Irish actors Paul Mescal and Colin Farrell are both in the running for the Best Actor gong at this weekend’s Oscars – but the pair aren’t falling out over it.
Farrell is nominated for his role in the Banshees of Inisherin, which is up for nine Oscars in total.
Meanwhile, Mescal is up for his role in the coming-of-age drama, Aftersun.
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If either actor takes home the top prize, they will become the first Irish actor to do so since three-time winner Daniel Day Lewis, who became an Irish citizen in 1993.
Speaking to Screentime with John Fardy, Mescal said he is honoured to be nominated alongside his Irish counterpart.
“I’m flying the flag for Colin to be honest,” he said.
“I think his performance in Banshees is just one of my favourites in quite a while so to be nominated in a category with him is like … I take great pride in that.”
Newstalk and the stars of @quietgirlfilm are heading to the OSCARS! @henrymckean will be there for us getting all of the action - with thanks to @AerLingus.
Good luck to Catherine Clinch, Carrie Crowley, @ColmBairead, @cleonanic and the whole team! pic.twitter.com/xxXsuCUih5
— NewstalkFM (@NewstalkFM) March 8, 2023
The Kildare man was speaking to Newstalk on the Irish leg of the promotional tour for his new film ‘God’s Creatures’, which is due to release at the end of the month.
In all, Ireland has 14 nominations at this year’s awards with nine going to Banshees and one to Aftersun.
Meanwhile, An Cailín Ciúin is the first ever Irish language film to be nominated.
A split-screen of Paul Mescal and Colin Farrell.The Northern Irish short An Irish Goodbye is also a contender for best live-action short film.
An Irish trade mission, led by Tourism Minister Catherine Martin, has also flown out to the US on the back of the strong Oscars performance.
Irishman Richard Baneham has also been nominated for his work on Avatar, the Way of Water, which has been nominated for Best Visual Effects.
