We continue our coverage of the 2015 IFTA Film & Drama Awards (taking place on Sunday, May 24), with a look at the very talented Best Supporting Actress Drama category.
Playing four extremely strong and well-written characters – this category includes Charlotte Bradley (from the Celtic noir ‘An Bronntanas’), Aisling Franciosi (from the Belfast-set IFTA-winning drama ‘The Fall’), Charlie Murphy (from the BBC television series ‘The Village’) and Mary Murray (from RTÉ’s landmark gangster drama ‘Love/Hate’).
Charlotte Bradley is nominated for her performance as matriarch Carmel Magill in TG4’s Irish language drama ‘An Bronntanas’. Bradley shines as a cool headed and resourceful mother to two wayward sons caught in the middle of a dangerous skirmish after finding a million euro worth of drugs off a boat on the west coast of Ireland.
Bradley has an impressive IFTA pedigree having won ten years ago in 2005 for Best Supporting Actress Film for her role opposite Colm Meaney in ‘The Boys And Girls From County Clare’. Other roles of Bradley’s include ‘The Yank’, again opposite Colm Meaney, ‘Veronica Guerin’, ‘Titanic: Blood & Steel’ and ‘The Clinic’.
Aisling Franciosi is the only first-time nominee in this category but she is coming off very strong reviews for her performance as Katie in the Belfast-set drama ‘The Fall’.
16 year old Katie, obsessed with serial killer Paul Spector (played by Jamie Dornan who is also IFTA-nominated for his role), is a very dark and complex character as her fixation drives her to attempt to cover up his heinous crimes. Other roles of Franciosi’s includes Ken Loach’s ‘Jimmy’s Hall’, the BBC mini-series ‘Quirke’ opposite Gabriel Byrne and the short film ‘Ambition’ opposite Aiden Gillen. She has also been cast in her first transatlantic role in the television series ‘Legends’ opposite Sean Bean and was last year labelled as “one to watch” by US film website Screen International.
Part of an elite list of double nominees at this year’s ceremony (a list which includes Emer Reynolds, Andrew Scott, David Holmes, Gerard Barrett, Terry McMahon and Ken Galvin), Charlie Murphy is also nominated in the Lead Actress drama category for her acclaimed role in ‘Love/Hate’, a role that garnered her an IFTA win in 2013.
Murphy’s role as the progressive and rebellious Martha Lane in early 1900’s Britain in the BAFTA-nominated BBC period drama 'The Village' has drawn acclaim. Other roles of Murphy’s includes BBC drama ‘Happy Valley’, Oscar-nominated film ‘Philomena’, Belfast set-thriller ‘71’ and adventure film ‘Northmen: A Viking Saga’.
Mary Murray is this year celebrating back to back IFTA nominations for her role as brothel Madame Janet in RTÉ’s hugely popular gangster drama ‘Love/Hate’.
Murray has previously had acclaimed supporting roles in some of Ireland’s best known films such as Lenny Abrahamson’s ‘Adam & Paul’, Peter Mullan’s ‘The Magdalene Sisters’ and John Carney’s ‘On The Edge’. Other roles of Murray’s include ‘Thor: Legend Of The Musical Hammer’, ‘Eamon’ and ‘Love Is The Drug’.
The IFTA Film & Drama Awards take place on Sunday, May 24 – check out the full list of nominees here.
