Creatives in Trinity: An interview with Jordanne Jones

Trinity News speaks to the up-and-coming actor and Trinity student

Prior to her most notable acting role in Irish director and actor Hugh O’Conor’s film Metal Heart, Trinity student Jordanne Jones had already experienced life in the limelight as the daughter of the famed Lynn Ruane. As an independent senator currently serving in Seanad Éireann with previous experience as President of Trinity College’s Students’ Union, Ruane is a tough act to follow. Be that as it may, Jones has done well to make a name for herself within the Irish film industry and as a budding activist. 

Her success in the world of activism, she says, is due in large part to Ruane’s lifelong status as both an activist and an advocate of issues pertaining to justice and equality“My mom initially introduced me to activism and I’m so grateful that I am now able to engage in political and social conversations,” Jones admits. “It has made me a very strong, opinionated woman, so I am very happy my mother encouraged that in me from an early age.”

“Seven years later, as a nineteen-year-old English and film student attending Trinity, the Metal Heart protagonist credits her talent company all the same.”

At the age of 12, Jones began her acting career with the help of her “amazing agency which has helped [her] land auditions.” Seven years later, as a nineteen-year-old English and film student, the Metal Heart protagonist credits her talent company all the same. In regards to her success as an actress, she admits that she has “been very lucky to have been signed to an agency eager to attain auditions on [her] behalf and promote [her] as an actor.” As for the origin of her dream to become a successful film personality, she acknowledges that she has had a desire to work as an actor since she was a young child. She says: “I’ve always been a film buff, so growing up, I have always been inspired by actors and performers’ respective works.” 

     Though her most recent feature in O’Conor’s movie is arguably her best known acting role, Jones credits her first acting job, Frank Berry’s I Used to Live Here, as being her favorite experience thus far in her career: “My favorite has to be I Used to Live Here because I never dreamed of actually being able to act. The prospect of being in a serious film seemed much too far-fetched.” Jones describes landing the part as “a dream come true”, because she finally realised that she was considered good enough at what she does to play the part and emerge successfully.   

“My favorite has to be I Used to Live Here because I never dreamed of actually being able to act. The prospect of being in a serious film seemed much too far-fetched.”

When asked what exactly the acting and film scene in Dublin is like, Jones concedes her awareness of the difficulty of getting noticed in Ireland. She also adds that she hopes to see progression and development within the industry in the coming years: “because we have so much talent here.” Humbled by her personal success at such a young age, Jones fantasizes about one day working with Irish talent such as Colin Farrell and Robert Sheehan.

While it is no secret that Trinity has had its fair share of celebrity alumni in attendance over the years, such as Hozier and Mary Robinson, it appears as though Trinity students are unable to spot famed stars until after these musicians, actors, and political advocates finish their degrees. In regards to this, Jones admits that she has yet to be noticed on campus, although she is often noticed by customers at her job in the Science Gallery which she describes as “hilarious”. Although she has featured in a number of short films, such as actor and playwright Emmet Kirwan’s spoken word Heartbreak and the RTÉ series Rebellion, Resistance, and Dead Still, which is due to be released soon, she finds the idea of her being an Irish celebrity comically flustering.

“Leaving college and my friends would be heartbreaking but if I felt like I needed to do so for a great opportunity, I would.”

Despite adoring her course and the general buzz associated with student life both on and off campus, Jones remarks that she doesn’t think she could live with herself knowing that she turned down a promising acting role in the effort of continuing her college degree“leaving college and my friends would be heartbreaking, but if I felt like I needed to do so for a great opportunity, I would.”

Though dedicated to her degree and pursuing her academic and social life at Trinity, Jones may soon enough establish herself as the next big female face of Irish film. Keep an eye on Jordanne Jones, because if she in any way resembles her exceptional mother, she will be the most influential female icon to grace Irish popular culture in years.

Maeve Harris

Maeve Harris is the Life Editor of Trinity News, and a Senior Sophister student of English Literature.