PLEASE MEET IRISH ACTOR, MODEL AND MUSICIAN
STEVEN FORDE
1
Please tell us a
little bit about your background;
A: I’m currently twenty one years of
age. I’m from a small town called Fermoy in North Cork in the Republic of
Ireland. I grew up in Tralee, County Kerry until the age of nine, where I and my
family made the move to Fermoy. I loved Kerry and always will, most of my
family are from Killarney and I would consider there to be my home away from home. I
am currently a student in the University College of Cork where I am in my last
year of my Bachelors of Commerce Degree. Music is my passion, my everything and
it’s what I want to do in life and graduating with this degree - it’s not that I
necessarily want to pursue a career in business but I believe it is the
responsible thing to do and all knowledge ascertained can only enhance the
success of my future endeavours be it my music, acting, writing etc.
2
You are a
musician and an actor. Have you always
wanted to be an entertainer or did you aspire to do something else when you
were younger?
A: I can’t think of any time where I ever wanted
to be anything truly other than a performer. Okay, maybe at times you would
watch like a cop movie or ‘Saving Private Ryan’ and you’d be like those guys
are awesome but that was just a phase. I also wanted to be a part of the 'X-Men' and 'The Fellowship of the Ring' ha. Throughout my life I’ve played sports
competitively with a love of Gaelic Football and soccer but my heart always
firmly rested in the arts. I have for as long as I can remember had the
ability to just turn on the stereo, close my eyes and really just get lost in my
own world for endless hours - without moving. It’s hard to explain the effect
music can have on someone. That feeling of transcendence it gifts you, allowing
you to be something bigger than yourself. I would listen to these artists like
Ray Charles, Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Luke Kelly (to name a
few) and I would be in awe. These
weren’t just fantastic musicians but incredible and fascinating individuals.
They meant something to people, to the world. I suppose that’s the ultimate aspiration for
anyone, well for me anyway, that when your time comes the world will look back
on you as someone who generated change and was better off for having you in it.
James Taylor once said: ‘I believe musicians have a duty, a responsibility to reach out, to share your love or pain with others’. I hope to just stay as
honest as possible giving and showing all aspects of myself whether it be the
good or the bad, the deep emotional side, or that wild side which I also
possess. I don’t really know how I found myself doing it through the form of
rap but it just seems to work. It allows me to show the real me and connect
with people through storytelling and imagery. I wouldn’t dare say there is any
real reason why people should listen to my music or watch my performance, I’m
not any more amazing than any other musician or performer, but I believe
everyone has different thought processes, experiences and genes which makes for
a complete unique perspective in performance, sound and story.
3
Is anyone else in
your family and/or friends in entertainment?
A: All my family are very
musical. In typical Irish fashion a family get together wouldn’t be complete
without a sing-song. My family has always been heavily involved in musicals - Killarney musical society would account for the majority of them. My
grandparents, aunts and cousins all took part in various musicals on multiple
occasions. I suppose that’s where my love of the stage came in. From an early
age I was doing pantomimes and plays which allowed me to perform numerous times
in productions in Killarney, Siamsa Tire in Tralee and Fermoy. My family and
friends have repeatedly shown me incredible support even at times where I feel
they do not understand what it is I’m trying to do or achieve. I couldn’t fault
them for misunderstanding, however, as that which I am trying to achieve is
completely alien and unprecedented to them. There were periods where I feel
like I was just trying to find myself and often over indulged in alcohol or
misbehaved, during these moments my friends showed exceptional patience and
stood by me. People may stray apart for whatever reason but I read a beautiful quote before that said: ‘We
all take different paths in life, but no matter where we go, we take a little
of each other everywhere’. I honestly believe I wouldn’t be the person I am
today if it wasn’t for them and whatever success I may achieve in life they can
derive some responsibility for it.
4
Are you professionally
managed or do you represent yourself?
A: Currently I’m representing myself. I
would be open to the idea of management in the future but it would have to be
the right fit. I think it’s important that he/she would have a similar vision
of what I want to achieve and where I want to take this.
5
What do you enjoy
doing in your spare time?
