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Robert Arkins
Robert Arkins is an Irish musician and actor[1] who played the role of Jimmy Rabbitte in the 1991 film The Commitments. Life and careerA native of Drumcondra, Dublin,[2] Arkins has been a professional musician from the age of 15.[3] He left school at 17 to front his band, Housebroken.[1] He is a vocalist, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, who counts piano, bass and trumpet in his repertoire.[1] Housebroken won the Sunday World Bandslam competition in 1988, after only having been established for three months.[2] With no prior acting experience, Arkins heard of the filming of The Commitments from his sister.[1] 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.[4] 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".[5] Despite not featuring as a singer in the film, Arkins did provide lead vocals for two tracks – Treat Her Right and Slip Away – on the accompanying soundtrack album.[6] Following the release of The Commitments Arkins moved back into music and signed a record deal with MCA Records in 1993,[7] although he did not finish recording the consequent album.[8] He has composed and produced work for a number of commercial clients, television projects, and for two short films.[9] He briefly returned to acting in 1998, in a short film entitled What Are You Looking At?,[4] and again in 2018 in the lead role of the film The Comeback.[10] 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.[11] This was followed by three dates in the UK in 2012.[11] References
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