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Aisling Franciosi, one of the Irish stars of director Ken Loach's "Jimmy's Hall" -- which is among 18 films in competition for the festival's top Palme d'Or prize -- said she didn't allow herself to get excited until the day she arrived in the south of France.
"I remember I was on my way to set, because I'm in season two of "The Fall", and our producer Rebecca called me and said 'are you free in the middle of May?'
"Obviously, I just said 'yes' straight away, not knowing if I was or wasn't. But then I had to wait to see if the schedules would work.
"So I didn't allow myself to feel excited until I was on the plane and it was actually happening," she told AFP on Thursday, a few hours ahead of the film's premiere.
Franciosi, 22, from Dublin, described the experience of being in Cannes as "surreal" and at times nerve-wracking.
It is not only the young actress's first time in Cannes -- "Jimmy's Hall" is also her first film role, although she has had parts in several television series.
"I did have a couple of moments where I was not exactly panicking but it's kind of daunting particularly because I've never been on a red carpet," she said.
"I'm staying in an apartment with some of the others and that's good because you can say 'I'm getting a bit nervous', or you can get excited together."
- Posing on the red carpet -
Franciosi said friends told her all she needed to do on the red carpet was "put one foot in front of another".
"But that becomes increasingly difficult the more nervous you get," she said.
"It sounds simple but I was like 'I have to walk and look at the cameras at the same time?'" she joked.
Another first-time actress in Cannes this week is Natalia Ryumina, 29, originally from Latvia, but now based in London.
Ryumina came to Cannes armed with a corseted Vivienne Westwood evening gown loaned to her for the red carpet.
Two films she has parts in have been shown in the Cannes market, the business arm of the festival.
"It's a great place to make contacts. I got invited straight away to a Latvian party and to a Scottish party," she said.
"There are so many people coming from Russia for example, from Canada, from the US, that you don't get the opportunity to meet in London.
"I even ran into my agent at the Scottish party. I didn't even know he was here!" she said.
The trained opera singer, who is fluent in Latvian, Ukrainian, Russian and English, said she was usually cast as a baddie, with recent roles including a corporate hatchet-woman and a Russian sniper.
She said she was looking forward to "posing" on the red carpet in her Vivienne Westwood dress.
"I will feel very glamorous in that. I've been to red carpet events before but nothing like Cannes. It's very overwhelming."
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"I remember I was on my way to set, because I'm in season two of "The Fall", and our producer Rebecca called me and said 'are you free in the middle of May?'
"Obviously, I just said 'yes' straight away, not knowing if I was or wasn't. But then I had to wait to see if the schedules would work.
"So I didn't allow myself to feel excited until I was on the plane and it was actually happening," she told AFP on Thursday, a few hours ahead of the film's premiere.
Franciosi, 22, from Dublin, described the experience of being in Cannes as "surreal" and at times nerve-wracking.
It is not only the young actress's first time in Cannes -- "Jimmy's Hall" is also her first film role, although she has had parts in several television series.
"I did have a couple of moments where I was not exactly panicking but it's kind of daunting particularly because I've never been on a red carpet," she said.
"I'm staying in an apartment with some of the others and that's good because you can say 'I'm getting a bit nervous', or you can get excited together."
- Posing on the red carpet -
Franciosi said friends told her all she needed to do on the red carpet was "put one foot in front of another".
"But that becomes increasingly difficult the more nervous you get," she said.
"It sounds simple but I was like 'I have to walk and look at the cameras at the same time?'" she joked.
Another first-time actress in Cannes this week is Natalia Ryumina, 29, originally from Latvia, but now based in London.
Ryumina came to Cannes armed with a corseted Vivienne Westwood evening gown loaned to her for the red carpet.
Two films she has parts in have been shown in the Cannes market, the business arm of the festival.
"It's a great place to make contacts. I got invited straight away to a Latvian party and to a Scottish party," she said.
"There are so many people coming from Russia for example, from Canada, from the US, that you don't get the opportunity to meet in London.
"I even ran into my agent at the Scottish party. I didn't even know he was here!" she said.
The trained opera singer, who is fluent in Latvian, Ukrainian, Russian and English, said she was usually cast as a baddie, with recent roles including a corporate hatchet-woman and a Russian sniper.
She said she was looking forward to "posing" on the red carpet in her Vivienne Westwood dress.
"I will feel very glamorous in that. I've been to red carpet events before but nothing like Cannes. It's very overwhelming."
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