There are few things that will launch a career quite like taking part in a Sally Rooney adaptation. You'll be watched by millions of horny onlookers which, if we've learned anything from Normal People, is powerful enough to make a silver chain go viral. And it's the same good people of horny-dom that will hold you in their mind for days to come, especially in the case of Conversations with Friends leading lady Alison Oliver. Oliver will line our minds because it is Oliver who we'll want to trade places with. I mean, she's in a love quadrangle with Sasha Lane, Jemima Kirke and Joe Alwyn? Can you blame us?
Yes, if history reveals anything it's that we'll be seeing a lot more of Alison Oliver soon. She's sure to meet the same fate as other Sally Rooney veterans such as Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones. So as we gird our loins for another romp through Dublin with a roster of characters that are (seemingly) allergic to communication, it's important that we do our research first. After all, who is Alison Oliver? Have we seen her before? And what can we expect from the actor in the future? We answer all these questions and more, below.
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1. Oliver is a Cork native
While for the most part Alison Oliver is an enigma, preferring to keep her private life just that, we do have some globs of information to offer. For one, she was born in the bustling city of Cork in Ireland and has two sisters. One of which owns activewear label Olly Olly & co. As for her age? It's a debated item. Although, having graduated in 2020, we suspect she's 24. Admittedly, we're just really eager to know her star sign but that can wait for now.
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2. Conversations with Friends is her first acting job
Call it the luck of the Irish, but Oliver had not been a day out of drama school before she landed the role of Frances. I meant this quite literally. In an interview with Vogue UK, Oliver recalls receiving the good news during a phone call the morning after her graduation. Understandably, she sat on her bed for hours in shock just trying to process it all.
As far as the cast for Conversations with Friends goes, out of Jemima Kirke, Joe Alwyn and Sasha Lane, Oliver is the only fresh face.
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3. She's no stranger to the Rooney-verse
Although Alison Oliver is new to the world of acting, she's in close orbit to many of its brightest stars. Especially those already established in the Rooney-verse. Having attended Lir National Academy of Dramatic Art in Dublin, the same college as Paul Mescal, she was privy to his amateur productions. A point of envy for us all. Not only that, but her longterm boyfriend Éanna Hardwicke (who attended the Dublin drama school too) also performed in Normal People alongside Mescal as his troubled high school friend Rob Hegarty.
And just like us, Oliver has admired Rooney's writing since its debut. The only difference is Conversations with Friends was released in 2017 when Oliver was a student in Dublin, just like its protagonists, giving the work of fiction an added resonance.
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4. The acting jobs are rolling in already
Most of us have barely pressed play on episode 1 of Conversations with Friends and Oliver has already been tapped for more acting roles in the pipeline. In March 2022, it was announced by The Hollywood Reporter that Oliver would star in a four-part drama from the BBC shedding light on the inequities faced by people with disabilities. It's called Best Interests and it'll see her star alongside industry heavyweights like Michael Sheen, along with Sharon Horgan and Niamh Moriarty.
Image: @convosonhulu
