I was so thrilled Ruth got Oscar nomination ...but I wasn’t surprised by it
IRISH STAR CILLIAN LEADS NEGGA PRAISE
RUTH Negga will have a wellknown champion cheering her on when she takes to the red carpet at the Oscars tonight – fellow Irish actor Cillian Murphy.
The Peaky Blinders and Dark Knight star worked with Ruth at the beginning of her career when the talented Limerick actress was just 22.
She landed the role of best friend Charlie to Cillian’s transgender character Kitten in Neil Jordan’s film Breakfast On Pluto.
Jordan rewrote the script to include her when he was blown away by the young star’s audition, and it became her breakthrough role.
Cillian, 40, spoke yesterday of his delight at her Oscar nomination – and said her talent was evident even from those early days.
He added: “I was so thrilled. And again you’re not surprised really when you see someone who’s that brilliant and that talented.
“When we did Pluto, it was 14, 15 years ago maybe, so it’s a long time.
“But she made such an impression in that film and then continued on.
“You could see it was just an upward trajectory the whole time.”
Cillian, at the Audi Dublin International Film Festival for the premiere of his new movie Free Fire, said he will be rooting for the actress come Oscar night. He added: “I’ve not seen Loving yet unfortunately but everyone says she’s remarkable in it and fingers crossed she wins.”
The 35-year-old actress will celebrate the biggest moment of her career tonight when she goes for gold at the Oscars, which will be televised live all over the world.
While several gongs are handed out throughout the movie industry’s lengthy awards season, the Oscars are regarded as the one that can transform a career.
Ruth is nominated for her role in Loving in which she plays the real-life Mildred Loving who was jailed for entering a mixed-race marriage with husband Richard – played by Aussie Joel Edgerton – in 1950s Virginia.
Their decade-long battle to stay married went all the way to the US Supreme Court and wiped away segregation laws in America.
The other nominees in the Best Actress category are Meryl Streep, Natalie Portman, French actress Isabelle Huppert and Emma Stone, the favourite for La La Land.
Ruth is one of three Irish contenders at the awards, which take place in Los Angeles.
Top costume designer Consolata Boyle is also in the running for her work on the Meryl Streep movie Florence Foster Jenkins. Dystopian
comedy The Lobster, which stars Colin Farrell and Rachel Weisz, was produced by an Irish company and filmed in Co Kerry, and is on the shortlist in the Best Original Screenplay category.
This weekend, the Irish got the party started in LA’S Irish Oscar bash, the Oscar Wilde Awards.
Ruth and fellow actress Caitriona Balfe were presented with gongs, while US actors Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto also enjoyed the craic.
All of the Irish nominees are up against stiff competition at tonight’s Oscars with the musical La La Land widely expected to sweep the board. It’s been nominated for 14 Oscars, matching the all-time record held by Titanic and All About Eve.
Ruth and all the other nominees will be given a goodie bag packed with gifts to the value of a six-figure sum.
They’re not affiliated to the Oscars and are offered by a private company. This year they include a five-star break at a Hawaii beach villa, a week at an exclusive spa, a weekend break at Lake Como in Italy and dozens of fitness and beauty products.
Ruth, who was born in Ethiopia to an Irish mother and Ethiopian father and moved to Limerick at the age of four, has been kicking up a storm on the red carpet during the awards season, with outfits from designers such as Louis Vuitton and Valentino stunning fashion watchers around the globe.
The actress this weekend credited top celebrity stylist Karla Welch with helping her keep redcarpet ready.
Canadian Welch and Ruth have been working together for several months and are the only ones who know which designer the actress will wear
When we did Pluto it was 15 years ago. But she made such an impression and then continued on
CILLIAN MURPHY ON RUTH NEGGA’S PERFORMANCE IN BREAKTHROUGH ROLE
tonight. The stylist, who has also dressed stars such as Olivia Wilde and Michelle Monaghan, has been the actress’ right-hand woman on the season circuit, and has been sharing photos of Ruth’s gowns on her Instagram account.
Welch said the best thing about working with Negga is she is “fearless” when it comes to trying a new look.
She told Vogue: “We’re very collaborative and on the same page, so it translates in a very easy way. It is fun to be fearless.” Welch added that Negga and she very rarely disagree because she knows what she feels good in.
Fashion fans will be eagerly watching to see what she wears as she arrives for the 89th Academy Awards in Hollywood but it’s almost impossible to guess as she’s been mixing it up all season.
Chat show host Jimmy Kimmel will present the awards this year.
Edited highlights of the ceremony, which can be as long as five hours, will be shown on RTE Two tomorrow night.