Sweet Charlotte

Charlotte Bradley is a Dublin actress perhaps most widely known for her appearances in RTE's Fair City. Her latest incarnation, however, is as one of the stars in Gerry Stembridge's About Adam, the writer/director's most commercial offering to date and a film which looks set to catapult him, and his cast, into the realms of the Hollywood 'player' set.

Her 'people' have informed me that her tight schedule will permit just a twenty-minute meeting, and she arrives at our rendezvous looking every bit the professional. Strikingly beautiful, immaculately dressed and ever-so-slightly harried, she has been on a rollercoaster of promotional duties since About Adam's release. As she relaxes with a Camel Light and a gin and tonic, we discover some common ground.

"So you lived in Artane as well!" she smiles. "We lived above the chemist at the roundabout. It really is a small world…"

So she would have gone to school at the Convent of Mary in Killester, then; gray uniforms and green shirts as I remember…

"(Laughs) You're right, it was an awful uniform. But, though the colours were drab, I can assure you that the spirit wasn't! In fact it was at school that I discovered I enjoyed telling stories, entertaining friends and family with accents and anecdotes. I was lucky in that my family was very close and loving and always encouraged me to be expressive. I joined the Fairview Theatre Company where I met Brendan Gleeson and other talented actors, and began to realise that this was something I really loved to do."

Charlotte went on to study English and Irish at UCD, but always maintained an interest in the stage.

"Paul Mercier of the Passion Machine approached me to appear in Wasters, and that led to an ongoing involvement and a friendship that's lasted to this day. It was great to be involved in something so innovative and invigorating. The experience I gained through being asked to do, indeed made to do, parts like the maiden in Deictire, successfully paid off in terms of confidence and self-belief."

Following her emergence as a stage actor of note, she appeared opposite Gabriel Byrne in the film Draoicht, directed by Aine O'Connor, and also apeared in Moll Flanders and The Van. Her familiarity with the Irish language made her a natural choice for a major role in Tri Scealta, aired on RTE recently.

Her eight-month stint on RTE's Fair City, brought fresh challenges for the actress.

"It's very different discipline compared to stage and even film, where you're working to just one camera. In television, you're working with up to three cameras so you need to become aware of the format really quickly. If you look at my early appearances on the show there's a lot of shots of the back of my head, but I learned fast!"

About Adam is Bradley's most high-profile role to date, and she gleefully relates the narrative, stressing the importance of the women in the film and speaking of her own character, Alice, in a delightfully gossipy fashion, as if she's a slightly incorrigible mutual friend.

How hard was it for her to get into the soul of a person like Alice?

"Well, while I could never do what Alice does, I can understand why she feels driven to act in a certain way. That's the beauty of acting - it's other people's stories and other people's dilemmas. I could never have an affair with my own sister's husband, but I can see how Alice could…"

How does Charlotte spend her free time?

"What free time?" She laughs. "Seriously, I'm very disorganised when it comes to social occasions, and I'm very lucky to have my partner Joe (Jackson, the arts writer and hotpress contributor) who pushes me into going to the theatre and getting out and about. The temptation when work is going well in this business is to keep on going. Joe makes sure I don't over-do it!"

Is it odd to be going out with a drama critic?

"Well, let's just say we've had some heated discussions, but again it's a shared interest and it brings us closer together in some ways…"

What does Mr Jackson think of her in About Adam?

"I'm afraid you're going to have to ask him that!" she snaps, sounding all at once like a consummate actress.

About Adam is on general release