Christopher Livingstone: My Upcoming Television Role Will Be in Obituary Season 2 (Actor, Ireland)

Christopher Livingstone Interview

 

"The rush of nerves and adrenaline I got, I knew this was something special and unique. I felt alive and saw hope for the future. "

Q. You began acting quite young—what was the moment when you knew this wasn’t just a hobby but a lifelong path? 

Working with Calipo Productions was the moment my life changed forever. Through my local youth group, the NYP, I was cast in the male lead role in a sharp Focus Short film. This was my first experience of doing acting workshops and being on a film set. 

The rush of nerves and adrenaline I got, I knew this was something special and unique. 

I felt alive and saw hope for the future. There was one moment that stands out to me. I was on set filming a scene, and the director took me aside and said, "I think you should pursue acting as a career after you finish school." That’s the moment I knew the feelings I had were right, and this now was going to be my lifelong path. I finished school and applied to Drama College. 

Q. What’s a role you’ve played that surprised you the most once you stepped into it? 

I would have to say Playing Frank in the stage production Stars In Their Lies, (Drama/Comedy ) at The Smock Alley Theater, Dublin. He was a character who had a mindset very much backwards to the lives that we all live today in a modern world. 

Frank would be expecting his wife to be at home cooking his dinner, doing the washing, ironing, and cleaning, and to have no life other than the home. In fact, I would be the opposite of Frank and would want my wife to thrive in whichever line of work she would like to pursue and grab it with both hands. 

Frank was an interesting soul and maybe had dominating qualities that also needed a woman's help with everything, haha!! maybe a mother figure. The audience at the show thought Frank was funny and laughed because of the absurdity of what he expected from his wife. 

Q. Every actor has a pre-performance ritual—what’s yours before the cameras roll?

A ritual, you know now that you have asked that question, I think I have just realised a recurring trend I have. It starts from the moment I get into the car to head to a performance or film set. 

It could be 5am or 5pm, I’d play the audio of the scene out through the car speakers and recite my lines and the other characters' lines several times. Then stick on a playlist of songs and sing, maybe even dance. 

This gets me out of my head and shakes off any nerves that might be starting to bubble up, getting near the shoot. We all get them; there's no escaping them. Its all about how we manage them. I then arrive at to set and have a coffee. 

A coffee is a must !! It helps me get fired up and focused, then some deep breathing exercises right before the cameras roll. 

Q. If you could bring one Irish historical or literary figure to life on screen, who would it be and why? 

It would have to be poet and novelist Patrick Kavanagh. He’s one of the most renowned Literacy figures through the generations and hails from my hometown of Co.Monaghan, Ireland. 

He came from a farming background, which would be the usual career path to take coming from rural Ireland in the 1930s. But Patrick Kavanagh had a broader mind set than the norm and dreamed of bigger things when he published his first collection and moved to the city, and started the life he wanted. 

This, to me, is how you break the mould—by not just settling into the social norms of what everyone else is doing. Just because someone’s daddy did it, or their mammy did it, doesn’t mean they should feel obliged to do the same. 

That’s history repeating itself. It can be hard to make it outside of a small town, especially in rural Ireland. Still, Patrick is an example that if you persist in your endeavours and overcome the obstacles, you can make it anywhere and become a lasting figure in the world.

Q. If you could switch places with any of the characters you’ve played and live their life for a while, who would you choose and why?

It would have to be Mike from the short film Who’s Your Daddy. He was the first character I ever played. Mike was a distraught teenager from a rough part of town who had no father figure in his life. He was entering adolescence—a very poignant time in any young boy’s life—when he discovered that his father had been living beside him all along.

This revelation pushed Mike into anger and violence, ultimately leading him to kill his father. I became very attached to this character—so much so that, even 20 years later, I often wonder what became of him. Did the trauma of his past affect his ability to live a normal adult life? Does he have a wife and children?

I’d be open to the idea of a sequel, where I could once again walk in Mike’s shoes, return to where it all began, and see where the story takes us. Haha—let’s just say I may or may not be writing a script at the moment. I’ll keep you updated if there are any further developments.

Bio

Christopher Livingstone is an Irish actor from Co. Monaghan, Ireland. He began his acting career at the age of 15, playing the lead role in the short film Who’s Your Daddy.

A graduate of Bow Street Acting Academy – The National Screen Acting School of Ireland – Christopher has since appeared on both stage and screen in a variety of productions. Most recently, he can be seen in the TV series Blackshore (RTÉ/BBC, 2024) and in the docudrama The Queen v Patrick O’Donnell (TG4).

His upcoming television role will be in Obituary Season 2, where he plays Howard (RTÉ/Hulu, Autumn 2025). He also stars in the short film Loretta in the role of Dean, which is soon to make its way through the film festival circuit.

Christopher maintains strong ties to the Irish film industry as an active member of the Irish Film & Television Academy.

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Interviewed by Irene Elina Eldhose