The actor Niamh Algar was born in Mullingar, Ireland, in 1992. In 2019 she was named one of Bafta’s Breakthrough Brits and in 2021 was nominated for best supporting actress for her role in Calm With Horses. Her screen roles include Shane Meadows’s The Virtues, Ridley Scott’s Raised By Wolves, Prano Bailey-Bond’s horror film Censor, and Sebastián Lelio’s The Wonder. Next, she stars in the Sky Atlantic drama Mary & George, based on the story of the Countess of Buckingham, who is said to have persuaded her son to seduce James I in an attempt to gain power.
1. Music
I have been a fan since I was about 10. I went to see her in Hyde Park with my two sisters and my best friend, and everyone was roughly our age – it felt like we had all grown up with her. Pink has maintained an impressive standard throughout her career: she’s a punk and represents female empowerment. There’s this storytelling to her music, especially to her videos back then – they’re almost like short films. Family Portrait is one of those songs you latch on to. When she played it, it felt like I was that kid again.
2. Film
Oppenheimer (dir Christopher Nolan, 2023)
I’ve made a pact with myself that I’ll always go and watch movies at the cinema, especially films like this which are designed for the theatre. When I looked online, the only available start time was 9am at the Imax, which was exciting for me. It felt like a truly important moment for cinema – it’s been a while since a film has had that impact on audiences, where there was such an impulse to see it in a theatre. I’ve always been a huge fan of Cillian Murphy, and he was extraordinary.
3. Exercise
I spent three months in Cornwall for work recently; every morning we’d go down to the beach and I’d run into the sea. It was the middle of winter, but I’ve always done things like ice baths – I did cross country running and triathlons as a kid and after training we’d jump in the lake. There was a guy teaching the other actors how to surf for a scene, and I went along. You could spend 20 minutes trying to catch a wave, and then you’re on it for about 20 seconds. It’s a beautiful payoff – I can see why it’s an addictive sport.
4. TV
Love on the Spectrum (Netflix)
It’s a reality-TV dating show with people on the autistic spectrum. A friend of mine introduced me to it and I binge-watched the first season in two days. It was the most heartwarming, romantic show I’ve ever seen. There’s something about watching people’s unscripted interactions that fascinates me: it was so honest and unprepared. There’s this one person in particular on the show, Steve – he’s such a gentleman, so lovable. I was watching it and thinking, “I want to be friends with all these people.”
5. Food
Borghiciana Pastificio Artigianale, Rome
I was in Rome with my boyfriend and we’d just seen Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel, and we were starving. I asked some locals where to get food, and they said there’s this little place around the corner. It was a gorgeous, tiny restaurant. We sat outside and had the most incredible pasta I’ve ever had. It was cacio e pepe: just cheese and pepper. I’ve tried to make it at home, but it’s all to do with the quality of the products.
6. Festival
Last July this music festival was held in my home town, Mullingar, for the first time in 50 years, so this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me to go home and celebrate traditional Irish music. It was incredible – they take over the whole town; it’s all pedestrianised, there’s bunting everywhere. It’s all non-professional musicians – apart from one or two, but they don’t advertise – so it’s an opportunity for people who play in pubs or who busk to showcase their sound. For me that was a standout cultural memory.
