How agreeable are you?
I would say, professionally, I’m very agreeable because when you’re a freelancer and you have so many clients on the go at once, I just do what the clients want me to do. That said, in other aspects of my life, my friends and partner would probably say I’m quite determined and stubborn.
What is your middle name and what do you think of it?
I was named after my godmother, who is my mom’s cousin, but they fell out when I was about eight years of age ... I don’t use my middle name at all. I even took it off my passport.
Where is your favourite place in Ireland?
Dollymount Beach. You can walk for five kilometres and not meet anyone, especially on a bit of a horrible day. And then you see the Poolbeg chimneys, the sight of which is a real moment of personal focus every time I’m there. I’m like, there’s the lads. I know I’m home and that I can finally relax and breathe.
Describe yourself in three words.
Persistent. Compassionate. Tired.
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When did you last get angry?
In general, I’m not an angry person. I’m angry at injustice more than anything else, and I think we’re all in a constant state of anger and disbelief that there isn’t enough being done about the genocide that’s happening in Gaza.
[ Ruth Medjber: ‘I don’t need a therapist, because I have a camera’Opens in new window ]
What have you lost that you would like to have back?
I’m quite lucky in that I’ve never lost an awful lot in my life. I consider the greatest loss to be death, and when my dog died, that was the greatest loss for me. That and my campervan burning down a couple of months ago because of an electrical fault in the dashboard.
What’s your strongest childhood memory?
My dad worked in a camera store and would give me these little plastic 35mm point-and-shoot cameras as Christmas present stocking fillers. I had a pink one when I was about three years of age, and it was my first form of expression, before I could even articulate through language. I still remember taking photographs. I did a series on toilet bowls, then light switches, shoes and other inanimate objects. Randomly enough, I was on eBay a couple of months ago and I found the same type of camera for sale. I have it here with me. I’m going to start trying it out to see if I can reclaim some of that three-year-old energy!
Where do you come in your family’s birth order, and has this defined you?
I’ve one older brother, who is two years older than me. It’s quite nice growing up when there’s just the two of you. Our parents gave us a lot of freedom, respect and independence. Because of their trust, I became a very independent child and adult from quite a young age. That helped me build courage for myself as I tried new things and lived in new countries.
What do you expect to happen when you die?
Realistically, feck-all. If I were thinking fantastically, it’d be great if your spirit lived on, but what if you were trapped on Earth without a body? Or without a dog, a camper van, a beach? I mean, could you imagine never smelling sea air again?
When were you happiest?
One of the most recent happiest times took place in 2023. The sun was out, I was with my partner, and I was watching Yusef/Cat Stevens on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury. He sang I Love My Dog, which is one of my favourite tunes, and in that moment, I don’t think I could have been happier. I was bawling my eyes out. I looked over at my partner. He was just laughing at me, and I was, like, absolutely delighted.
Which actor would play you in a biopic about your life?
That’s a hard one. You don’t want to say some amazingly gorgeous celebrity because people will go, what, really?! I’ll probably do a Kneecap and see if I can fulfil the role myself.
What’s your biggest career/personal regret?
I spent too much of my early career helping idiot men with theirs. My life would have been different if I had been a little bit more selfish and if I had had better taste in human beings than I did when I was in my 20s.
Have you any psychological quirks?
If someone on the TV claps their hands, I do the same. If I hear a noise, I repeat it. When I’m home, all the presses and doors have to be closed before I can settle down.
In conversation with Tony Clayton-Lea
