Domhnall Gleeson’s Star is on the Rise | The Irish Film & Television Network

Domhnall’s fellow Shooting Stars include F. Y. Rep. of Macedonia actress Natasha Petrovic for her performance in ‘As If I Am Not There’ which is directed by IFTA winner Juanita Wilson; British actress Andrea Riseborough for her role in ‘Brighton Rock’; Albanian actor Nik Xhelilaj for his role in ‘The Albanian’; Croatian actress Marija Skaričić for her part in ‘Mother of Asphalt’; German actor Alexander Fehling for ‘Goethe!’; Swedish actress Alicia Vikander for her role in ‘Pure’; Spanish actress Clara Lago for her part in ‘Bunker’’; Dutch actress Sylvia Hoeks for her role in ‘Tirza’ and Danish actor ‘Pilou Asbæk’ for his performance in ‘R’.

Selected from a longlist of 25 candidates proposed by member organisations of the European Film Promotion (EFP), the final ten actors were chosen by a jury of established film industry professionals for their outstanding work in feature films.

A native of Dublin, 27-year-old Domhnall Gleeson studied Media Arts at the Dublin Institute of Technology and made his film acting debut in Martin McDonagh's short Six Shooter’ in 2004. In 2006, he earned a Tony Award nomination for his part in the Broadway production ‘The Lieutenant of Inishmore’. His work on-screen has included the TV series ‘The Last Furlong’ and the comedy show ‘Your Bad Self’ which he wrote and starred in. His recent film roles include Mark Romanek’s ‘Never Let Me Go’ in 2009 and the 2011 Berlinale opening film ‘True Grit’ from Ethan and Joel Coen. He recently portrayed a young Bob Geldof in the TV Drama ‘When Harvey Met Bob’ and his other film roles have included Paul Mercier's 2005 feature, ‘Studs’, Tom Hall’s ‘Sensation’ and the final two parts of ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows’. Domhnall is further lined up to star in his father, Brendan Gleeson’s upcoming feature, ‘At Swim-Two-Birds’.

The jury released a comment on Domhnall’s selection which lauded his performance in Blinder Films’ ‘Sensation’, saying: “As the likable loser in Sensation, Domhnall creates a unique world around the character with his quirky screen presence. It's a touching performance, full of intriguing contradictions.”

Domhnall himself also commented on his selection, saying: "I'm hugely honoured to be included as one this year's shooting stars. It's a very exciting list of young actors and I'm thrilled to be chosen along with such a talented group of people. I'd like to thank the jury for considering me and the Irish Film Board for putting me forward, and I can't wait to get to Berlin and meet all the other actors."

The 14th Shooting Stars showcase will, as mention above, take place February 12th to 14th at the 2011 Berlin International Film Festival and will culminate with the presentation of the Shooting Stars award to the ten selected actors. The event is supported by the MEDIA Programme of the European Union and is designed to provide an international showcase for emerging acting talent at the Berlinale.

For more information about the Shooting Star event visit www.shooting-stars.eu/main-sect.

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