Colin Farrell has kicked off award season in winning form as he been honoured with a special award at the 34th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival.
The Dublin born star, 46, who is currently surrounded in Oscar buzz for his role in Banshees of Inisherin, was honoured with the Desert Palm Achievement Award at the ceremony in California on Thursday.
Farrell picked up the award alongside fellow Oscar contenders Cate Blanchett and Brendan Fraser as award season frontrunners came together as the festival kicked off this week.
READ MORE: Banshees of Inisherin gets 14 nods on BAFTAs longlist
Blanchett received the Desert Palm Achievement Award, Actress for her Oscar-tipped performance in Tár.
Fraser, who is also expected to be on the Oscars shortlist, was honoured with the Spotlight Award for his performance in The Whale.
Other Hollywood stars honoured on the first night of the festival included Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All at Once), Austin Butler (Elvis), Viola Davis (The Woman King), Bill Nighy (Living), and Danielle Deadwyler (Till).
Farrell is among the strong Irish contingent of nominees at next Tuesday night's Golden Globe Awards in California.
He is shortlisted for best actor in a motion picture alongside Daniel Craig for Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, Adam Driver for White Noise, Diega Calva for Babylon and Ralph Fiennes for The Menu.
The Dumbo star is also predicted to finally get set for Oscar glory after more than 20 years in the movie business.
Irish bookmakers, Ladbrokes, have the Dublin native as one of the front runners for the ‘Best Actor’ gong for his role in dark comedy drama ‘The Banshees of Inisherin’. Farrell is now second favourite after his odds were slashed to 7/2 from 8/1 following a recent surge in betting.
Fraser is the current category favourite at 4/7, while Austin Butler and Tom Cruise are also in contention at 11/2 and 12/1 respectively.
The ‘Banshees of Inisherrin’ film itself is now a serious contender for ‘Best Picture’ after its odds were cut as short as 3/1 from 16/1, making the drama third favourite behind ‘Everything Everywhere All At Once’ at 7/4 and ‘The Fablemans’ at 11/4.
Nicola McGeady of Ladbrokes said: The odds have taken a dramatic tumble for both Colin Farrell and his film The Banshees of Inisherrin cleaning up at The Oscars. If the money is anything to go, it will be a great year for the Irish in Hollywood.”
The Oscar nominations will be announced on Tuesday 24 January.
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