‘I was a blow-in ... and it helped me win an Ifta’
CAITRIONA Balfe won the Best Actress in a Leading Role (Drama) at last night’s Irish Film & Television Academy Awards and used the platform to speak about the ‘Time’s Up’ movement.
The Dublin-born, Monaghan-raised actress picked up the award for her role in hit US show Outlander in which she plays a World War II nurse who is transported back in time to 1743.
‘It was very strange that I got the role as an Irish woman playing an English woman in Scotland. But being a blow-in in Monaghan prepared me for it,’ she said.
Walking the red carpet, the newly engaged actress wore black, as did many actresses, in support of the recent #TimesUp movement.
‘I just thought it would be nice to continue the message throughout the awards season, keep the conversation going,’ she said.
‘I think it’s important that we don’t make this a one night thing, that people really keep thinking about it.’
Saoirse Ronan won Best Actor in a Leading Role (Film) for Lady Bird and John Connors won his Leading Actor statuette for his role in Cardboard Gangsters. The best film gong went to Michael Inside.
A clearly emotional Gabriel Byrne accepted the Lifetime Achievement Award from President Michael D Higgins who called him ‘an actor unafraid to experiment’. ‘This award is meaningful for me because it’s not just a marker of work, it’s a marker of my life,’ the Walkinstown native said. ‘I’d say to anybody, if you think you have something inside that you that says “I wonder”, that’s the voice you have to listen to and say ‘do it’ because if you don’t do it, that’s what you’ll regret.’
Deirdre O’Kane, who referenced the gender pay gap in her opening speech, hosted the ceremony which was notable for its eight first-time nominees across the lead and supporting actor categories. Although there were only four nominees for leading film actress. The ceremony airs tomorrow at 10.45pm on RTÉ One.