The first big awards ceremony of the season, the Golden Globes, was held in Los Angeles last night, and hopes were high for an Irish win.
Ruth Negga has won widespread acclaim for her leading role in Loving, and was nominated in the Best Actress in a Drama category. Former model Caitriona Balfe was shortlisted, for the second year running in the category of Best Actress in a TV series (Drama) for her role in Outlander. And Colin Farrell, who is of course a veteran of such events by now, was nominated for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy for his role in The Lobster.
Sadly, the Irish came home empty-handed. Colin was unlucky enough to be nominated in the same category as Ryan Gosling for La La Land, the movie which swept the boards at the ceremony with an amazing seven trophies. Ruth, who was hotly tipped in her category, was pipped by veteran French actor Isabelle Huppert, who picked up the award for her role in Elle. And Caitriona, meantime, lost out to Claire Foy for her role in The Crown.
Despite these disappointments, it was a good night for the Irish film industry to have such strong representation, and Ruth and Catriona in particular looked stunning on the red carpet. The former wore a stunning metallic sequin dress by Louis Vuitton, while Caitriona wore an equally eye-catching navy and orange Delpozo dress. Colin, meanwhile, looked as elegant as ever in a tux, and was joined on the red carpet by his mother Rita.
And with Ruth being hotly tipped for an Oscar nomination at next month’s ceremony for her powerful display, she may have another chance to get over her disappointment. The 32-year-old star, who was born in Ethiopia but grew up in Dublin, shot in fame in the 2005 hit Breakfast on Pluto, but Loving is very much her breakthrough role, and we expect her to go from strength to strength after this!
