Robert Arkins | |
---|---|
Nationality | Irish |
Occupations |
|
Robert Arkins is an Irish musician and actor [1] who played the role of Jimmy Rabbitte in the 1991 film The Commitments.
A native of Drumcondra, Dublin, [2] Arkins has been a professional musician from the age of 15. [3] He left school at 17 to front his band, Housebroken. [1] He is a vocalist, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, who counts piano, bass and trumpet in his repertoire. [1] Housebroken won the Sunday World Bandslam competition in 1988, after only having been established for three months. [2]
With no prior acting experience, Arkins heard of the filming of The Commitments from his sister. [1] Following seven auditions, Arkins was cast as "Deco Cuffe", the band's lead singer, but was replaced in that role after director Alan Parker discovered newcomer Andrew Strong. [4] Arkins was cast as Jimmy Rabbitte, the manager of the Commitments. Parker described the character of Rabbitte as "the glue that holds the whole film together". [5] Despite not featuring as a singer in the film, Arkins did provide lead vocals for two tracks – Treat Her Right and Slip Away – on the accompanying soundtrack album. [6]
Following the release of The Commitments Arkins moved back into music and signed a record deal with MCA Records in 1993, [7] although he did not finish recording the consequent album. [8] He has composed and produced work for a number of commercial clients, television projects, and for two short films. [9] He briefly returned to acting in 1998, in a short film entitled What Are You Looking At?, [4] and again in 2018 in the lead role of the film The Comeback. [10] In 2011, he joined fellow various cast members from The Commitments to perform a series of concerts across Ireland, to celebrate the film's 20th anniversary. [11] This was followed by three dates in the UK in 2012. [11]
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cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (
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Robert Arkins | |
---|---|
Nationality | Irish |
Occupations |
|
Robert Arkins is an Irish musician and actor [1] who played the role of Jimmy Rabbitte in the 1991 film The Commitments.
A native of Drumcondra, Dublin, [2] Arkins has been a professional musician from the age of 15. [3] He left school at 17 to front his band, Housebroken. [1] He is a vocalist, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, who counts piano, bass and trumpet in his repertoire. [1] Housebroken won the Sunday World Bandslam competition in 1988, after only having been established for three months. [2]
With no prior acting experience, Arkins heard of the filming of The Commitments from his sister. [1] Following seven auditions, Arkins was cast as "Deco Cuffe", the band's lead singer, but was replaced in that role after director Alan Parker discovered newcomer Andrew Strong. [4] Arkins was cast as Jimmy Rabbitte, the manager of the Commitments. Parker described the character of Rabbitte as "the glue that holds the whole film together". [5] Despite not featuring as a singer in the film, Arkins did provide lead vocals for two tracks – Treat Her Right and Slip Away – on the accompanying soundtrack album. [6]
Following the release of The Commitments Arkins moved back into music and signed a record deal with MCA Records in 1993, [7] although he did not finish recording the consequent album. [8] He has composed and produced work for a number of commercial clients, television projects, and for two short films. [9] He briefly returned to acting in 1998, in a short film entitled What Are You Looking At?, [4] and again in 2018 in the lead role of the film The Comeback. [10] In 2011, he joined fellow various cast members from The Commitments to perform a series of concerts across Ireland, to celebrate the film's 20th anniversary. [11] This was followed by three dates in the UK in 2012. [11]
{{
cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (
link)