Aisling Loftus

Loftus discovered her hunger for acting at the Carlton Workshops, in which she enrolled at the age of nine. After several small roles in TV dramas and the occasional film, including Shane Meadows’ This Is England, Loftus received her break in fellow Star of Tomorrow Daniel Elliott’s Berlin Silver Bear-winning short Jade. Her ability to transmit emotion through the subtlest of gestures, as well as having a maturity that belies her youth, has secured the 18-year-old her first starring role in a TV film, Dominic Savage’s coming-of-age drama Dive for the BBC. Working alongside a cast that includes Gina McKee and Ewen Bremner has, says Loftus, helped her refine her approach to acting. “Ewen told me an actor should never demonstrate but should always feel the part,” she says. “He¹s right, because that’s the only way you can share the story with the audience.”