Years of training in a boxing gym came in handy when Lewis Brophy decided to become an actor. “I was confident, that’s something I got from boxing and from life experiences. I was always outgoing,” says Brophy, whose first big break had a sports connection: he played a younger version of MMA fighter Conor McGregor in a Beats by Dre commercial at age 14 (he is now 21).
Early roles that followed include shorts, Shane Meadows’ series The Virtues and Irish drama Kin, plus some immersive theatre. But having stumbled into acting straight from boxing, Brophy knew he wanted to hone his craft by attending Dublin’s Bow Street Academy. “At Bow Street, I unravelled some bad habits and also worked on accents and learned how to work more in front of the camera,” he recalls.
Since then, Brophy has been trying to show as much range as possible, appearing in Joe Lawlor and Christine Malloy’s Baltimore, an art-heist drama led by Imogen Poots and Tom Vaughan-Lawlor; as a struggling drug addict in 1980s Dublin in Spilt Milk; in Berlinale 2025 prizewinner Christy, set in a rough suburb of Cork; and in Claire Frances Byrne’s coming-of-age drama Ready Or Not, as something of a villain “who is a product of his environment”.
“I love to prep,” says Brophy who tries not to lock in a specific way of working, preferring to “be an open book for every filmmaker, because they each have different approaches”.
Like Barry Keoghan (who grew up nearby in working-class Dublin), Brophy would like to juggle local and international projects for the foreseeable future. He has already written and produced shorts, is “writing a few bits currently”, and is open to directing one day.
Brophy still boxes — for the cardio workout — but acting is now his calling, choosing roles based on “the uniqueness of the character and being able to adapt and try things”.
“My goal is to be versatile and learn from every job,” he says. “It’s an exciting time to be coming into the Irish industry.”
Contact: Gavin Mills, Julie Gordon, Olivia Bell Management
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