Just Celebrity Magazine had a lovely chat with the dynamic actress Caroline O’Hara.

JC: Caroline, could you tell us how you got into acting?

C: I started performing aged 9 doing musicals and dancing. I was asked by a local director to audition for his production of The Diary of Anne Frank and found myself playing Anne, which was my first serious role. I had from a very young age wanted to be an architect but my careers advisor told me I wasn’t intelligent enough to be one and to become an actress instead, so I did!

JC: What project do you think helped you grow the most as an actor?

C: I think they all do. Good or bad, you always learn something. In fact I’ve probably learnt more from the bad ones. But one growth process I particularly enjoyed was playing four roles in one play. I never left the stage and I had one prop for each character. I loved the fluidity that came from moving between the characters after we had been running for a few weeks. I learnt how deep a characterisation could go because I wanted each woman to be totally different.

JC: Has there ever been a role that was particularly difficult to play and why?

C: The hardest was definitely the role of a rape and torture victim. The emotion required was terrifying. It was the first time I felt I deserved all the money I was given for acting!

JC: When you were younger or during your Webber Douglas Academy days, who were some of your biggest role models and why?

C: My favourite actresses are Charlize Theron, Hilary Swank, Naomi Watts and Jodhi May. They are the actresses who go to another level. They bring it all. Acting, for me, is never about being pretty or sexy and I think they, for the most part, have the same mindset.

JC: Would you want to stay acting in films/television or would you ever expand to live performances?

C: I started in theatre and have always done it. I love it. I feel more comfortable there than on a set.

JC: Audiences were raving after the Warburton’s adverts, were you surprised at how big it became?

C: I wasn’t. I knew when I saw The Muppets filming their song that it was going to be huge. It was an incredible experience watching them work. They’re hilarious. I had tears running out of every facial orifice.

JC: The Cheesebox is your next upcoming film; can you tell us a little bit about that?

C: It’s the story of an old Irish law that prevented stillborn babies from being buried in consecrated ground and the repercussions that had on families. Kevin Kiely who is a wonderful actor and also stars in the film, writes it.

JC: You’ve had a number of past roles, is there a particular favourite?

C: I don’t have a favourite. I always fall in love with the characters if I play them for a day or a year. I loved playing the role in the Warburton’s adverts. She had a great back-story.

JC: Where do you see yourself, career wise, in 5 years?

C: I want a regular role on CSI in America. I would like the opportunity to develop a role over an extended time and I love the forensics. I always learn something new. I’d particularly like to play a psychologist so I have an excuse to study the subject. But I would also like to intersperse filming with the odd play in London; I never want to stop doing that.

JC: Thank you Caroline and good luck!