Warning: This investigation incorporates themes of a sexual nature that some readers might discover upsetting.
EXCLUSIVE: Nikki was like many younger actresses with a display dream: freshly graduated from Britain’s world-class performing arts training system, however needing to professionalize her résumé with none notable credit. Nikki, a pseudonym we’re utilizing to disguise her id, requested for suggestions and thumbed via social media in the hunt for somebody who may assist her movie appearing scenes for a showreel.
She alighted on Ryan Kirwan, a person whose enterprise was booming on the top of the post-pandemic manufacturing frenzy. With a pointy eye for self-promotion and breezy self-confidence, Kirwan remodeled himself from an actor holding puppies in pet retailer adverts to one of many UK’s go-to showreel producers. He’d barely picked up a digital camera earlier than throwing himself right into a enterprise that grew to become a six-day-a-week job, filming scenes within the service of tons of of Hollywood hopefuls.
Kirwan stood out from the competitors by producing shiny two-handers utilizing a 12K digital camera. He boasted on social media about his work being featured on the BBC, whereas his curated Instagram web page, the place he had 1000’s of followers, gave shoutouts to shoppers who went on to safe credit in Netflix’s Intercourse Schooling and Damsel. He collaborated with prime drama colleges to assist college students shoot appearing scenes, whereas he was additionally concerned in making quick movies, together with Dysthymia, which was chosen for the Lisbon Movie Rendezvous.
“Simply be good,” was a piece worth he espoused when reflecting on his success in an trade podcast final yr. And Kirwan was good — to a degree. Actresses who labored with the filmmaker commented on his professionalism throughout shoots, his useful course, and the standard of his work on supply.
However Nikki says she quickly noticed a distinct aspect of Kirwan over WhatsApp. After filming her showreel in June 2022, Kirwan began sending her unsolicited dick pics. At first, the 33-year-old weaved an elaborate story as a means of gaining her consent for sending nude photos. Later, he appeared to reveal himself to Nikki in unsolicited physique photographs despatched within the small hours of the morning. She was not alone in receiving this sort of consideration from a person whom younger actresses felt was a gateway to the movie and TV trade.
Deadline has spoken to and reviewed proof from a complete of six girls, 4 of whom accuse Kirwan of sending them unsolicited nude photos between 2021 and 2024. The 2 different girls, together with a former worker of Kirwan’s, allege that he despatched them inappropriate and sexualized messages. The ladies had been aged between 19 and 44 on the time of receiving these messages.
Cyberflashing is a felony offence within the UK underneath Part 66A of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 and the Metropolitan Police has confirmed that it’s investigating Kirwan following complaints from two girls who’ve spoken to Deadline. In the meantime, Kirwan has shut down his enterprise, deleted the vast majority of his social media accounts, moved out of London, and spent latest weeks apologizing to those that have accused him of misconduct after rumors of his habits circulated on-line.
The filmmaker has not denied the allegations towards him. In an announcement to Deadline, he acknowledges “actions which can be extraordinarily out of character” and says his habits was the results of a spiraling cocaine habit and poor psychological well being. “I take full accountability for the folks affected and want to apologise to all of them. It was by no means my intention to trigger any misery, nonetheless I can now see how I did – and for this I’m eternally sorry,” he provides.
The ladies he messaged mirror on the exchanges with unease, whereas for some, there’s a sense that they had been one way or the other complicit in Kirwan’s conduct. He might not have wielded the quantifiable affect of a studio govt or display star, however for the ladies determined to forge profitable careers, he represented an phantasm of energy. This notion nonetheless lingers, with all the girls not wishing to be named amid fears it might be damaging to their careers or that Kirwan might retaliate. Deadline has disguised their identities through the use of pseudonyms.
Lucie’s Story
To know how Kirwan would face a reckoning, it is advisable begin with Lucie. An appearing coach with a longtime enterprise, Lucie was older than the opposite girls Kirwan had messaged. They first met in 2023 when Lucie helped a former appearing pupil movie a scene for a showreel being produced by Kirwan. Lucie was impressed with Kirwan’s set-up and professionalism and determined to replace her personal showreel earlier this yr. She filmed with him and he delivered the ultimate edit. Then the dialog switched gears.
