Award-winning actress Kate Dickie becomes patron of prestigious drama school

Kate Dickie, who has starred in Game Of Thrones, the Star Wars Franchise, Prometheus and Filth, has been announced as a patron of the Junior Conservatoire of Drama, Production and Film of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS).

She hopes to be a champion and positive force for the next generation of actors, filmmakers and production artists, aged 11 to 18, training at Scotland’s national conservatoire.

She said: “It’s so exciting and a huge honour to be named a patron of the Junior Conservatoire of Drama, Production and Film and work with all these brilliant young people and be part of their journey, even in a small way.

“I can’t wait to get to know everyone and to be there to elevate and support them.

“I’m to be a sounding board if they need advice or want to ask about some of my experiences in the industry.

“I’d like them to see me as someone like them, who they can relate to and have a laugh with – I don’t want to be a formal figure.”

Dickie, of East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire, graduated from the RCS in 1993, and received an honorary doctorate last year for her services to drama.

Marc Silberschatz, director of drama, production and film at the RCS, said: “With an extensive and critically acclaimed career in film, theatre and television, Kate Dickie will offer a wealth of experience as patron of our Junior Conservatoire of Drama, Production and Film.

“It is an honour to welcome an artist of her calibre to this role.

“Her expertise and insights, combined with her warmth and approachability, will inspire young artists to explore their creativity.

“We are confident her guidance will profoundly impact their artistic journeys.”

Dickie said the arts play an important role in society.

She added: “The arts are so important and have so many layers – from the straightforward to the more complex.

“It might be a fun thing to do, a hobby to express yourself and explore characters right down to a more private layer where you get to escape reality because maybe life isn’t that pleasant.

“If you have young people exploring other people’s stories and lives, it helps build a generation that has empathy and understanding for scenarios that aren’t their own. And that can only be a good thing.

“I remember coming to the academy and suddenly I was in a community of people who all loved the same thing as me, which allowed us to build friendships quickly. It was brilliant and life-affirming.

“I liked the feeling of being part of something bigger than just me, made my dream seem a bit more realistic rather than just a pipe dream, and that it was something that could be possible, particularly as a working-class person.”

In a word of advice to up-and-coming actors and actresses, she added: “I’d encourage them to own their space, to set boundaries and trust their instincts. And don’t be fearful.

“There might be different tastes, opinions and interpretations but there really is no wrong way of doing anything.

“I lived in fear of being wrong and being found out that I was awful.

“I wasted so much time worrying, and I wish I could have been a bit more in the present.”