AISLING FRANCIOSI REMINDS US THAT COMPLEXITY ISN’T OPTIONAL
by J.L. Sirisuk
Aisling Franciosi is a chameleon. She’s able to slide into a character so seamlessly that nuance seems to course through her naturally. Her Irish-Italian upbringing, moving between languages, cultures, and ways of seeing the world, shaped a sensibility attuned to the subtle shifts that define a person. It’s this instinct for detail, in gesture, in speech, in a single glance - that makes her performances feel intimate and alive. From her breakthrough as Clare in Jennifer Kent’s The Nightingale, to her turns in The Fall, God’s Creatures, and Twinless, Franciosi has built a career inhabiting the edges: moments of quiet tension, fractured grief, and dangerous desire. Now in her most recent role in Netflix’s The Abandons, a sweeping Western created by Kurt Sutter, Franciosi embodies Trish Van Ness, a woman whose ambitions, secrets, and contradictions ripple through every scene, showcasing her uncanny ability to navigate the messy, thrilling complexity of human desire.
J.L. Sirisuk: The first film I saw you in was The Nightingale and I already knew you were a talent to keep my eye on.
Aisling Franciosi: Thank you.
J.L. Sirisuk: You grew up between Ireland and Italy. Growing up between different cultures and countries, did it give you a stronger sense of who you are, or help you in terms of being able to understand other perceptions?
Aisling Franciosi: I feel very lucky that I’ve always had quite a strong sense of self, and I've often asked my mum how she managed to instill that in me. I have a very good relationship with my dad, but I mostly was growing up with my mom. I do think you're right - there probably is something in that kind of switching of identities. When I was in Italy, I would be speaking in Italian; the language also had an effect on that too. I find that every language has its own identity, its own characteristics. And you do change slightly, I find I do anyway, even in my mannerisms when I'm speaking in Italian or in French or Spanish. My friends used to point it out to me, too. They'd say, "You're kind of different when you're speaking on the phone to your dad in Italian." When you spend a lot of time in other cultures, you do see that not everyone does things the same way. There are subtleties in the way that people, even as a culture or at a population level or on a family level, see things. So there probably is something to that in getting used to seeing things from different perspectives.
J.L. Sirisuk: Before acting was a career for you, how did creativity show up in your life?
Aisling Franciosi: I was a pretty imaginative kid. From the outside I might have seemed like a bit of a quiet kid. I didn't remember not seeing myself that way. I was in my head, imagining a lot of things and living up there a little bit. But also was lucky in that my mum said: "Oh, you want to do speech and drama classes in Ireland." It's a pretty common thing for kids on a Saturday. But a lot of people go without intention of doing anything with it; it’s a way for kids to get confidence. Storytelling and performance are a big part of Irish culture, so I think it comes from that too. I did my first class on a Saturday and I thought, “Oh, I want to do this.” I was only about six years old, so I've known I've wanted to be an actor since I was really little. I dipped in and out of school plays, played music, sang. My parents always encouraged the creative in us, me and my siblings, but I was the only one who deviated and decided to do something with it career-wise.
J.L. Sirisuk: You actually knew when you were six.
Aisling Franciosi: Yeah, I had no idea how I would go about it. I just knew I loved performing. As I got older, I realized I actually would love to be an actor. It was daunting because I didn't know anyone in the industry. I was also quite academic, so my parents were encouraging that too, which I understand. But thankfully it worked out.
J.L. Sirisuk: When roles started coming in, can you recall the moment when you knew acting was definitely the path?
Aisling Franciosi: I was studying languages in college and had already gotten a couple of roles while juggling my studies. Then I got a series called The Fall. I do remember getting paid to do theatre too, but when I got The Fall and realized it was a TV show, I thought, “Maybe I could do this for a living.” In my final year, I got offered a different TV show and decided to leave college to pursue it. For a while, I felt almost, not embarrassed, but I didn't have the right to say that's my job until I was making a living myself, which I was grateful for. That was the moment I could say I actually am doing this as my work, as an actor.
