The final episode of Derry Girls left us all a little emotional, but for one talented Co Tyrone actor it was the pinnacle of his acting career so far.
20-year-old James Stockdale from Dungannon appeared as Jenny Joyce’s friend Tomas in the last episode of the hit series on Tuesday.
Having just finished his second year of a law degree this week, James has been kept busy but was beaming with pride as he sat down to watch his performance, which proved popular with audiences.
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Speaking to MyTyrone , James said while he has starred in short films before, appearing on Derry Girls ranks top of the list for him so far.
“To be honest it probably ranks top of the list because of how massive Derry Girls is as a show and everything it stands for,” James said.
“It’s one of the biggest shows to come out of Northern Ireland and Ireland
“I watched all the seasons to date and then the new one as well and I just really enjoy the comedy in it as well as learning about the history and the time period it’s set in.
“I was just delighted whenever I got the call to say I was going to be in the show.
“I’ve always been a fan of the show and being from Northern Ireland myself I have an enormous attachment to the show."
James added he was as surprised as anyone to get the call about making an appearance in the series.
“I starred in a short film called ‘Here’s Looking at You, Kid’ in 2018 and the director for that was Michael Lennox who also directs Derry Girls,” he said.
“I was contacted by the casting agency and informed that there might be an upcoming role in Derry Girls which would be suitable for me to play.
“Tomas is the friend of Jenny Joyce and he’s quite witty and funny and there’s a lot of jokes between me and James on the show.”
Turning 21 in August, James is finding the balance between studying for his degree and acting, but he’s clear what he would choose if it came to it.
“The plan at the minute is probably to go into Law but if the acting were to pick up I probably would just do that full-time.
“To be honest it’s what I enjoy doing the most, it’s just harder to consistently be on the screen.
“I just try to keep on top of everything, setting a certain amount of time aside to do school work and then with rehearsals you need to set that time aside to do what you really enjoy.”
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