An interview with Laurence Kinlan (Dan Kelly) Laurence Kinlan's acting career has been developing since the 20-year-old was in his teens. One of his early film roles was as Paddy Clohessy in the adaptation of Frank McCourt's "Angela's Ashes". A native of Ireland, Kinlan was excited by the role of Ned Kelly's younger brother Dan, an Australian-born character raised by Irish parents. "With Ned Kelly being Irish, and the background of Irish convicts, meant the whole story was very appealing," he explains. "Not many people would know about Ned Kelly back home, other than the older generation in Ireland. But being Irish and being able to use my own accent is great, it makes me feel like it's a part of us too." Aside from the cultural connections, Kinlan admits the story of Ned Kelly had other attractions. "The riding horses and shooting guns did it for me too," he says with a grin. Kinlan secured the role of Dan Kelly after his agent brought director Gregor Jordan to a Dublin performance Kinlan was acting in. "I met him afterwards and didn't know who he was. Then after he left my agent told me, 'that was the director of Ned Kelly!' I'd been trying to meet with him for ages!" Kinlan says Dan Kelly's taciturn and sensitive exterior belies his strength and conviction; Dan's defence of his sister leads to the gang being branded as outlaws. "Dan really tries to be like Ned, he wears the clothes that Ned doesn't wear anymore, even though they're baggy," says Kinlan. "He tries to be a stronger person to impress Ned. He's quiet, but when it comes down to it, he can be tough. But things just don't work out for him, or work out for any of them." As one of two Irish cast members it was the accent, surprisingly, that proved to be the greatest challenge for Kinlan. "That was weird. Myself and Kerry (Condon, who plays Kate Kelly) are the only ones from Ireland and I'm getting notes after every scene about my accent!" he laughs. "I was thinking I should know this, I'm from Dublin! It was ridiculous." Kinlan and Philip Barantini (Steve Hart) play best friends in the film, a relationship that has spilled over into real life. "I met Philip at the audition in London and we did a scene together and it was great; it got us the parts. He's from Liverpool and I'm from Dublin. Both places have similar vibes, so we clicked. We all did a lot of things together, camping, horseriding, we were a close cast."   Heath Ledger has four distinct looks during the film, some of which required four hours in the make-up chair   Click here to download a video interview with Laurence Kinlan (Windows Media Player)   Laurence Kinlan as Dan Kelly   Ned Kelly (Heath Ledger) with younger brother Dan (Laurence Kinlan)