The Luck O' the Irish!!

After viewing In Bruges last night, and having just celebrated St. Patrick's Day, I got to thinking about all things Irish. Ireland is arguably most famous for birthing the famous writers Jonathan Swift, James Joyce, Oscar Wilde, and William Butler Yeats. But namely I began thinking about my favorite Irish thespians! Therefore this is a post in the fashion of "The Scottish Vacuum of Charm", with half the number of Irish actors that pack the same amount of punch! Ah, I do love Celtic culture.

Cillian Murphy hails from Cork, Ireland and first made a splash as bike courier Jim who awakes from a coma in London to find the city in a complete shambles in Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later (which also features Brendan Gleeson! see next). What's not to love about him. Gorgeous, intense blue eyes and...that face! Beautiful as a man OR a woman. Other notable roles include Dr. Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow in Batman Begins, Jackson Rippner in Red Eye, Damien in The Wind That Shakes The Barley, Robert Capa in Sunshine (my favorite role of his thus far). Lots of films of his that I still need to see!

Of late Brendan Gleeson (Dublin, Ireland) is best known for his portrayal of Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody in the Harry Potter films and Wiglaf in Beowulf, but I remember him first as Hamish Campbell, best (childhood) friend and badass comrade of Mel Gibson's character William Wallace in Braveheart! I loved him as Frank in 28 Days Later, and of course Ken in In Bruges. He brings a steady, solid demeanor to his often mentor-like roles; he's the embodiment of a big heart within a big body.

Liam Neeson, from Northern Ireland is probably best known for his role as Oskar Schindler in Schindler's List, Qui-Gon Jinn in the Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Alfred Kinsey in Kinsey, and for providing the voice of Aslan in the Chronicles of Narnia. My favorite roles of his are Daniel in Love Actually and Henri Ducard in Batman Begins, though it is safe to say I like every role he is in. And next he's set to play Abraham Lincoln! Quiet but commanding, earnest and thoughtful, I love watching Liam Neeson onscreen.

To be honest I have only watched this Dubliner in Bend It Like Beckham and parts of Velvet Goldmine and Mission Impossible III! Oh the shame. Haven't seen Match Point, August Rush, or the acclaimed TV series The Tudors, so I have a lot of catching up to do in terms of viewing Jonathan Rhys-Meyer's talent, but he sure is gorgeous.

You probably all know who Colin Farrell is, I don't think I need to bother reminding you about his roles in Daredevil, Miami Vice, Minority Report, Phone Booth, Alexander, S.W.A.T. - I've seen three of the six mentioned (hangs head in shame). I would however like to see his performance in The New World, and I am itching to see his coverage in the tri/quad-role of Tony in Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (quick FYI - the last role of Heath Ledger that had to be recasted with Johnny Depp, Jude Law & Colin Farrell - but preserving Heath's performance). In my younger years I remember his 'Hollywood bad-boy' reputation and rolling my eyes at him, but he's okay as an actor... and easy on the eyes. Rawr.

Other notable Irish actors that I did not include:
Pierce Brosnan, Gabriel Byrne, Kenneth Branagh, Michael Gambon, