Paul Brannigan, an Actor with No Training, is a Star at Cannes… and Did a Nude Scene with Scarlett Johansson

Before this year’s Cannes Film Festival, nobody had ever heard of the actor Paul Brannigan.  That’s because he didn’t exist: though Brannigan was cast in the lead role of Ken Loach‘s whiskey-soaked comedy  The Angels’ Share, he isn’t a trained actor.  Appropriately for a film about unemployment, Brannigan was unemployed when he was cast in the film and, upon his return to Glasgow after Cannes, he still will be looking for a job. 

Brannigan was cast in the role of Robbie after writer/director Loach’s co-writer, Paul Laverty, discovered him working at a community center.  After Cannes, Brannigan admits he will remain unemployed and will still be volunteering at the center.  He explains, “I do four hours a week football (soccer) coaching, and that’s just the way it is.  There’s thousands and thousands of kids like Robbie in Glasgow.” Read more