Teenage Irish actress up for Golden Globe
A teenage Irish actress was today catapulted into Oscar contention after she landed a coveted acting nomination in the Hollywood Golden Globe Awards.
Saoirse Ronan, the daughter of actor Paul Ronan who acted alongside Brad Pitt in ’The Devil’s Own’, secured a Best Supporting Actress in a Drama nomination for her acclaimed performance in ’Atonement’.
The British movie, whose stars James MacAvoy and Keira Knightley made the shortlist for Best Actor in a Drama and Best Actress in a Drama categories, gained the most nominations of any film.
The Golden Globes are seen as a strong indicator of what movies will figure in next year’s Oscar nominations.
And there were nominations too for two Irish actors in the television categories with Jonathan Rhys-Myers in contention for his role as Henry VIII in ’The Tudors’ and James Nesbitt for the BBC’s six-part thriller ’Jekyll’.
The Golden Globe nomination is a major boost for the career of 13-year-old Saoirse Ronan who has a pivotal role in ’Atonement’.
She first came to prominence with appearances in the RTE series ’The Clinic’ and ’Proof’.
The New York-born actress has already landed the coveted lead role of murder victim Susie Salmon in the screen adaptation of Alice Sebold’s hit novel ’Lovely Bones’ opposite Susan Sarandon, Stanley Tucci, Mark Wahlberg and the Sopranos’ Michael Imperioli.
She also filmed the Tom Hanks produced children’s science fiction movie ’City of Ember’ in Belfast this year with Bill Murray and Tim Robbins.
Saoirse faces fierce competition, however, from Cate Blanchett for her performance as Bob Dylan in ’I’m Not There’, Julia Roberts in ’Charlie Wilson’s War’, Amy Ryan in the kidnapping drama ’Gone Baby Gone’ and Tilda Swinton for her fierce performance in ’Michael Clayton’.
Daniel Day Lewis, who lives in Co Wicklow with his wife Rebecca Miller, secured a Best Actor in a Drama nomination for his performance in PT Anderson’s ’There Will Be Blood’.
He will battle it out with James MacAvoy, George Clooney who was nominated for ’Michael Clayton’, Viggo Mortensen for ’Eastern Promises’ and Denzel Washington for ’American Gangster’.
Coleraine-born James Nesbitt, who was propelled to stardom with his performance in the ITV comedy series ’Cold Feet’, has made his mark in a number of television and movie roles including Paul Greengrass’s ’Bloody Sunday’, Peter Chelsom’s ’Hear My Song’ and the TV series ’Murphy’s Law’.
Starring opposite former ’Eastenders’ star Michelle Ryan, ’Jekyll’ updated the Robert Louis Stevenson classic ’Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ to the present day.
He faces competition from Jason Isaacs for performance in the BBC thriller ’The State Within’, Jim Broadbent in the Channel 4 docudrama ’Longford’, veteran actor Ernest Borgnine in ’A Grandpa for Christmas’ and Adam Beach for ’Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee’.
Jonathan Rhys-Myers who recently mourned the death of his mother Geraldine was nominated for Best Actor in a TV Drama Series for his role in ’The Tudors’ which was shot in Ireland.
He faces competition from Hugh Laurie for the medical drama ’House’, Bill Paxton in the polygamy drama ’Big Love’, Michael C Hall for ’Dexter’ and Jon Hamm for ’Mad Men’.
’The Tudors’ also scooped a nomination for Best TV drama series against ’Big Love’, ’House’, ’Grey’s Anatomy’, ’Mad Men’ and ’Damages’.
The winners will be announced at a glittering ceremony on January 18.
