Entertainment

Arts Q&A: Lola Pettigrew on Foo Fighters, The Human League and Anna Burns

Jenny Lee puts performers and artists on the spot about what really matters to them. This week, Belfast actress Lola Petticrew

Lola Petticrew is currently starring in Derry-set movie A Bump Along the Way
Lola Petticrew is currently starring in Derry-set movie A Bump Along the Way Lola Petticrew is currently starring in Derry-set movie A Bump Along the Way

1. When did you think about a career in acting and what were your first steps into it? When I was in primary school I used to make up little plays with a pal and put on little bits for the class and other classes. I didn’t take it seriously until one of my pals Anto Boyle got into drama school and then I thought, maybe it was really a possibility for me.

2. Best gigs you’ve been to? I saw Foo Fighters in Belfast recently with my close friends. They soundtracked a lot of our teenage life and Dave Grohl is an incredible showman. I also really enjoyed Lauryn Hill last Christmas. I was actually meant to go see Christine and the Queens but she cancelled last minute.

3. Fantasy wedding/birthday party band? The Human League. You can't beat synth pop to get everyone going.

4. The record you’d take to a desert island? The Cure Greatest hits because I love them and it reminds me of growing up and my wee daddy. He put their songs on my first iPod and then I would sneak in to his room and steal the tapes.

5. And the book? Milkman by Anna Burns. It’s outstanding. I’ve read and re-read it.

6. Top three films? Her, The Godfather and The King of Comedy.

7. Worst film you’ve seen? I really don’t want to answer that. You’re not going to love all art and that’s actually a really good thing.

8. Favourite authors? Anna Burns, Sylvia Plath and my best friend Lauren Kerr. The short story she wrote for her creative writing dissertation blew me away. I also just want to throw in that I read Emile Pine's Notes To Self quite recently. It was brutally emotional and I want everyone to read it.

9. Sport you most enjoy? I was never much into sports. Then I met my boyfriend and he is mad about GAA. His passion for it is incredible and it made me see sports very differently. He’s from Maynooth in Kildare, so my first time in Croke Park was watching a Kildare match.

10. Ideal holiday destination? I went to Berlin with my boyfriend shortly after we met. The nightlife is incredible and the city is so expansive and beautiful. I’d love to go to Copenhagen or Prague.

11. Pet hate? People who lather mayonnaise over everything. Pure boke.

12. What’s your favourite:

Dinner? Chicken Madras.

Dessert? I don’t have a very sweet tooth.

Drink? Merlot or Blue WKD.

13. Who is your best friend and how do you know each other? I still have the same core friends I had in school – Lauren Kerr, Mary Gyles, Rachel McCarney and Matt Walsh. They’re all amazing, talented, kind human beings who have taught me more than I could ever thank them for.

14. Is there a God? I don’t believe in God. I believe in being a good person, in kind energy, words and actions. What some people may feel in the love of God, I feel in the love of my family and friends.

:: Lola Petticrew stars in A Bump Along the Way which is in cinemas now.