The IFTA Rising Star Award nominees for 2018 have been announced.
The five nominees, who have been chosen by a special jury and sponsored by the Irish Film Board, are Jessie Buckley, Dafhyd Flynn, Jacob McCarthy, Fionn O'Shea and Ann Skelly.
Kerry-born actress Jessie Buckley's credits include Kenneth Branagh's stage production of The Winter's Tale, the BBC's adaptation of War & Peace, Tom Hardy's Taboo and the drama Beast.
Fionn O'Shea impressed in his film roles in John Butler's Handsome Devil and The Siege of Jadotville, which also starred 2014 Rising Star winner Jamie Dornan. He will soon be seen in the upcoming Channel 4 comedy series Hang Ups.
O'Shea is also nominated in the Actor in a Leading Role category for his performance in Handsome Devil.
Thank you @IFTA 🙌🙌 Delighted to be nominated !!https://t.co/hnn0ODZ8Ox
— Fionn O'Shea (@FionnOS) January 11, 2018
Ann Skelly's TV roles include RTÉ's Rebellion, Red Rock and the BBC's Little Women. Kissing Candice, for which she is nominated for Best Actress at this year's IFTAs, is her first feature film.
Nominees for Actress in a Leading Role Film
— Irish FilmTV Academy (@IFTA) January 11, 2018
Sarah Bolger, Halal Daddy
Saoirse Ronan, Lady Bird
Ann Skelly, Kissing Candice#IFTA18 #IrishFilm #IrishTalent pic.twitter.com/URFJR7hrdY
Dafhyd Flynn made his acting debut in Frank Berry's highly acclaimed I Used To Live Here aged 14. He has just made his second feature film in the leading role in Berry's upcoming Michael Inside, which is released in Ireland in 2018. He has also been nominated in the best actor in a lead role category for Michael Inside.
Dubliner Jacob McCarthy moved to London aged 17 to pursue a career in acting and was accepted at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. After graduating he moved to Los Angeles and landed his first feature-length role in The Drummer and the Keeper, for which he has been received a best actor in a supporting role nod at the IFTAs. He will next be seen on NBC's new comedy A.P. Bio.
#IFTA18 pic.twitter.com/5ZHKRPgY77
— Irish FilmTV Academy (@IFTA) February 8, 2018
Previous winners of the Rising Star Award include Oscar nominees Saoirse Ronan and Michael Fassbender, Domhnall Gleeson, John Michael McDonagh, Jamie Dornan, Patrick Gibson and Sarah Greene.
The IFTA Film & Drama Awards will take place at the Round Room of the Mansion House, Dublin on Thursday February 15, and will be broadcast on RTÉ One on Saturday at 10.45pm.
