With the runaway success of Kenneth Branagh's Belfast at the Oscars, we decided to look back on the history of Northern Irish actors and filmmakers being given nods at the Academy Awards.
Belfast, which received seven Academy Awards nominations, helped Branagh break a new record by earning him seven Academy Award nominations in seven categories throughout his career - while it also gave fellow North Belfast actor Ciarán Hinds his first nomination.
But what of the other Northern Irish stars or creators who have won or been nominated over the years? From Liam Neeson, to Enya's Belfast-born songwriting partner, there's been quite a few.
Here's a look at the history of Oscar winners and nominees from Northern Ireland:
OSCAR NOMINATIONS:
Stephen Rea - Nominated for Best Actor for The Crying Game in 1992
Regarded as one of the best Irish actors of all-time, Stephen Rea received an Oscar nod for his appearance as Fergus, in the crime thriller The Crying Game . He lost out to Al Pacino, who won it for Scene of a Woman .
Liam Neeson - Nominated for Best Actor for Schindler’s List in 1993
Ballymena-born actor Liam Neeson is one of the most famous film stars in the world. He received international acclaim for his appearance as Oskar Schindler in the Holocaust film Schindler's List . Neeson was nominated for the Best Actor award, but lost out to Tom Hanks, who won it for his role in Philadelphia .
Terry George - Nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay for In The Name of the Father in 1993 & Best Original Screenplay Hotel Rwanda in 2004
One of the most talented filmmakers in the world, Belfast born writer and director Terry George received nominations for adapting the screenplay for the troubles film In The Name of the Father (which lost out to Schindler's List), and for writing the original screenplay for Hotel Rwanda (which lost out to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind ).
Tim Loane - Nominated for Best Live Action Short for Dance Lexie Dance in 1998
Northern Irish writer, director and actor Tim Loane has had an impressive career. In 1998, his Live Action Short film Dance Lexie Dance received an Oscar nomination. The film focuses on a young girl from a Protestant background in Derry, who takes up Irish dancing despite her father's hesitation. It lost out to the film Visas and Virtues .
Roma Ryan - Nominated for Best Song for Enya's 'May It Be' in 2001
It's been said that multi-million selling artist Enya "wouldn't exist" without the help of Belfast-born poet and lyricist Roma Ryan, as well as her husband Nicky. Ryan was credited on Enya's Lord of the Rings song 'May It Be', which was nominated for an Oscar in 2001. It lost out to 'If I Didn't Have You' from Monsters Inc .
Gary McKendry - Nominated for Best Live Action Short for Everything In This Country Must in 2004
Ballyclare director Gary McKendry was nominated for an Oscar in 2004 for his short film Everything In This Country Mus t. The film is based on a novella from Irish author Colum McCann. It lost out to British short film Wasp .
Peter Devlin - Nominated for Pearl Harbour (2002), Transformers (2008), Star Trek (2010), Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2012) and Black Panther (2019)
Having grown up in Northern Ireland, Peter Devlin moved to America to pursue a career in Sound Engineering. He has worked in over 50 films since the late 80s, and has been nominated for the Best Sound Oscar five times, making him the most nominated Northern Irish person in history.
Seamus McGarvey - Nominated for Best Cinematography for Atonement in 2007 and Anna Karenina in 2012
Armagh-born cinematographer Seamus McGarvey emerged in the early 2000s as one of the best creatives in his field. He was nominated for Best Cinematography for the films Atonement in 2007 (where he lost out to There Will Be Blood ), and for Anna Karenina in 2012 (where he lost out to Life of Pi ).
Tomm Moore - Nominated for Best Animated Feature for The Secret of Kells in 2009, Song of the Sea in 2014, and Wolfwalkers in 2021
The co-founder of the multiple award-winning animation studio Cartoon Saloon, Tomm Moore is based in Kilkenny (with fellow co-founders Paul Young and Nora Twoney), but was originally from Newry. Tomm has had a string of nominations for Best Animated Feature; for The Secret of Kells in 2009 (which lost out to UP ), Song of the Sea in 2014 (which lost out to Big Hero 6 ), and Wolfwalkers in 2021 (which lost out to Soul ).
The Crush - Nominated for Best Live Action Short in 2010
The Crush was a 2010 Live Action Short which was made in Northern Ireland with a predominantly Northern Irish team. It was produced by Damon Quinn (of Give My Head Peace fame), and starred Olga Wehrly, Rory Keenan, Charlie Bonner, Neili Conroy and Oran Creagh. It was directed by Jim Creagh. The film lost out at the Oscars to American short God of Love .
Boogaloo and Graham - Nominated for Best Live Action Short in 2014
Another Live Action Short with a predominantly Northern Irish team, Boogaloo and Graham starred Martin McCann, Charlene McKenna, and Jonathan Harden, and was directed by Michael Lennox. It was nominated for an Academy Award at the 2014 Oscars, but lost out to British film The Phone Call.
OSCAR WINNERS:
The Shore - Won the Best Live Action Short Award in 2012
Northern Irish film T he Shore won the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short in 2012. The film was directed, produced and written by two-time nominee Terry George (see more above) along with his daughter Oorlagh George, and starred 2022's Belfast nominee Ciaran Hinds, as well as Conleth Hill, Kerry Condon and Maggie Cronin. The film follows two boyhood best friends who are reunited after a 25-year division created by a misunderstanding from the days of the Northern Ireland Troubles.
David MacMillan
David MacMillan is an American sound engineer who was born in Northern Ireland.
He won three Oscars over the course of his lengthy career. His Oscars were for the films The Right Stuff (1983), Speed (1994) and Apollo 13 (1995).
To get the latest breaking news straight to your inbox, sign up to our free newsletter.
