Welcome to episode #12 of The Filmmaker's Playbook, hosted by writer-director Jason Branagan. -- On today’s show I talk to actor, Amanda Abbington. Amanda’s credits include BBC’s 'Sherlock', the Netflix Number 1 series 'Desperate Measures', Harlan Coben’s smash hit original series, 'SAFE', 'Mr. Selfridge', 'Wolfe' and more.  -- In our conversation Amanda shares her advice for young actors and we discuss the importance of discipline and how to keep your acting muscle in shape when you’re not...

Welcome to episode #11 of The Filmmaker's Playbook, hosted by writer-director Jason Branagan. -- On today’s show I talk to producer Julie Ryan. Julie’s work includes feature films like 'The Young Offenders', 'Christmas Perfection', 'A Bend in the River', 'Finding You' and 'I Never Cry'. Her television credits include Netflix number one shows like 'Desperate Measures' and 'Maxine' as well as acclaimed drama series like 'Vardy V. Rooney: A Courtroom Drama' and 'The House Across The...

Welcome to the The Filmmaker's Playbook, hosted by writer-director Jason Branagan. My guest today is actor Elva Trill. Since we recorded this episode Elva has been nominated for a Best Actress IFTA (TV Drama) for her performance as Áine in Stephen Jones’ 'Northern Lights'. Some of Elva’s other credits include 'Red Rock', 'Line of Duty' and 'Jurassic World Dominion'.  In our conversation we discuss how Elva got started in the industry, being a stand in for Sarah Bolger on 'The Tudors' as a...

Welcome to the The Filmmaker's Playbook, hosted by writer-director Jason Branagan. My guest today is actor and writer Stephen Jones. Stephen’s television series, Northern Lights, in which he plays the lead, Lloyd, has just been nominated for 4 IFTAs including Best Drama, and Best Script for Stephen himself. Some of Stephen’s other credits include Love/Hate, KIN, Nowhere Fast and Red Rock as well as his critically acclaimed plays, From Eden and Northern Lights. On today’s show we talk about...

Welcome to the The Filmmaker's Playbook, hosted by writer-director Jason Branagan. My guest today is actor Emmett J. Scanlan. Emmett has just been nominated for an IFTA for his performance as Jimmy Kinsella in the AMC drama series, 'KIN'. Other credits include Netflix’s smash hit, ‘Fool Me Once’, ITV’s ‘The Tower’, Harlan Coben’s ‘Safe’, ‘Peaky Blinders’ and ‘The Fall’ amongst others. On today’s show we talk about the magic of movie-making, the impact ‘Rocky’ had on his career,  the lessons...

Welcome to the The Filmmaker's Playbook, hosted by writer-director Jason Branagan. Today, my guest is HETV director Steve Hughes. Steve has directed some amazing TV series. Some of his credits include 'Doctor Who', 'Casualty', 'Midsomer Murders', 'Miss Scarlet and the Duke', 'Death in Paradise' and 'Creeped Out'. On today’s show we talk about the benefits of his background in editing, the importance of trusting your cast and crew, directing the award-winning improvised episode of the iconic...

Welcome to the The Filmmaker's Playbook, hosted by writer-director Jason Branagan. This episode features an interview with actor Laurence O'Fuarain. Laurence led Netflix's 'The Witcher' prequel series, 'The Witcher: Blood Origin' playing the axe-wielding warrior, Fjall. Other credits include 'Can’t Cope, Won’t Cope' and RTÉ's 'Rebellion'. Laurence can currently be seen starring in Guy Ritchie’s 'The Gentlemen' on Netflix.  Today we discuss self-taping, being kind on set and lead actors...

Welcome to the The Filmmaker's Playbook, hosted by writer-director Jason Branagan. This episode features an interview with Megan K. Fox. Megan's work includes the award-winning short films 'The Shift' and 'Cailín Álainn' as well as RTÉ's 'Fair City', BBC's 'Eastenders' and the brand new Channel 5 thriller, 'Too Good To Be True' starring Allen Leech and Kara Tointon. In today's episode we discuss the role of the director and Megan shares insights on how she got started in the industry, what...

Welcome to the The Filmmaker's Playbook, hosted by writer-director Jason Branagan. This episode features an interview with Maurice O'Carroll and Sinead O'Riordan. Maurice is a writer-director-editor and Sinead is an actor-producer and they have been collaborating together for over 10 years. Both Maurice and Sinead have been nominated for the prestigious Discovery Award at Dublin International Film Festival. Their work together includes the critically acclaimed micro-budget feature film, Dead...

Welcome to the The Filmmaker's Playbook, hosted by writer-director Jason Branagan. This episode features an interview with Rob Higgins and Paddy McGiveny. Rob and Paddy and two of Ireland's most exciting filmmakers. Their debut feature film, Lakelands won Best Irish Feature at the Galway Film Fleadh, was nominated for 4 IFTA Awards, won Best Narrative Feature at Kerry Film Festival and was named Best Irish Film in 2023 at the Dublin Film Critics Circle Awards.  In our conversation, we discuss...

Welcome to the The Filmmaker's Playbook, hosted by writer-director Jason Branagan. This episode features an interview with Stephen Shields. Stephen is an acclaimed screenwriter. After winning RTÉ's Storyland in 2010 with his webseries 'Zombie Bashers' Stephen went on to write on RTÉ's flagship comedy show 'The Republic of Telly', where he was the longest-serving writer. He was nominated for two Irish Writers' Guild awards for his work on the show. Stephen also wrote for many other Irish...

Welcome to the premiere episode of The Filmmaker's Playbook, hosted by writer-director Jason Branagan. This episode features an interview with Diarmuid Goggins, an award-winning director renowned for his work on popular TV shows like 'Casualty', 'Silent Witness', 'Bulletproof', AMC's crime drama series 'KIN' and the number 1 Netflix series, 'Witness Number 3'. Diarmuid shares insights into his journey so far, how to marry efficiency and ambition, the notes process, how he communicates his...