Movie makers ‘fell in love’ with Carlow’s Emmy

EMMY Nolan’s ascent as an actress continues unabated as she stars in a major movie franchise that’s just been released in cinemas.

The ten-year-old from Carlow town plays a pivotal role in The Conjuring – Last Rites, which was made by movie giants Warner Bros.

Her mother, Shauna Ray Lacey, runs the SRL Talent Agency and is also an agent. It was particularly touching for the mother and daughter duo that Emmy is the first member of the agency to star in a major feature film. She plays a younger version of one of the main characters in the story, with her role pulling the whole plot together.

“Emmy is my first ever feature film booking. It was the icing on the cake. She had to go through a whole series of auditions. She had to sing a piece that ties the film together; she had to bring so much sorrow into the song, crying on demand. The Americans making the movie fell in love with her,” said Shauna.

Emmy, a pupil at Gaelscoil Cheatharlach, spent several weeks in England last year filming and was accompanied by her dad John. She even had an on-set tutor so that her schoolwork didn’t suffer.

And even though the film is a horror movie, Emmy wasn’t shown anything scary. She was allowed to watch her own showreel from the film.

“She wasn’t subjected to anything scary at all. She had to perform emotional scenes at the beginning and the end of the film,” explained Shauna.

A born entertainer and actress, Emmy was in her element while filming.

“She started acting when she was small. She got involved with stage school classes when she was about two and got her first voice-over job at the age of four. When she’s in front of the camera, she’s in her natural habitat. Anything to do with acting or performing, she’s in her element,” said Shauna proudly.

Emmy was also handpicked by Saoirse Ronan, who started out as a child actress from Carlow, for an acting and auditioning workshop recently. There were only four participants in the class, with Emmy being by far the youngest.

“She absolutely loved it! She loved being with Saoirse. It was fantastic for her!” concluded Shauna.

Watch this space …