For his part in The Banshees of Inisherin, together with Paul Mescal for his part in Aftersun, Colin Farrell has gotten his first Best Actor Oscar nomination.
US heavyweights Austin Butler and Brendan Fraser, who were praised for their roles in Elvis and The Whale, will face off against Dubliner Colin Farrell, 46, and Normal People actor Paul Mescal. Bill Nighy, an English actor, has been nominated for Living.
In the movie Aftersun, Calum, who is portrayed by Maynooth native Mescal, battles depression while struggling with life outside of fatherhood.
Twenty years after their final trip to a dilapidated resort, Sophie remembers the precious time she had with her idealistic and devoted father Calum when she was just 11 years old.
Nell Mescal, a singer and Paul’s sister, responded to her brother’s meteoric rise in the following way on Twitter:
IM SOBBING
— nell mescal🧚🏼 (@nellmescal_) January 24, 2023
Colin Farrell has already picked up nods for his performances at other award shows, winning the Golden Globe for best actor in a motion picture, musical or comedy.
“Martin McDonagh I owe you so much man,” he said during his Golden Globes acceptance speech.
“14 years ago you put me working with Brendan Gleeson… and you changed the trajectory of my life forever in ways that I, begrudgingly, will be grateful to you for the rest of my days.”
Addressing Gleeson, he continued: “Brendan, I love you so much. I love that I get to co-habitate this creative space with you every day. All I did when I came to work every day was aspire to be your equal.
“I’m not saying I even got there but the aspiration kept me going. And I’ll thank you for that for the rest of my days also.”
Banshees, which is set in the 1920s on a fictitious island off the coast of Ireland, centres on Pádraic (Farrell) and Colm (Gleeson), two lifelong friends whose friendship is about to end. Pádraic is left stunned by the sudden decision of Colm to cut off communication and social interaction, leaving him grieving the loss of his “best buddy.” Colm adopts progressively harsh measures as a result of Pádraic’s refusal to accept the new order, despite the efforts of his sister, Kerry Condon, to control his outburst.