RTE viewers have hailed Irish actress and amputee Ruth Codd as a "inspiration" and a "ray of sunshine" as she opened up about her rise to stardom and bullying experience on Tommy Tiernan show tonight.
26-year-old Ruth hails from Ferrycarrig near Wexford town, and she had been working as a make-up artist and then a barber before the pandemic hit and she was forced to move home, and she then began comedic TikTok nun videos. These videos drew the attention of cult horror filmmaker Mike Flanagan, who then casted Ruth in the role of Anya on Netflix's hit series 'The Midnight Club' which aired in October 2022.
The brave Wexford native told Tommy that she broke her leg at the age of 15 while playing football, then when she was 23 and started getting complications in her leg she made the tough decision to get it amputated. Ruth said: "The doctor said for your situation going forward in terms of mobility is to get an amputation. It had been eight years of pain, so I was ready for it."
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The surgery went well, and Ruth learned to move around and she eventually got a prosthetic leg. When asked by Tommy Tiernan if she experienced any phantom pain, Ruth replied that she sometimes feels a "phantom itch."
Ruth told Tommy: "The only thing I get is a phantom itch, if I scratch my prosthetic it goes away," she laughed. Ruth then explained to Tommy how she previously worked in hair and make-up, and how during lockdown she created hilarious TikTok videos where she dressed up as a nun which was inspired by her time at secondary school.
A few months later Ruth would then get her big break after being cast as Anya on Netflix's The Midnight Club, which is about a group of terminally ill teens in a hospice who meet up every night to share spooky tales.
Ruth said: "Just out of nowhere the whole thing took off really by accident, then casting a few months later reached out to me. They said would you like to audition for this show [The Midnight Club] and it was the same people that made Hill House and The Haunting of Blythe Manor, and I'd watched those shows.
"So I was like 'okay, I've never acted before but I'll give it a go' expecting to never hear back they got back to me and told me I got it," added Ruth. Meanwhile, Ruth also spoke out about how she was bullied while at secondary school including one incident where a classmate took her crutches while she was at a party which made her fall.
Ruth said: "Everyone worries if people don't like you, life does beat it out of you. For me the bullying it was more emotional bullying, like leaving you out and talking behind your back."
Social media users were quick to praise Ruth for her bravery. "One person commented: "So so so so so so so loving Ruth Codd! What an original, vibrant, valiant woman."
A second person said: "Imagine being one of the bullies at home watching this. A third said: "What an inspirational woman. @Tommedian Ruth Codd is a Ray of sunshine I'm beaming at the telly watching her she's brilliant."
A fourth person said: "Honestly if anyone is looking for a word to describe bravery it’s Ruth."
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