Dublin-born Susan Stanley trained at prestigious LAMDA before beginning her career on the stage and in film. Since then she has played the lead roles in award-winning short films, been nominated for best actress awards here and overseas and worked with the likes of renowned British photographer and playwright Enda Walsh.
Susan’s lead role in the film Hotel Amenities won her a Best Actress Award at the Malaga Film Festival 2013. She stars in John Cariani’s love story play Almost Maine at the Park Theatre in London this Christmas.
What are you up to right now?
Rehearsing Almost Maine for The Park Theatre, as well as producing the London premiere of an Irish play called The Separation by Richard Molloy at Theatre503 that opens end of January.
Who are your heroes?
Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits, Kate Bush, Tori Amos.
What’s been the best decade of your life so far and why?
This one - my thirties. I’m a little less of a sucker.
What song sends a shiver down your spine?
The Divine Comedy, Tonight We Fly.
What is your favourite place in Ireland?
Dingle
What makes you angry?
Shots… why do people order them?
What book influenced you most?
My brother gave me The Catcher in the Rye when I was 14 and I remember feeling I’m not alone.
What was the worst moment of your life?
My mum is a Jehovah’s Witnesses and when I was little we were preaching door-to-door and we called on a house where a boy I was obsessed with from the year above me in school lived. I was nine.
Which local star in any field should the world outside Ireland know about?
Carrie Crowley, an Irish actor. That woman is an inspiration.
If you could change one thing in your life, what would it be?
I’d be organised.
Can you recommend an interesting website?
For anyone who’s been living under a rock, TED.
What is the best lesson life has taught you?
There are no answers.
What is your favourite film and why?
Annie Hall and most of Woody Allen’s classics. The existential sh*t we keep banging on about cracks me up
What do you believe in?
That the time is now.
What trait do others criticise you for?
Flakiness
Where do you live and what are the best and worst things about that place?
I live in Kilburn. The best thing is amazing pints of Guinness for three quid. The worst thing is being able to get completely legless for under 20 quid.
On what occasion is it OK to lie?
It’s not you it’s me.
What do you consider the greatest work of art?
The Lego Movie.
What is your ultimate guilty pleasure?
Carbs
Who is the love of your life?
My ladies. They know who they are.
Almost Maine runs at the Park Theatre, Finsbury Park, London from December 16, until January 17, Tuesday to Saturday evenings at 7.45pm, Thursday and Saturday matinees at 3.15pm, tickets £12.50-£18
