Carnaross teen lands role in new TV series
His father starred for many years in the green and gold of the Royal County, but young Stephen Gillic is set to star in his own right - on the small screen. One of the family of four and a son of PJ and Joanne Gillic from Carnaross, the 13 year-old is currently taking part in Chris O'Dowd's 'Moone Boy', in which he plays the part of Declan, a 'cool kid', who the lead character in the series turns to for protection from other bullies. 'Moone Boy' follows the story of 11 year-old Martin Moone, played by young Leitrim actor David Rawle, growing up in smalltown Ireland at the end of the 1980s. The six-part autobiographical series is written by Chris O'Dowd and Nick Murphy, and is due to air on Sky this summer. Stars taking part include O'Dowd, Steve Coogan, comedian Johnny Vegas, and the series is directed by Declan Lowney, who worked on 'Father Ted'. Stephen is expected to feature in three episodes, and has been filming in Boyle, Co Roscommon, O'Dowd's home town, as well as Wicklow, and will be returning to Wicklow for more filming in a few week's time. It is only a couple of years since the youngster took up acting, when he took part in the drama finals at the Community Games. "I only took it up as something to do," he says. "but I love it. And it's brilliant - a great experience." Stephen says that even if there's a lot of waiting around at times, there's a great buzz on the set, working with the crew, and Chris O'Dowd is great - "very funny, very nice". "I didn't think I'd be able to play the role. It's not my type of character, but that's what acting is all about - being able to change image and character," adds Stephen. He has three days filming left in Wicklow, but for the moment it's back to the humdrum of schooling at Carnaross NS. It's not Stephen's first acting role. He played the younger Martin Sheen in 'Stella's Days' last year, alongside Joey O'Sullivan from Navan, and it was through this that he was asked to audition for his current role by the casting director, who worked on both projects. He also had a part in 'Cluck', a children's short film set in Ireland in the 1960s, filmed at Headfort School in Kells last summer. Stephen's interest in drama began when he saw a notice at school for the drama competitions at the Community Games, and he took part in a sketch which finished fourth in the All-Ireland finals. After that, he joined the Gaiety School of Acting classes in Navan. The Gaiety School has been running classes in Navan since October 2006 and recently introduced a Youth Theatre Company course at the Phoenix Theatre in St Joseph's Secondary School in Navan, to work alongside courses already established in Temple Bar and Cork. As Stephen's acting success shows, the school nurtures a child's natural abilities and enhances their confidence and creativity. The school runs Saturday workshops for young people from the ages of seven to 18 years. Seamus Quinn of The Gaiety School in Navan says Stephen is thoroughly enjoying the experience of working alongside Chris O'Dowd. "It is wonderful to see our young students utilising the performance skills taught in class," he adds. Stephen is one of four children of Joanne and PJ Gillic, and his siblings are Carl (21), Lauren (18) and Luke (10).