Kirwan appeared to have a playbook for introducing inappropriate topics into WhatsApp exchanges, based on 4 circumstances reviewed by Deadline. This concerned him recounting a stunning — and generally elaborate — private expertise that grew to become a computer virus for texts that had been sexual in nature. Kirwan would additionally say that he was discussing the identical tales with feminine pals on WhatsApp, which one girl claims was a “manipulative” means of constructing himself look like a “secure male.”
Most often, these tales concerned being shocked on the dimension of one other man’s penis or commenting on his personal manhood. For instance, a well-liked story concerned him claiming that his feminine housemate’s well-endowed lover had unexpectedly walked into his kitchen bare. So shocked was Kirwan, he felt compelled to explain the expertise to girls he had solely identified fleetingly in knowledgeable capability.
Lucie, 44, was one of many girls on the receiving finish of this story in March. She was unsettled by the messages, however gave Kirwan the advantage of the doubt. “I used to be a bit stunned, however then I assumed: possibly he’s simply an open individual and I occur to be the final individual he texted. He’s in a little bit of shock and he’s oversharing, so I went together with it,” she remembers. What she didn’t know on the time was that Kirwan had informed an virtually similar story about his housemate’s lover to a separate girl in February, per messages seen by Deadline.
Lucie’s preliminary intuition to entertain Kirwan’s story modified when he allegedly began sending her photos. Lucie accuses Kirwan of texting her disappearing nude photos of each himself and the person he claimed was his housemate’s lover. “Second one is me,” she remembers him captioning one picture, which allegedly featured his face and an erect penis.
Lucie felt “sick and violated” by her change and days later determined to confront Kirwan. On March 14, they spoke on the telephone and Lucie says she defined that Kirwan’s alleged messages had been unacceptable. That afternoon, he texted her saying: “So sorry to have put you in that place. I’ll be sure that nothing like that ever occurs once more and I’ll kind myself out. I really feel so embarrassed.” Lucie responded: “You’re fortunate it was me. Another person may need taken it to the police or [UK actors’ union] Fairness.”
Ryan Kirwan message to Lucie in March 2024
Every week later, Lucie informed him: “Ryan, given what you probably did and the truth that it’s a felony offence, I’m going to should disassociate myself and my enterprise from you.” She blocked him. By June, Lucie nonetheless felt uneasy about her encounter and was anxious that he might have behaved equally with different girls, despite the fact that he had denied this throughout their telephone name. She opened Instagram and typed: “Anybody who has skilled adverse or inappropriate behaviour from a showreel firm, please get in contact.”
The response was overwhelming, she says.
Nikki’s Story
Nikki had by no means met Lucie, however felt certain that her Instagram message referred to Kirwan. The 25-year-old actress had encountered Kirwan two years earlier and continued receiving undesirable consideration from the showreel producer into 2024. He started texting her within the days after she recorded her showreel, together with a scene wherein she performed a girl leaving a menacing man.
Kirwan deployed a distinct story with Nikki. Messages from June 2022, present him recounting an expertise on a shoot involving male fashions in a altering room. He claimed his feminine co-worker was getting “distracted” by the great seems to be of one of many fashions who dropped his towel throughout filming to disclose his “large” manhood. He informed Nikki that he had a screenshot of the incident, including: “In case you’re intrigued let me know.” Nikki laughed and replied: “Sure I’ll must see it now.” Kirwan despatched Nikki two photos of an unknown nude male in a altering room, earlier than turning the dialog to her. “I’m guessing you’ve had a giant one,” he requested. She replied: “Hahahahaha, that’s for me to know.”
Ryan Kirwan messages to Nikki in June 2022
Nikki says she feels embarrassed when she re-reads the dialog. She was not interested in Kirwan and regarded him knowledgeable trade contact. “I by no means had some type of flirty dialog the place he would assume that this was acceptable to ship me,” she says. Lucie provides that the tales Kirwan tells to introduce intercourse right into a dialog “make you are feeling complicit in a means.”
