Robert Arkins is an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...

and

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

who played the role of Jimmy Rabbitte in the 1991 film '' The Commitments''.

Life and career

A native of

Drumcondra, Dublin Drumcondra () is a residential area and inner suburb on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. It is administered by Dublin City Council. The River Tolka and the Royal Canal flow through the area. History The village of Drumcondra was the central a ...

, Arkins has been a professional musician from the age of 15. He left school at 17 to front his band, Housebroken. He is a vocalist, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, who counts piano, bass and trumpet in his repertoire. Housebroken won the

Sunday World The ''Sunday World'' is an Irish newspaper published by Independent News & Media. It is the second largest selling "popular" newspaper in the Republic of Ireland, and is also sold in Northern Ireland where a modified edition with more stories r ...

Bandslam competition in 1988, after only having been established for three months. With no prior acting experience, Arkins heard of the filming of ''The Commitments'' from his sister. Following seven auditions, Arkins was cast as "Deco Cuffe", the band's lead singer, but was replaced in that role after director Alan Parker discovered newcomer Andrew Strong. Arkins was cast as Jimmy Rabbitte, the manager of the Commitments. Parker described the character of Rabbitte as "the glue that holds the whole film together". Despite not featuring as a singer in the film, Arkins did provide lead vocals for two tracks – ''

Treat Her Right Treat Her Right was an American rock group, formed in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, in 1985. The band originally featured Mark Sandman on "low guitar," Billy Conway on cocktail drum, David Champagne on guitar, and Jim Fitting on harm ...

'' and ''Slip Away'' – on the accompanying soundtrack album. Following the release of ''The Commitments'' Arkins moved back into music and signed a record deal with

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 wit ...

in 1993, although he did not finish recording the consequent album. He has composed and produced work for a number of commercial clients, television projects, and for two short films. He briefly returned to acting in 1998, in a short film entitled ''What Are You Looking At?'', and again in 2018 in the lead role of the film '' The Comeback''. In 2011, he joined fellow various cast members from ''The Commitments'' to perform a series of concerts across Ireland, to celebrate the film's 20th anniversary. This was followed by three dates in the UK in 2012.

References

External links

* Irish male film actors Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) Musicians from Dublin (city) Irish male songwriters 20th-century Irish male singers {{Ireland-music-bio-stub