As a casting director, and acting coach, I continually encourage you to continually expand upon your frame of reference in large part because, as a talent, you will be offered direction based on Pop-Culture references. In other words, if a subject is completely foreign to you, you're going to have a very tough time playing it. To add to this, the references used most often as direction during both auditions and on the job are from film and television, regardless if the project is a voiceover, a commercial, role on a TV series, or a corporate narration. Film feeds our imagination, so it stands to reason this is the case.
Certainly the Internet is a great help, but having only a periphery understanding of the subject is no replacement for really delving in and discovering more about a subject. All the more reason to study the medium you intend to work in and engage your imagination to its fullest--this is a good deal of your job as an actor and voice talent.
So, it is with great Celtic pride, I offer you my list of Irish film favorites, which I warmly refer to as "Kate's Unofficial Irish Film Festival." And not just to build on your frame of reference, or to celebrate St. Patrick's Day; but because they all happen to be really great movies that you may not have seen. They're well worth watching. And if you have seen them before, I'm sure you'll agree they're worth seeing again. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll want to punch your brother in the nose. (But in a good way. It's traditional.)
Kate's 'Unofficial Irish Film Festival' Selections
Agnes Browne (1999)
The Field (1990)
In Bruges (2008)
In The Name of the Father (1993)
In America (2002)
War of the Buttons (1994)
The Commitments (1991)
The Secret of Roan Inish (1994)
Hear My Song (1992)
Miller's Crossing (1990)
My Left Foot (1989)
The Wind Shakes the Barley (2006)
This Is My Father (1998)
The Quiet Man (1952)
Breakfast on Pluto (2005)
The Molly Maguires (1970)
Waking Ned Divine (1998)
The Daughter of Rosie O'Grady (1950)
Some Mother's Son (1996)
The Boxer (1997)
The Dead (1987)
Veronica Guerin (2003)
Dancing At Lughnasa (1998)
Intermission (2003)
The Playboys (1992)
The Crying Game (1992)
Into The West (1992)
Brooklyn (2015)
Bloody Sunday (2002)
Philadelphia, Here I Come (1975)
The Snapper (1993)
Michael Collins (1996)
And so, as in years past, this is as unofficial as a film festival gets, which is why, as with most things Irish, it's DIY. (Oh, sure I can write the book, but it's up to you to read it.)
Now off with you. I've got cleaning to do and you're sitting right where I'm wanting to dust.
Keep it green.