Kirwan was extra direct in subsequent WhatsApp messages to Nikki. In July 2022, he claimed that he had modeled for a life drawing class and obtained the sketches again from the artists in attendance. He provided to ship them to Nikki, however she declined. “I’m afraid not. I gained’t be capable of take a look at you a similar hahahaha. I simply can’t,” she stated. “You constructed me as much as knock me down,” he replied, to which Nikki stated: “No cease it now.”
Half an hour later, Kirwan endured: “Shall I present you the sketch and I’ll crop out the ‘primary’ bit.” He then despatched three messages that had been rapidly deleted. Minutes after eradicating the texts, Kirwan stated he was “off to mattress,” earlier than breezily including, “Let me know the way you get on with businesses,” a reference to an earlier change about Nikki’s efforts to safe illustration. Nikki says that this confirmed how she would flip to Kirwan recommendation and networking alternatives — and the way he would combine skilled messages with inappropriate ones.
Kirwan used the life drawing story with a minimum of one different girl: his worker Sabrina. In an interview with Deadline, Sabrina alleges that “he simply confirmed me his bare physique with out really doing it as a result of it was a drawing” after sharing the sketch over WhatsApp. Sabrina left his enterprise final October, however they continued to textual content, with Kirwan mentioning the life drawing as just lately as June, recalling how he had despatched it to her when he was drunk.
Sabrina thought she was alone in receiving unprofessional messages. “Behind the telephone, he clearly has this confidence the place he can simply say all these items, however in-person I don’t recall ever having to inform him to ‘f*** off’ as a result of he was being inappropriate,” she says. “I actually didn’t assume he was like this with different folks.”
Ryan Kirwan messages to Nikki in February 2024
Nikki alleges that Kirwan has despatched a number of nude photos over the previous two years, with the newest touchdown in her inbox in February. At 2am one morning, he despatched her two photos of an erect penis, the primary of which options what seems to be the decrease half of his face, based on proof reviewed by Deadline. This time, he did not delete them. “Ryan. WTF,” Nikki stated when she noticed the photographs. Kirwan claimed that he had deleted them from the chat, including: “I used to be so drunk. I’m so sorry.” Nikki replied: “I actually don’t know what to say to you. Like how do you assume that is okay?!” Kirwan responded: “I gained’t message you once more. I don’t need to make you are feeling uncomfortable and I’m so so sorry. It was a dreadful drunken mistake and I can’t apologise sufficient.”
A minimum of two of the ladies who spoke to Deadline have reported the WhatsApp messages to the Metropolitan Police and the drive has confirmed to Deadline that it’s analyzing their claims. “Police are investigating two separate allegations of cyberflashing. Enquiries are ongoing,” a spokesperson stated. Nikki, in the meantime, is coming to phrases together with her encounter with Kirwan. “As a girl, I simply normalize this stuff as a result of this occurs too usually,” she says. “However when [Lucie] shared her message on Instagram, I noticed this isn’t regular.”
Two different girls accuse Kirwan of sending them unsolicited photos. Hilary was 19 when Kirwan texted months after wrapping her showreel in April 2021. She recalled Kirwan being complimentary of her work in the course of the shoot and mentioning that he was all the time scouting actors for brief movies. Not like Lucie and Nikki, he didn’t embellish the photographs with a narrative.
At 3am on August 21, 2021, he merely WhatsApped an alleged nude and swiftly deleted the message. “I’m fairly nicely endowed so I used to be taking slightly pic of it. Clearly wasn’t meant to be despatched your means,” he informed her. Hilary pretended she had not seen the picture and went to mattress, although she does recall seeing a picture of an erect penis. On Christmas Day 2021, Kirwan was again in Hilary’s DMs with one other picture he claimed was not for her eyes. “Oh s**t… that wasn’t meant for you!” he stated. Once more, Hilary performed dumb, however Kirwan was undeterred. “I’ll present you what it was in order for you however simply don’t inform anybody haha,” he wrote. “It’s okay,” she replied.
Ryan Kirwan messages to Hilary
Kirwan didn’t simply ship inappropriate messages to shoppers. Ashley briefly dated Kirwan in 2019, however alleges that he despatched her unsolicited nudes years after they broke up. She claims that Kirwan would usually return to a dialog concerning the dimension of his manhood, repeatedly asking her the place he ranked among the many males she had been intimate with. In November 2022, he texted asking the place he stood on her “record” and Ashley alleges that this was accompanied by 5 nude photos. She rapidly deleted the photographs, however informed a good friend about them virtually instantly over WhatsApp. “He’s completely deluded,” Ashley’s confidant replied.
