Hazel Doupe: "We really are such a resilient country – and the differences make us the country that we are"

Dublin actress Hazel Doupe is just 22, but she has already portrayed a remarkable array of complex life experiences on screen. Having appeared in films such as You Are Not My Mother, Calm With Horses and The Miracle Club, Doupe really captured Irish audiences’ attention with her leading role in Float Like A Butterfly, where she played a young Traveller girl who dreams of becoming a boxer.

In her latest film Kathleen Is Here, written and directed by Eva Birthistle, Doupe plays 18-year-old Kathleen, who has just aged out of the foster-care system when her mother dies, leaving Kathleen her house. Left alone to fend for herself as an adult, Kathleen’s life is one without support or connection – until she meets her neighbour Dee (Clare Dunne), a young wife and mother who shows Kathleen the kindness and tenderness she has long been craving. But when Kathleen begins to cross boundaries with Dee, we see the depth of her trauma and begin to question how much abandonment – by parents, by the State – is a young person supposed to endure.

Doupe is phenomenal in the role, bringing a complex blend of volatility and childlike innocence to Kathleen, who was never able to enjoy the safety of childhood and often lashes out when rejected.

“Kathleen is such an intricate character, there are so many shades to her personality,” says Doupe. “We see glimpses of Kathleen’s childhood in the film, and I drew on these for inspiration. I feel the reasoning behind so many of her actions in the film are tethered to her past. I think a lot of people experience some sort of fear of abandonment as a child, and we get a glimpse of this with Kathleen in the film. What Kathleen experiences is far beyond what most of us do, so I drew on that and imagined how it might have affected her emotional growth, and the way she operates in the world.”

Doupe did research into mental health and spoke to people with knowledge of the care system in Ireland. For some, the tragic lack of support they are offered when they age out can be devastating.

“I spoke with Martin Heaney and Des Boyle from HEAL in Derry,” says Doupe. “HEAL is a holistic educational programme for people who are ageing out of care. I also watched online interviews with people who live with mental health struggles and personality disorders, who have suffered and endured childhood traumas.

“It was so important to me that Kathleen was represented as a human looking desperately for a place in the world. As an actor, it was my job to understand why she would do certain things, in order to make that place for herself. In the end, I realised what she really needed was safety.”

Describing Eva Birthistle as an “incredible, amazing force and such a trustworthy person”, Doupe says she and the writer-director both have the same desire for the film. Specifically, that audiences see and appreciate the complex human drama so beautifully portrayed, but also that they consider the systemic social issues behind it.

“By the climax of the film, we really want to say, ‘Don’t look away from this person and don’t pretend there wasn’t something that could have been done to ease her suffering, or to protect her from the world that she was thrust into, because it’s not all on her.’ She’s 18 and she was alone in this world. Dee says at one point, ‘An empty house is not a home’, and you can’t expect people living alone with no resources to make themselves ‘useful’ in society.

“We’ve lost so much when it comes to community, and that was exactly what Kathleen needed. She represents so much to me and Eva, especially in the specificity of people ageing out of care, who’ve gone through traumatic things.”

Given the complexity of Doupe’s roles and how often she has played Irish characters left on the margins, battling stigma and isolation, she is acutely aware of the issues facing modern Irish society. Still, she is hopeful that Ireland will continue to battle bigotry and cruelty with compassion and solidarity.

“We see it every Saturday in the marches for Palestine,” says Doupe. “We really are such a resilient country, and the differences make us the country that we are – the different ethnic groups, the different points of view and the different cultures. We’re such a growing society at the moment and it’s so beautiful to see. I definitely am inspired to advocate for the change that I want to see in this country, because, I mean, we’ve been through so much. Why the hell would we force our suffering onto others?”

Doupe will soon be appearing in the FX and Disney+ series Say Nothing, which centres on the Troubles in Northern Ireland and the 1972 abduction and murder of Jean McConville. Doupe will play Marian Price, a former provisional IRA volunteer and the sister of Dolours Price. The actress did not have any contact with Price to prepare for her role, but hopes the series will add some nuance to people’s understanding of the era.

“I hope this series will demystify the Troubles for a lot of people, Irish people as well as the American and English people who watch it,” says Doupe. “It was a very exciting studio to be involved with – I’m a really big fan of FX and the work they produce. It was a dream come true to work on an Irish story on such a massive scale.”

Kathleen Is Here is in cinemas now. Say Nothing will be released on Disney+ on November 14.

Main Portrait Credits
Styling: Maria Patriarca
Hair & Makeup: Terri Capon