Irish actors Pierce Brosnan and Cillian Murphy have been nominated for a Golden Globe award, it was confirmed today.
Both actors will be vying with each other to take the prestigious award in January, after Cork-born Murphy was nominated for his role in Neil Jordan's Breakfast on Pluto.
Navan man Brosnan was also nominated in the category, Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy, for his efforts in The Matador.
The nominations for a host of categories for the 63rd annual Golden Globes were announced at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles by actress Kate Beckinsale and Steve Carell.
The awards will be given out on January 16 and are considered as a strong indicator of who is likely to be successful at the Oscars. One of the Cork actor's early film roles was in Kirsten Sheridan's Disco Pigs but he went on play Dr Jonathan Crane and his evil alter ego The Scarecrow in Batman Begins, star as a killer who kidnaps airline passenger in Wes Craven's Red Eye, take the lead role in 28 Days Later and star in the blockbuster Cold Mountain.
Murphy, 29, stars as a young Irish transvestite in Jordan's Breakfast on Pluto - a collaboration with The Butcher Boy author Patrick McCabe.
Former Bond star Brosnan, 52, plays as a washed-up assassin in his new film, The Matador. Both Murphy and Brosnan will be up against Johnny Depp in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Jeff Daniels in The Squid and the Whale, Nathan Lane in Broadway musical The Producers and Joaquin Phoenix in Walk the Line.
Gay cowboy movie Brokeback Mountain leads the way with seven nominations, including best picture, best actor for Heath Ledger, best actress for Michelle Williams and best director for Ang Lee. Other movies in the Best Motion Picture - Drama category include The Constant Gardener, Good Night, And Good Luck, A History of Violence and Match Point.
Other nominees include Russell Crowe for Cinderella Man, Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain, Judi Dench in Mrs Henderson Presents, Scarlett Johansson for Match Point and Sarah Jessica Parker in The Family Stone. Keira Knightley, 20, is in the running for her role as Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice.
Those in the running for the Best Performance for an Actress include Gwyneth Paltrow for Proof, Charlize Theron in North County and Ziyi Zhang in Memoirs of a Geisha. The four stars of Desperate Housewives are nominated for best TV actress in a comedy or musical series. ends