Ashley blocked Kirwan on WhatsApp, however he messaged her via a distinct quantity in April 2024. “I used to be speaking about your silly notorious ‘record’ the opposite day,” he stated. Ashley informed Kirwan that she had not responded to his “50+ messages on a number of completely different platforms, together with unsolicited bare photos” as a result of she didn’t need “any sort of dialog” with him. “Please don’t contact me once more,” she pleaded. Kirwan replied: “Sorry. I suppose that ‘record’ all the time caught with me.”
Ashley reported Kirwan to Hertfordshire Police, a separate drive from the Metropolitan Police, and contacted Lucie after seeing her Instagram submit a few showreel firm. Lucie says she has heard from 16 girls since her social media callout, all of whom have tales about Kirwan. Quickly after she posted the message, Kirwan shut down his enterprise and social media pages. In a social media submit, he blamed anxiousness, melancholy, burnout, and a need to “attempt new issues,” regardless of stating earlier this yr that he deliberate to broaden the enterprise.
Kirwan’s Apology Tour
Privately, he was embarking on an apology tour. Three of the six girls who’ve spoken to Deadline obtained both a voice notice or written message from Kirwan. The apologies had delicate variations, however within the three reviewed by Deadline, he admitted to “sending messages” and blamed it on a cocaine behavior and psychological well being points. In a voice notice to Nikki, he confessed that his messages had been “inappropriate stuff.”
In an announcement to Deadline, Kirwan stated: “Resulting from private circumstances and fixed deterioration of my psychological well being I’ve been hooked on cocaine for the previous three and a half years. The cocaine led to much more exhaustion, melancholy and in the end self loathing.
“This countless, vicious cycle then took me again to cocaine once more. And so forth. In the course of the three-and-a-half-year interval the fixed drug use massively impacted my judgement, resulting in actions which can be extraordinarily out of character. I take full accountability for the folks affected and want to apologise to all of them. It was by no means my intention to trigger any misery, nonetheless I can now see how I did – and for this I’m eternally sorry.
“The final six months have been significantly dreadful and painful, with my physique and thoughts not having the ability to perform, resulting in me making an attempt to overdose. Fortunately this failed. Nevertheless, because of the disgrace and remorse I’m continuously carrying with me, I proceed to have suicidal ideas. Since realising my life wants to alter I’ve completely closed down the enterprise, taken myself off of social media and moved out of London to concentrate on my rehabilitation. I’m at present getting skilled assist by seeing therapists in addition to attending Cocaine Nameless.”
It’s not identified what number of of his shoppers obtained inappropriate messages, however Kirwan’s work seemingly put him into contact with tons of of actors, each female and male. His Vimeo web page alone has greater than 1,500 showreel movies, whereas he additionally promoted work he did with college students, together with returning to East 15, the drama faculty at which he educated. East 15 says it “can’t touch upon particular person circumstances,” however college students can “report points anonymously or obtain help from an adviser.”
Alexa Morden, an actress who runs The 98% podcast, which acts as a discussion board for lesser-known British actors, says the experiences of those that got here into contact with Kirwan are indicators of unhealthy trade energy dynamics.
“Within the arts and leisure industries, abuse usually goes hand in hand with abuse of energy. As long as there’s a hierarchy, with actors most oftentimes on the backside, these with perceived energy know they’ll abuse their place as a result of they’re certain their victims will keep silent for worry of ‘ruining their profession.’ Perpetrators and predators on this trade additionally know that there isn’t actually wherever folks can go for assist, help, or precise motion. One thing victims have a tendency to seek out out too late,” she says.
“I need victims of malpractice to know that they aren’t alone and there are individuals who care, and the extra we communicate up, the extra we share our experiences and lift consciousness, the extra we will get throughout that we don’t stand for this behaviour, and drive trade organisations to not solely help those that want it – however to stop the nefarious, and generally felony, behaviour within the first place.”
