For his most recent leading role, farmer-turned-actor Joe Mullins got to stay close to home.
Mr Mullins has recently starred in a new feature-length film, ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’, directed by US director Kevin Pontuti, which was shot at The Kennedy Rooms in Bruff, Co Limerick.
The film, set in the 1890s, charts a woman’s descent from mild post-natal depression into isolation and madness when confined by her husband; it’s based on a short story by US author Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and is considered an early example of feminist writing from the United States.
Mr Mullins’ female lead was the American actress, Alexandra Laureth.
“I play John, the husband who decides that his wife needs to be confined because of her post-natal depression,” Mr Mullins explained.
Having started acting with the Palace Players in Fermoy and Kilworth, Mr Mullins’ first feature film role came with the award-winning ‘Pilgrim Hill’, directed by Irish director Gerard Barrett, in 2013.
Mr Mullins said he’s very proud of his work on ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’, which is a Gothic period drama. “When I received the script, it was really beautiful and I worked very hard to get the part,” he said.
“It deals with issues of mental health and equality in the 1890s,” he said. “But these are issues that are still current and that people can relate to today.”
But it might be a while before Irish audiences get to see him in his leading role. “It will go and do the festival circuit in the States, and I think at present, they are talking to distribution companies for after that,” Mr Mullins explained.
