We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Alex Duff. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Alex below.

Hi Alex, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.

My parents were willing to listen and respect my passions even in a society that didn’t respect them. In my home village of Glin in Ireland, farming, bartending and other forms of manual labor were seen as realistic intentions. Writing or filmmaking was considered a hobby, a mindset my mother somewhat had. As a chef, she recognized the benefits of manual labor and business-based jobs. She initially attempted to get me invested in computer-related careers where I would have a schedule and set job. Enrolling me in computer programming classes, I realized that the work was interesting as a hobby but repetitive and stationary as a potential career. After an internship at a website creation studio, I realized working in an office was a job I couldn’t enjoy. I approached my other with my feelings, along with the interest i was taking in film and writing. She was apprehensive, thinking such a pathway would result in either no career, or a simplistic career with no progression opportunities.

Attending university open days, she was willing to attend lectures on my subjects of interest and her opinions changed. She learned of the growing film industry in Ireland and how any film career can lead to progression and great opportunities. In her own words, she was worried about me ‘wheeling around a camera for the rest of your life’ but learned about the vastness of the industry and the importance of starting off with a more simplistic job. She realized you could grow in the industry just like in any other. A career guidance official also spoke of the industry’s benefits and that it was a path worth following as long as I had a safety plan. I did, with a potential career as an English teacher in mind should I fail. She was willing to respect my path as long as I could prove it was worthwhile and progressive.

My father, an events manager in England, was similarly willing to respect my ideas. He had respect for the film industry as his land had housed several film sets, but knew of the difficulty in joining. He recommended a more practical film job such as a Line Producer, but respected that I was more oriented towards creativity. He supported my writing as a hobby, and often asked to read my work. When I completed the first draft of a novel, he volunteered to read it as a pastime. Once he realized its potential, he recommended approaching publishing, being willing to accept that even hobbies can be morphed into careers. He also took respect in the advancements I made as a film extra, and was impressed at my acing talents. He learned to encourage my pathways as he could see my talent and how dedication to a job, no matter how difficult or unstable, can lead to success.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I approached my creative interests in a more sporadic and hands-on approach than others may be used to. Growing up in the rural Irish town of Glin, County Limerick, my interests in creative writing and filmmaking were never seen as a potential career. When I started studying English, Drama and Film at the University College Dublin (UCD) in September 2019 I therefore felt I lacked in experience and knowledge, particularly in filmmaking. My only basis was short story writing which I had learned in secondary school.

The film modules in UCD were more theoretical and analytical rather than practical. I learned the terminology for film shots and staging, but was otherwise oblivious to set etiquette and technique. In 2020, lectures and tutorials moved to remote learning due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. The time spent at home allowed me to reconsider the usefulness of my studies and gave me the chance to conduct independent research. I taught myself how to write screenplays in my spare time, and an introductory creative writing module furthered my language and technique in writing stories. I practiced daily throughout the lockdowns of 2020 and 2021 in both screenwriting and short story writing, and each failed script or story still gave me potential ideas for the future.

Come Summer 2021, I allowed my creative freedom to blossom. I had compiled my best ideas and stories which formed the basis for my upcoming Science Fiction novel ‘The InterFlight Sensation.’ I began writing my first draft based on writing feedback from my creative writing class along with personal research into the requirements and techniques of a novel. I joined MovieExtras.ie to gain further knowledge into the workings of film sets as my screenplays had reached ideas I would like to potentially direct. I secured my first extras role as a college student in the RTE and Acorn TV series ‘Harry Wild’ working alongside actress Jane Seymour. The experience introduced me to the vocabulary and workings of a professional set. Come my 2021/2022 semester of university, I furthered my film knowledge again as I became friends with ‘The Green Knight’ actress Tara Mae, another UCD student. She allowed me to learn that success in the industry is possible at a young age and isn’t dependent on education. Throughout the college year, I also completed my first draft of ‘The InterFlight Sensation’ which was peer read by my father.

In the Summer of 2022, I gave extras work my full attention. I became a regular attendant on the set of ‘Fair City’ which I do to this day, including a speaking role as a bartender. I worked on many other movies and series of various scales, including the RTE documentary ‘Cold Case Collins’ where I portrayed one of Michael Collins’ soldiers and a featured appearance as a Ballroom Dancer in the Hallmark Film ‘A Royal Corgi Christmas.’ Come September 2022, I entered my final college year and COVID regulations were removed from the university. I joined the university’s TV society who specialized in making short films. Due to their tight budgetary restrictions I was unable to form a suitable concept for a short film of my own. I instead co-wrote and directed the society’s collaborative Halloween project ‘UCD Rugby Project’ a horror-comedy based on ‘The Blair Witch Project’ that focused on a University running joke of never seeing our supposedly famous rugby team practice. I used my knowledge from being on professional sets to direct in an orderly yet assertive manner and also learned more about working collaboratively, directing crew, improvising based on last minute technicalities, among other directing challenges. I continued to help the society with various duties throughout 2022 and early 2023, and learned of their intention to organize a UCD Film Festival, Realizing the opportunity, I worked on writing a short film based on the festival’s 3-5 minute requirement.

