Amy-Joyce Hastings

Amy-Joyce Hastings kick-started her adventures in the film industry aged eight when she was scouted by Bond Movies casting director Debbie McWilliams for Michael Hirst's screen adaptation of Fools of Fortune (1990). She was cast as Oscar winner Julie Christie's young daughter in the Irish family epic directed by Pat O'Connor, which co-starred Iain Glen and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio. As her next foray the young actress was privileged to screen-test extensively with director Agnieszka Holland at Pinewood Studios for the lead in another literary adaptation - this time Warner Bros' The Secret Garden (1993). Further film and television work soon followed in her teens including several RTE television appearances and a starring role alongside many of Ireland's premiere actors in Lisa Mulcahy's debut film The Very Stuff (1997). She earned a Distinction at University, graduating with a Bachelor in Acting Studies from Trinity College Dublin - where she picked up awards from the Samuel Beckett Centre and the Irish Arts Council. She stars as the title character Kate Loughlin in feature film The Callback Queen (2013), a sparkling romantic comedy set in London's film industry, which had its US Premiere at George R.R. Martin's Jean Cocteau Cinema in Santa Fe. The indie film was later released in UK and Irish cinemas and received two IFTA (Irish Film & Television Academy) Nominations in the 2016 Awards Ceremony. Hastings has starred in an array of award winning feature films, shorts and prime time television drama, notably co-starring opposite Henry Cavill in an episode of Showtime's multiple Emmy winning series Message to the Emperor (2007). Most recently she has completed filming mystery thriller The Green Sea with Katharine Isabelle, directed by Randal Plunkett and her latest release is Len Collin's groundbreaking, critically acclaimed film Sanctuary (2016), which won awards around the world including Best Irish Feature Film of 2017 from the Dublin Film Critics Circle. Her performance as Oonagh in the IFTA-Nominated Lily (2016) , earned her an award for Best Supporting Actress at the 2017 Underground Cinema Awards in her native Ireland. An accomplished theatre actress, her many stage roles include playing Carol in David Mamet's controversial masterpiece Oleanna - a performance which garnered rave critical and audience response - cut-throat socialite Estelle Rigault in Sartre's existentialist classic No Exit, Maggie in the world premiere of The Night Garden developed by the Royal National Theatre Studio and performed at The Northcott Theatre in Exeter, and Cathy Calhoun in the first European production of Orange Flower Water by Craig Wright. She played Shakespearean heroine Miranda in a Summer tour of The Tempest in Ireland, and portrayed Titanic Stewardess Violet Jessop in the world premiere of Iceberg - Right Ahead! at The Gatehouse, London to commemorate the Centenary of the Titanic disaster. Amy-Joyce is also a promising screenwriter and director, her short films having won numerous awards at festivals worldwide. Her professional career sees her travel extensively as she continues to build an impressive résumé, both on stage and screen.