Morgan O’Sullivan, the veteran Irish producer, will receive an award for “outstanding contribution to industry” at the Irish Film and Television Awards tomorrow night. “It scares the hell out of me,” he says. “It’s a little bit daunting. I don’t think I deserve it.”
O'Sullivan, a successful broadcaster on RTÉ during the 1970s, later broke in to film-making by delivering a documentary on the TV series Hawaii Five-O. In 1979, when major features rarely emerged from Ireland, he produced the thriller Cry of the Innocent,starring Rod Taylor.
He is, however, most admired for his work in turning Ardmore Studios – and the country as a whole – into a viable location for international film-making.
“I was never a spectacular broadcaster,” O’Sullivan says. “I was a workmanlike guy and I am workmanlike in this too. What I am, in the business, is an enabler. I have never seen myself as great genius.”
The big break was drawing Braveheartto Ireland in 1995. "That had a profound effect. That gave us the best calling card Ireland could have. That put an imprimatur on the country."
In the years since, O'Sullivan has secured producer credits on such varied domestic productions as King Arthur, PS I Love Youand Becoming Jane. He is also one of the driving forces behind the The Tudors.
“You’ll hear ‘no’ more often than you hear ‘yes’ in this business. But you only need to hear ‘yes’ once.”
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