Michael Fassbender, the German-born, Kerry-raised actor who played Bobby Sands in the film 'Hunger', has been nominated for the Rising Star Award at next month's BAFTAs in London.
The Rising Star Award is the only BAFTA award to be voted on by the British public and Fassbender is joined on the shortlist by Michael Cera ('Juno'), Noel Clarke ('Adulthood'), Rebecca Hall ('Frost/Nixon') and Toby Kebbell ('RocknRolla').
Fassbender is currently making the new Quentin Tarantino film, 'Inglorious Basterds' (sic).
'Waltz with Bashir' (Israel) and 'I've Loved You So Long' (France) are among the films nominated for the BAFTA Film Not in the English Language award.
Completing the shortlist are Germany's 'The Baader Meinhof Complex', Italian mob film 'Gomorrah' and 'Persepolis', about a woman's memories growing up in Iran.
Finola Dwyer, Chair of BAFTA's Film Committee, said of the foreign film shortlist: "We are delighted to announce the contenders for this award. This voting chapter has doubled in size since last year, reflecting the huge enthusiasm for world cinema amongst the Bafta members."
Chapter voting was introduced for this award in 2007/08. A chapter is comprised of Academy voting members with expertise in a specific area of the film industry.
The foreign film nominees have been announced ahead of other categories to allow a longer period to view the five films and give them a greater profile.
The BAFTAs take place in London on 8 February at the Royal Opera House.
