Kin actress Clare Dunne has revealed she "couch-surfed" before becoming famous.
The Dubliner has opened up about being one of Ireland's "invisible homeless" while working on her first film, Herself, which was released in 2021.
The debut feature, which tells the tale of a Dublin woman who seeks to build her own home after fleeing an abusive relationship, received a standing ovation at the Sundance Film Festival upon its initial release in 2020.
She recalled to Katie Hannon on RTE's Upfront podcast about having no money when she put the production together.
READ MORE: Actress Clare Dunne reveals major American network turned down buying the rights to Kin
"When I walked on the stage and everybody stood up, It kind of struck me in that moment, I think they understood on some level the journey I’d been on to get there.
"It was like they knew the months of my own couch-surfing while I wrote the film, when I had no money and had no work."
While the story of Sandra and her struggle in Herself is based on a fictional story, Clare revealed she took inspiration from her real-life friend.
"What sparked it was, a really close friend of mine, who actually had three kids at the time....she had to officially declare herself homeless on a form, so that then if she ended up not finding anywhere that she could actually go into temporary accommodation," she explained.
"It was a really, really horrible, scary time but also not fair on her because she had done a lot of work on herself and her kids and worked really hard and was very independent and did not want to be a person declaring herself homeless, when that shouldn't have been the case.
"I was just very angry about the whole thing. What happened in that moment was me just fantasising on her behalf, going; 'somebody with her spirit and her determination should be allowed just build their own bleedin' gaff'."
Clare also spoke about starring in Kin and how life-changing the show has been for her.
"It doesn't feel that overwhelming. In fact, you're like, 'Oh deadly, got a request for a selfie there.' So it's lovely. And because the response is so positive about Kin, it's great.
"I get everything from a teenage girl down at the beach when I was swimming the other day, to a young lad in his 20s at the airport to a man in his 50s, to a woman in her 60s.
"It just cuts across all ages and sexes, which I find interesting."
But the actress denied that season three has been greenlit despite multiple reports last summer.
However she did say that she would welcome the prospect: "I'd love to get a third series. If nothing else, just even one more. I think it deserves a trilogy."
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