A: Seeing as I’m in college at
the moment, any spare time is really just dedicated to my music. I try and
devote whatever is left in the day to writing, producing and recording new
songs. I enjoy working out and try to do so as much as possible - I feel it’s
important to keep my energy levels up and clear the head. Other than that I
might catch a movie every now and again and hang out with friends.
6
Do you have a
stage name?
A: I never felt the need to. I
think when I set out on this I did so with the premise of being completely
honest and truthful to the audience, revealing all of me and not hide behind a
mask. I would look to the greats such as Michael Jackson, Paul McCartney, John
Lennon etc. none of whom needed a stage
name. I really don’t have anything against people who use stage names, with a
lot of them being favourite artists of mine, but I don’t know just as an Irish
man I’m proud of who I am and if I make it I want to make it for being myself.
7
Have you ever
been bullied?
A: I can thankfully say no.
Where I grew up I was very lucky - in school we had such a close-knit class all
the way through, everyone helped each other out. Okay we would still have that
mocking banter going on like in any school but people knew when it was too far
and if someone was going to get hurt. I think sometimes it might be different
for guys or maybe it was just my class but if there was any ill-feeling between
two students, a little bit of punching and jostling and it would be all over.
Two female students the same age however could be radically hurtful and mean
spirited to each other. I may not have
experienced it myself but through observation and the age of social media you
can see the horrible effects it has on others. It’s a very real and potent
epidemic which exists in our society.
8
Whether you have
been bullied or not, do you feel that the governments and schools around the
world are doing enough to try to combat this problem?
A: Unfortunately I don’t think
they are. There are many cases where children are too afraid to go to school
and their education is affected. Trauma a child could endure from bullying can
very well haunt him/her right into adulthood where their quality of life is
reduced and they aren’t enjoying all that life has to offer. You have to be
careful too at the same time, as on the other side of the scale you don’t want
to shelter a child so much where they aren’t prepared for sometimes hard and
difficult experiences that arrive as they get older. The key is to find the
right balance where ultimately each child can grow up in an environment which
encourages learning and harmonious living. I wish I had the one golden solution
as to how we would go about this but I feel every school and community has
different pupils and children and a different method must be applied to each
accordingly.
9
What more do you
feel that the above could do to try to either decrease this problem hugely – or
eliminate it altogether?
A: With relation to the
previous question I’m honestly unaware of any fool-proof method to decrease
bullying. I am of the belief no child is born to hate it is installed in us
from those before us, so I would really just encourage all parents and
parents-to-be now to preach and teach patience and kindness for others. Show
what it is to be a kind person and set a good example. Other than that maybe
more group exercises where the children are forced to work as teams, hence form
a bond etc.
10
On a personal
level, what would you like to do to help in the fight against bullying?
A: I suppose all I can do is
spread awareness continuously and try to lead by example. I can only promise to
never knock someone else and show compassion for those who have been wronged by
others. If there are those who are suffering if they contact me through my
facebook page, twitter or email I’d be more than willing to talk to them and
let them know they have a friend. I’d love nothing more than to get to know the
person and show support on a more personal level.
11
What advice would
you give to someone who is suffering through this nightmare at the moment?
A: It’ll get better. The
greatest thing you can do to combat a bully is raise your head and keep
smiling. Show them no fear - they can only hurt you as much as you let them. Know that somewhere there is someone who is
suffering the exact same thing - you are not alone.
12
What is on your
professional agenda for the rest of 2014?
A: I’m finishing my last year
of college and I’m going to just write, record and release as much music as I
possibly can. This year is really all about raising my profile and putting
myself on the radar of as many people as possible. There’ll be a few side
ventures as well - hopefully with a couple acting projects on the cards and I’m
currently planning on writing a screenplay, so who knows. Next year I hope to
graduate and begin production of my first studio album.
13
Is there anything
else you would like to include in this interview?
A: This is for a great cause
and I feel privileged to be given the opportunity to help in the fight and
spread awareness.
14
Do you have a
special message you would like to share with the world?
A: Live To Dream.
‘Do one thing every day that
scares you’ - Eleanor Roosevelt
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