Actress Caitriona Balfe and director Kenneth Brannagh are being tipped to be nominated for an Oscar for her role in Belfast.
The Monaghan native could be nominated for best actress and director Kenneth Brannagh will be hoping to pick up a nomination in the best picture category for Belfast as well as for his directing and screenplay.
This year’s Academy Awards will take place on March 27, and the nominations will be announced tomorrow by the Academy Of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Caitríona has already been nominated for a BAFTA Film Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award for her role as ‘Ma’ in Kenneth Branagh’s film Belfast, and many are predicting she will also receive an Oscar nomination today.
But speaking to RTE, her mother, Anne, and father, Jim, said she’ll still be their little “scamp” Caitriona.
“We’re so proud of her and she's worked so hard. She started in Dublin, went to Paris, then London and then on to New York,” said Anne.
Jim added: "Growing up, she never talked about acting. But she was always taking off people. She used to do a great impression of Margaret Thatcher.”
"She also did a good impression of the MEP, Mairead McGuinness," Anne said.
Caitríona enjoyed school and like many teenagers her age made the annual summer trip to the Gaeltacht where she made lots of new friends.
"She did a lot of singing, drama and dancing there. I found a notebook a few years back, which I shouldn't have got rid of and some young lad said, you’ll make a great actor or model in the future, and I got rid of when I was throwing out old stuff," said Anne.
Her parents said while she was good at school, she was a "scamp at the same time" and kept them on their toes.
Caitríona has had massive success with the hit series Outlander - where she plays Claire Fraser - a historical TV drama which is huge in the US and in Australia.
"Since she started acting, she’s worked hard. She does a lot of preparation. The first year she was doing Outlander, she was living in Scotland, she didn’t know anyone except for the cast and crew. Work, eat and prepare for the next day, that was it for the first 12 months. So, she has put in the hard work, and it pays off," explained her mother.
The success of the film Belfast, which is set during the Troubles, has got everyone talking. Directed by Kenneth Branagh, it also stars Jamie Dornan, Judie Dench, Ciarán Hinds and 12-year-old Jude Hill.
"She doesn’t get carried away. She has her baby and her husband, Tony and they’re number one," her dad said.
The film, which is in Irish cinemas now, is seen through the eyes of a child and tells the story of a difficult time in Irish history. There’s much hype about it with lots of talk about Oscar nominations.
"We were talking to her last week and she’s so busy. She had ten different journalists from several different countries all doing interviews with her one day. She was worn out from it," said her dad.
"Although she's sitting at a pool now and it’s 23 degrees, so it's not too bad," he laughs.
"When she was home in November, we talked about it. If it comes well and good, and if it doesn’t, what about it," said Jim.
"Even the possibility of it, it's a big thing," said Anne.
"Whatever happens, she'll still be Caitríona, and we'll be glad to see her the next time she gets home," she added.
The film is likely to be recognised in the best picture category, while stars Jamie Dornan, Ciaran Hinds and Dame Judi Dench could also receive recognition.
