Ireland’s Bow Street Academy Opens Its First LA Campus Featuring Actor Coach Gerry Grennell and Filmmaker Kirsten Sheridan

Bow Street Academy Expands to Los Angeles with New Campus

Bow Street Academy, the renowned acting school from Ireland, is set to establish its first international campus in West Hollywood, Los Angeles. This expansion marks a significant development for the institution, which has gained recognition for its innovative approach to performance training.

Leading the charge in Los Angeles is Gerry Grennell, a respected performance coach known for his work with prominent actors such as Johnny Depp, Meryl Streep, and Matt Damon. Grennell has also extensively collaborated with the late Heath Ledger on acclaimed projects like The Dark Knight and Brokeback Mountain.

Joining Grennell in this venture are co-founders Kirsten Sheridan and Shimmy Marcus. Sheridan, an Oscar and Golden Globe-nominated writer and director, has recently served as co-executive producer and writer for the Peabody-winning FX/Hulu series Say Nothing, and will also tutor at the new school. There are aspirations for alumni to return as instructors, fostering a sense of community among past students.

Shimmy Marcus, who serves as co-founder and artistic director of Bow Street Academy in Ireland, has dedicated over a decade to nurturing emerging screen talent.

Originally birthed from The Factory, an Irish filmmakers’ collective founded in Dublin in 2010, Bow Street has produced noteworthy alumni, including Barry Keoghan and Jack Reynor. When Grennell joined The Factory, he introduced a unique coaching methodology. The Gerry Grennell Method emphasizes present-moment expression and emotional ownership, helping actors understand their interpretive role while working with the camera.

Bow Street Academy articulates its training philosophy as focused on real production conditions, stating, “Rather than relying on stage-based theory, the school’s process is screen-centered from the outset. Students work on camera, review footage, and refine their performance tools through direct visual feedback.”

Notable graduates from Bow Street’s full program include actors from popular series such as Stranger Things and The Witcher: Blood Origin. Oscar Isaac, who has collaborated with Grennell for over a decade, has recently taken on the role of official patron of the Academy.

“Los Angeles is where the work lives. It made sense to bring the method here. Not to compete with what already exists, but to enhance it. We train actors to work with the camera, not for it. That distinction matters,” said Gerry Grennell, Co-Founder of Bow Street Academy Los Angeles.

Kirsten Sheridan reflected on the origins of The Factory, noting, “It started in a room in Dublin with a handful of artists who believed in each other. What we built there was a community before it was a school. The talent was always there—it just needed a place to grow. Now we’re building that place here. That’s what this city needs more of.”

Shimmy Marcus added, “The training at Bow Street has never been about manufacturing stars. It’s about developing artists. Having seen firsthand how our curriculum has guided our graduates to the top of the industry, we are so excited to now be working with the extraordinary talent in LA.”