been my first love, just wish there was more written for my age group.

We always like to ask our statue hold friends this one question: Where do you physically keep your well-deserved Golden Globe statue physically? And does its physical location have a personal meaning to you?

I keep my Golden Globe on top of a bookcase in my office containing my favourite books and a host of old photos. It’s a reminder of a fantastically exciting but exhausting decade of my life in Hollywood.

When you look back on your career spanning over 30 years, what would you say you are most proud of? Not necessarily one specific project, although it surely could be. But, what do you look back on with the most pride so far?

As an actor in Film one generally has no say whatsoever in the final product. So speaking purely as a performer I would say I take the greatest pride in my theatre work as these were the times I had most control over the final product so success or failure was entirely down to my abilities or lack thereof!! There is nothing more seductive, exhilarating, thrilling than the sound of a full houseapplauding…

What does the future hold for you? Anything you would like to plug to our readers?

I have no idea what the future holds, I’ve spent the last 4 years dealing with aged and dying parents, never easy.. So I’m looking forward to the next chapter ever hopeful it will be less distressing than the last. I’m a total History nerd so I’m attempting an historical novel based on one of my favourite unsung heroines with a view to adapting it for film. Women’s history is a passion of mine.

What was the last thing that made you smile?

I live in rural Suffolk now, big sky country, mostly flat terrain, arable fields, woodland and small villages “ Constable country” as it’s known ( John Constable landscape painter 1776-1837). Fame and success are all very well but they are ultimately exhausting and isolating. Here I am surrounded by nature and the soundscape of the countryside. I look out into the garden and the fields beyond, I have a veritable menagerie, Roe deer, Muntjac deer, foxes, hedgehogs, moor hens, Pheasant, Ducks, Woodpeckers, Owls and a host of other visiting birds, it soothes the soul and makes me smile big time.