Luke Corcoran
as ROBBIE WHELAN
Luke Corcoran is both an Irish Film Academy and a Gaiety School of Acting alum hailing from Dublin, Ireland. He was a skilled an accomplished MMA fighter and coach for many years before giving it up to pursue his dream of becoming an actor. From the first steps of his career he was cast in lead roles such as in the short films MacCumhaill (2016) and Desmond (2016) where he played their respective eponymous roles, and in 2017 he was cast in a supporting role in Damian O'Callaghan's feature film Tradition (2018) alongside Brendan Grace and Paul Ronan. His aforementioned combat skills also landed him a place on the stunt team for the AMC series Into the Badlands (2015-).
Since honing his acting skills Luke has found himself to have a talent for screenwriting, and aside from playing the lead in Follow the Dead, Corcoran is also credited as executive producer, third assistant director, and stunt coordinator.
He has also written countless short plays, and put them on at different events under the title Purgatory: Archaic, and his first full-length play The Eight had its debut in the Central Arts theatre in Waterford, to much acclaim from local critics.
“Robbie has had a lot of life happen to him… I think he’s kinda frustrated with his life… no matter how successful he is… he’s still frustrated with life and thinking… for me, it’s that struggle that there’s something more… he’s unhappy that even though he has everything he wants, it’s not what he needs.” - Luke Corcoran
Tadhg Devery
as RICHARD “CHI” WHELAN
Tadhg John Devery was born in Galway, Ireland, and raised in the midlands in county Offaly. He is the eldest of four children born to Marie (Grogan), a health care worker, and Tim Devery, who works for an energy company as well as running his own cattle farm. Tadhg tried his hand at diverse jobs before deciding to commit himself to acting including training and working as a carpenter, having completed a four year apprenticeship that took him all over the country. Once certified, he spirited away to Australia where he plied his trade for seven years. During that time he was coerced by a friend to take up acting. He joined the Sydney Drama School, and has dedicated himself to the craft ever since.
In 2015, Tadhg brought his new skills back home to Ireland where he’s been getting a landslide of acting jobs. These have ranged from short films, to radio plays, and a small part in The Cured (2017) starring Elliot Page, and fellow Irishman Tom Vaughan-Lawlor. But Tadhg is best known for gracing Irish TV screens, car stereos, and the World Wide Web with his numerous commercial roles, including Expert Electrical as Mr. Expert, AutoXpress, and most famously Tipperary Crystal’s Christmas advert.
He's been directed by Adam William Cahill on a number of projects before Follow the Dead, having initially met when he was cast in Cahill's sci-fi short Inertia (2016). The two have since written and produced a short narrative drama titled Loose Thread together, with Tadhg playing the lead role.
During the COVID pandemic, Tadhg refused to let it force him into idleness. He instead chose to double down on his writing and acting, and has created a whole cast of characters, all of which played by himself, such as Seamus the retired plumber, Kenneth the interior designer, and a satirical reimagining of Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin, and Deputy Prime Minister Leo Varadkar. These sketches can be found on his Facebook and Instagram pages.
“The Chi is a very opinionated, funny, someone you’d like to hang out with… I think there’s a ‘Chi’ probably in every county in Ireland. He thinks he knows a lot about everything but he knows nothing about everything. A raging socialist living off the dole. Just sits at home, loves his films, loves his cartoons, and his bit of weed.” - Tadhg Devery
Marybeth Herron
as LIV WHELAN
Marybeth is an Irish/English actress born in Birmingham and raised by her parents, Beth (Roberts) and Laurence Herron, in the small seaside village of Ardara in Donegal with her seven siblings.
She’s had a love for music and dance from a young age, studying ballet and tap as well as guitar and piano. During her teenage years at St. Columba's Comprehensive Secondary School Marybeth was involved in two productions at her school with The Young Americans. Her love for languages and Asian culture led her to study a degree in Translation (French and Japanese) in Dublin City University, and in 2012 she spent an exchange year studying in Kyoto University of Foreign Studies. While in university she began modelling and has done work for various photographers in Ireland and Japan.
After graduating, Marybeth sought out acting opportunities and got in contact with director Adam William Cahill for whom she accepted the role of Christine in Inertia (2016). After this, she went on to study Acting for Camera with the Irish Film Academy under the tutelage of Rachel Sarah Murphy (known for playing Jo in RTÉ's Fair City).
”She’s (Liv) trying to overcompensate for a kind of a shitty situation. And she’s just trying to create the opposite of that situation by seeking validation. She looks like she gets on better with her cousins, but actually it’s Robbie’s approval she’s seeking.” - Marybeth Herron
Luke Collins
as JAY WHELAN
Luke Collins was born in Dublin to Mark and Marie Collins, both former staff members of Jury’s Hotel. With both family lines having been rooted in Ireland for years, Luke is a Dubliner by heart. From an early age he was fascinated by films, especially the actors and their craft. Having a particular fondness for the Western genre, he spent countless hours admiring the works of Clint Eastwood, John Wayne, Clint Walker, and more. His love for the period settings of these films also bred a deep interest in historical studies. In school he would emulate his heroes by acting out war stories, often of his own making. His teachers and peers would often remark as to the scale of his imagination, and how well he was able to immerse himself into those stories.