My short film ‘Three’ was written based on a pervious idea that I could morph to be filmed on a smaller budget. The film followed Kyra, a mute and insecure girl obsessed with the number three. She can only listen to music with beats of three, and her mentality is thrust into chaos when her friend tricks her into listening to Rap. Choosing a theme of mental challenges I was personally familiar with, I took it upon myself to find the most suitable cast and crew. Fellow student and cinematographer Angelo Zabal was capable of using lighting and camera positions to capture the necessary tone. Editor David Connolly had proven his immense skills from his work on ‘UCD Rugby project.’ My chosen actors were fellow extras, former Trinity English student Aine Ni Neill and award winning IADT filmmaker Michael Antonio Keane. I marked this film as my directorial debut as there was no interjection and the film’s success or failure was directly my responsibility. Filmed over the course of one day, I again used my on-set knowledge to maneuver cast and crew and co-ordinate timing and other factors. The film was edited according to my requested schedule and aired at the festival to positive reception.

Throughout the remainder of my university experience and extras work in 2023, my film interests expanded further. My extras work made me realize I had an interest and natural talent for acting. I used this to my advantage, and starred as the protagonist in David Connolly’s short film ‘In Dreams’ which also premiered at the festival. Griffith College student Polina Safonova, whom I had met on the set of the upcoming independent feature film ‘Dreamtown’ also contacted me regarding a short film she was making. I portrayed the protagonist in her short film ‘Touch.’ All of these projects, along with editing my novel, kept me occupied until Summer 2023.

Once I had completed my studies, I progressed with work on ‘Fair City’ and contemplated my next projects. Fellow extras and friends Indah O’Reilly and Karma Boleyn expressed interest in a collaborative project based on their career interests as aspiring actors. W e agreed such a project would benefit us all, and brought Michael Antonio Keane on board as director. Planning the story collaboratively led to the ides for the we series ‘Party Favor.’ a thriller series following the mysterious friendship of partygoers Max, Jessica and Jack, much to the suspicion of Max’s boyfriend Matt. which I could write and have a main role in. The project is currently in pre-production with filming planned for October. I used the free Summer months to plan my next short film, ‘The Discreet Invasion,’ for submission at Westival, an arts festival, and which will be filmed in September, I completed a final edit of my novel, which is currently being proofread before a planned self-publishing.

My progress as an actor, writer and filmmaker came from developments in hands-on work and experience, rather than traditional research and education. With a mixture of self teaching, on-set realizations and observations and meeting fellow aspirers to collaborate with, I learned the requirements and my own angles and talents in approaching action, writing, filmmaking, or a mixture of these careers.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I suffer from a dose of over-ambition. No matter where I am in life and in my creative journey, I am always aspiring to move to a greater level. If I were to pick the ambition that would most satisfy me for life, it would be to have complete independence over the writing, directing and producing of a feature film. I feel the majority of popular movies are suffering from production input that reduces the skills and visions of the director. Take J.J Abrams in ‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’ for example, where production’s demand for fanservice and particular story directions led to drawbacks in Abrams script and ultimately less heart going into the film. As such, I am driven by the prospect of handling all production factors myself, including showcasing the project for funding, handpicking my own actors and crew, deciding the necessary direction and little interference with my script other than the necessary peer reviews to approve its standard. Taking personal responsibility for all these factors is, in my opinion, the most beneficial to me as a writer and director. My entire heart and passion can be set free to orient the project and I won’t face drawbacks from peers. As such, a finished production would, at minimum, mean something to myself and others. Even if it were to be a critical or financial failure, it would always have meaning and inspiration behind it.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

The slow and somewhat reclusive process has definitely confused and somewhat irritated others, particularly when I am in the early stages of planning a short film or writing my novel. Non-creatives are stereotypically used to leaving the house daily, working a fixed schedule and, at the end of the day, seeing the results of their work. My results are not so visible. An entire day can be spent in my bedroom or library, researching for or editing a screenplay, hiring or coordinating a crew, planning a shot list or many other pre-production factors. Such jobs do not show immediate effort or success to non-creatives and there are many days where hours of my effort result in results non-creatives will not even understand. Work-related outings are similar. Scouting a location often requires a full day’s effort, including the location hunting for my upcoming short film ‘The Discreet Invasion.’ An entire day was spent in Bray, County Wicklow. The need for hillside and forest areas meant many hours were spent hiking, taking notes and photographs and trying to weave my film’s narrative around the scenery and settings I had on hand. I came home with a plan, but no massive physical result of a day’s work. Compare this with my family’s jobs, including my mother working as a chef, my father a manager, and my sister a science student, and physical results are mandatory in each of their lives. When they don’t see or understand my results and the necessity of my daily jobs, they see me as either slacking or trying to overstimulate a meaningless job. There is a general misunderstanding that even jobs that sound unnecessary are of major importance to a film’s success and even if results aren’t seen after a day, they will play a major role in the creation of a finished film.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/duff2390?utm_source=qr&igshid=NGExMmI2YTkyZg%3D%3D
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alex.duff.7545
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/alex-duff-3151811b2
• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm14867734/

Image Credits
In Dreams (Short Film) Touch (Short Film) Nothing Nice to Say (Short Film) Dreamtown (Feature Film) Fair City (Television Series) The Make-Believe (Short Film)