J.L. Sirisuk: I'm interested in the evolution of an artist. Your early work, like The Fall or The
Nightingale, compared to now - are there beliefs about yourself or your process that you've let go of?
AislingFranciosi: Yeah, I'm really grateful for the roles I've played. A lot were heavier, more
psychological, even genre pieces. With something like The Nightingale, it was saying something
important, exploring themes on screen, which felt gratifying. But in the last couple of years, I realized
it's okay to want to be in something that provides people joy. Twinless, for me, was new and
challenging. Seeing people laugh in the theater at something I was part of was a lovely feeling. I used
to feel I had to justify my choice to be creative, that it had to be serious, hard, meaningful. I've let go
of that a bit - it's okay to have fun too.
J.L.Sirisuk: You play layered characters with complex emotional spaces. When a script falls into your
hands, what hooks you?
AislingFranciosi: First, the writing. If the writing is solid, I want to keep reading. With The Abandons
- I’d never been asked to play the rich girl in town who has a love story. That was intriguing. With
Twinless, I wanted to show I could do more than depressive or psychotic roles. I don’t like being
confined to one type. Whenever a script makes me think, “This is well-written, and someone sees me
differently,” it excites me
J.L. Sirisuk: How did The Abandons come to you? How did Trisha Van Ness enter your life?
Aisling Franciosi: I got sent the pilot and read it. Westerns are having a bit of a resurgence. This one was interesting with two matriarchs at its center, rare for a Western. Trisha shocked me because I don’t usually get the love interest, rich girl role. Netflix is a big streamer; I’d never done that scale before, so I took a leap of faith. I had a lot of fun. Some days I thought, “I can't believe this is my job.” I didn’t know anything about her arc - it was a leap of faith to discover what happens as we go along. Trisha got a very good arc, which was fun.
J.L. Sirisuk: Were parts of Trisha instinctive to you while others required searching within yourself?
Aisling Franciosi: Her desire to live a big life, not be confined by her family or society, resonated. But I’m not as impulsive with actions or emotions as Trisha, especially in love. That required some internal work. That’s part of the fun, to feel what that feels like through playing her.
J.L. Sirisuk: Did the landscapes, costumes, environment shape how you embodied Trisha?
Aisling Franciosi: Filming on location is incredible. Being in such a distinctive world, with textures, horses, sounds, music, sets, costumes - you’re spoiled as an actor. You just step into it and worry about your character.
J.L. Sirisuk: Were there any challenges experienced?
Aisling Franciosi: Signing up to play a character without knowing her journey was new. I’d only done roles where I knew my character’s arc from start to finish. It was good to learn to give over control. As an actor, you rarely control the finished product - which take they use, what scenes remain. Here, I discovered her existence as we went along. It was daunting but enjoyable, almost like experiencing her life in real time.
J.L. Sirisuk: At this point in your career, what stories or emotional worlds are you curious to explore?
Aisling Franciosi: I’d love demanding roles like TheNightingale, tackling heavy subjects. I’m also open to comedy -scary but a new muscle. I want to get back to theatre, work with inspiring people, even do musicals or action movies. I want to experience it all, not be confined by “the right move,” because predicting that is impossible.
J.L. Sirisuk: What keeps you going every day down this creative path?
Aisling Franciosi: I’ve asked myself that during rough times. Something about the excitement I can’t switch off - reading a script, imagining myself in a role – it lights a fire inside me. Logically, some years it doesn’t make sense whyI still want to do it, but even when frustrated with the industry, I love being on set, seeing the crew, being part of it. That glimmer of hope and excitement when a script lands, I can’t switch it off. If I still want something when it can hurt or frustrate me, that’s when I know it’s what I’m supposed to be doing.
EIC and STYLIST | Donald Lawrence @donaldlawrence8
PHOTOGRAPHY | Richard Machado @richardmachadophotography
HAIR | Tania Becker @taniabecker
MAKEUP | Christopher Miles @christophermilesmakeup
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