RONAN Keating will return to Ireland to shoot a film adaptation of a Man Booker Prize novel, The Riders.
He will star alongside Luke Hemsworth – brother of fellow Australian heartthrob actors, Liam and Chris – and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy’s Mark Strong.
The film is based on Tim Winton’s 1995 Man Booker Prize nominated novel, The Riders, and the story centres on a man called Scully whose wife suddenly disappears. It will be shot in Ireland on location this year.
"It's not a comedy," Keating said, “it's very serious and very dark."
This is not the first attempt that the Boyzone frontman has made to break into the acting industry.
In 2001 he auditioned but failed to get the part in Baz Luhrman’s Moulin Rouge, but most recently he made his acting debut in the light-hearted Australian musical film Goddess, where he plays a whale activist who is married to an aspiring singer called Elspeth.
He was in Dublin over the weekend with partner Storm Uechtritz for the Irish premiere of the film Goddess at the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival.
“I’ve been trying for years,” he said of his acting journey.
“I go to coaching and trained with accents. I tried out for Moulin Rouge 10 years ago; I read with Leonardo DiCaprio and Ewan McGregor which was very intimidating. I didn’t get it obviously.
“It’s taken a long time for me to get it right. Maybe it’s still not right but I’m getting closer I think. It’s a really big deal for me to get this part in The Riders.”
Filming for The Riders was due to commence last week, but the severe weather conditions delayed production.
Keating will also appear in the film adaptation of Stones in His Pockets and will provide the singing voice of Postman Pat in the upcoming 3D movie.
The Riders will be directed by Danish filmmaker Hans Fabian Wullenweber and produced by Palm Beach Entertainment.
It is set for release in May 2014.