The first seed of encouragement to pursue a career in the creative arts came after his father had left his steady job with Jury’s to pursue his passion for music. That seed was later watered when his English teachers, having seen how adept he was at dissecting Shakespeare - to the edification of his fellow students - persuaded him to take up a course in theater acting. He auditioned for the Dublin Youth Theatre into which he gained acceptance in 2008. Since then he has never been off the stage, performing several plays each year. In 2011 he joined Bull Alley Theatre Training Company. The four years that followed were intense as he would play a multitude of roles in everything from Greek plays to contemporary, from comedies to drama, and from minor to lead roles. His deftness at character acting gave each role a very distinct voice and personality.
Since college he has set up a production company with fellow thespian and director Ian Anthony, The Collective Productions. Together they write, produce, and perform their own original pieces. In 2017 they put on Hubris, an Ian Anthony creation, through which they met Luke Corcoran who played supporting character Jimmy. Corcoran went on to introduce them to Adam William Cahill of Wild Stag Productions. The rest, as we’ll see, is history in the making.
“Jay is one of the lovable comic reliefs of the movie who wants to be like his big brother, [but] isn’t, he has more brains about him. No one takes him seriously, and no one understands him really. He’s always gonna be a loner, a little bit. But he’s the first one to kind of register something’s not right, this isn’t just a blackout, this isn’t just a couple of young fellas making trouble, this is actually something a lot bigger. And everyone’s telling him no, and everyone’s dissing that idea, and he’s like ‘No, there’s something going on here. listen to me.’ And then when s**t hits the fan, so to speak, he’s kinda like, ‘Told you so!’… whilst running away.” - Luke Collins
Cristina Ryan
as KATE WHELAN
Cristina Ryan was introduced to the performing arts at a young age. She trained as a ballet dancer and was a member of the Billy Barry stage school. Growing up she took part in several 'Acting for Film' courses at the Gaiety School of Acting and studied classical violin and piano at the Royal Irish Academy of Music. She completed a Bachelor of Music degree at the Royal Academy of Music, London and then returned to Ireland to do a Masters in Music Performance at the Royal Irish Academy of Music. Ultimately, she decided to pursue her love of acting and trained at the Irish Film Academy.
With a strong background in music she has been involved in several stage musical productions including The Sound of Music, My Fair Lady, Guys and Dolls, and Les Miserables, to name a few. She is best known for playing Celine in the tv series Northsiders (2015-), and Claire in the Irish web-series Personal (2017-). 2017 was an illustrious year for Ryan, having starred in award winning features Thank You Come Again and RedRoom, along with Zenith Protocol and CON. She also starred in several dark psychological thrillers including Behind Closed Doors, The Switch, Hostage, and Skylar, and comedy shorts Dirt and Twitchy. Television appearances include Vikings (2013-) and RTÉ's Damo and Ivor (2013-).
“Kate is an extremely honest person. I think she has her head screwed on properly, and her primary motivation throughout the film is to support people and get them to safety.” - Cristina Ryan
Ian LAWLESS
as ZIPPY
Ian Lawless is an actor, writer, and director who started off in the Dublin Youth Theatre, performing in shows such as Martin McDonagh's The Cripple of Innish Man, Emmet Kirwan's Half Three Heroes, and Broken Talkers' This is Still Life. In his directing he has taken on Edna Walsh's Chatroom, Luke Collin's Ladies and Rogues, and The Damned, Joseph Ryan's Tricycle of Horrible Notions, and he has assistant directed in the Dublin 24 Hour Plays. He independently produced a play for Bewley's Café Theatre where his debut show Horsepower received a strongly positive reception. Has has since co-founded The Collective Productions with fellow actor Luke Collins, for which he wrote and starred in Hubris at the Sean Ó Casey Theatre. He is also a qualified drama facilitator.
AIDAN O'SULLIVAN
as GARDA HORAN
Aidan O'Sullivan hails from Letterkenny in County Donegal. From his childhood he always loved watching television and films. His father, an English teacher, was also an actor who performed in plays around Donegal. Seeing his father on stage from an early age Aidan thought he would like to be up their too some day. He saw an ad in his local Donegal newspaper for a position as an actor at a well know local theatre in Ballybofey, Donegal for which he applied and got the job. After an enjoyable and rewarding time with the Balor Theatre, Aidan studied in Sligo I.T. for 4 years and obtained an honours degree in Performing Arts. After college he performed in various plays in An Grianan Theatre back home in Letterkenny.
A year later he decided to make the move to Dublin to pursue a career in film and television. Since then Aidan has acted in numerous plays, short films, feature films, comedy sketches, music videos, and live performances. He also studied comedy improvisation with John Dawson of Second City Comedy Club Chicago. As a result Aidan joined together with other comedy improvisers and set up their own troupe, where they performed once a week in a Dublin city centre venue. After watching James Gandolfini on Inside the Actors Studio explain how the Meisner acting technique opened him up more for film acting, Aidan took note and when he saw that Momentum Studios were starting a Meisner acting course, he applied straight away.
His first feature film role came in 2015 with Night People. He has continued to train as an actor for screen with Graham Cantwell of Film Venture and with Terry McMahon. He has a regular position with Down to Earth community arts theatre, in which he performs in educational plays in schools. He is also a Voiceover Artist with Volcanic Voiceovers. He capped off 2017 by appearing in the feature film Tradition alongside Brendan Grace, Paul Ronan, and fellow Follow the Dead star Luke Corcoran, and this year he begins training with Bow Street Film Academy.