PRODUCER REDMOND Morris and actors Brendan Gleeson and Michael Fassbender are among the nominees for the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (Bafta) awards, which were announced in London yesterday.
They were among the five nominees with Irish links, which also included screenwriter Enda Walsh and production designer Nathan Crowley.
As one of the producers of The Reader, Morris is nominated for the most prestigious prize, best picture.
The Readeris in competition for that award with Slumdog Millionaireand The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which led the Bafta nominations with 11 each, and Frost/Nixonand Milk.
Morris, from Dublin, was returning from the Golden Globes ceremony in Los Angeles yesterday when he heard the news. "The plane had just touched down in London and my wife phoned to tell me," he told The Irish Times.
“I gave a hoot and a holler, and the flight attendant came over to see what was wrong. I’m absolutely thrilled that we’re nominated.”
Five days after Colin Farrell won a Golden Globe for his performance in In Bruges, his co-star, Brendan Gleeson, received a Bafta nomination as best supporting actor for the same film.
Gleeson's fellow nominees in that category are Brad Pitt ( Burn After Reading), Philip Seymour Hoffman ( Doubt), Robert Downey jnr ( Tropic Thunder), and the late Heath Ledger ( The Dark Knight).
Irish production designer Nathan Crowley was nominated for his work on The Dark Knight.
In Bruges, written and directed by playwright-turned-filmmaker Martin McDonagh, received a further three Bafta nominations, for outstanding British film, best original screenplay, and best film editing.
Michael Fassbender is one of five nominees for the rising star award for his portrayal of Bobby Sands in Hunger.
Born in Heidelberg, Germany, Fassbender was raised in Killarney, Co Kerry, where his family moved when he was two years old.
Turner prize-winning artist Steve McQueen, who directed Hunger, and Irish playwright Enda Walsh, who wrote the screenplay with him, were nominated for the outstanding British film award.
McQueen was also nominated for the Carl Foreman award, given annually for the best achievement in a first-time feature film.
Kate Winslet, who won two Golden Globe awards on Sunday, is up against herself in the Bafta best actress category.
She took two of the five nominations for her performances in The Readerand Revolutionary Road.
The other nominees are Meryl Streep ( Doubt), Angelina Jolie ( Changeling), and Kristin Scott Thomas ( I've Loved You So Long).
Mickey Rourke, a Golden Globe winner for his comeback performance in The Wrestler, is one of the five nominees in the Bafta best actor category, along with Dev Patel ( Slumdog Millionaire), Sean Penn ( Milk), Frank Langella ( Frost/Nixon), and Brad Pitt ( The Curious Case of Benjamin Button).
The Bafta awards will be presented at a televised ceremony in London on February 8th.
BEST FILM
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
Milk
BEST ACTOR
Mickey Rourke ( The Wrestler)
Dev Patel ( Slumdog Millionaire)
Sean Penn ( Milk)
Frank Langella ( Frost/Nixon)
Brad Pitt ( The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
BEST ACTRESS
Kate Winslet ( The Reader, Revolutionary Road)
Meryl Streep ( Doubt)
Angelina Jolie ( Changeling)
Kristin Scott Thomas ( I've Loved You So Long)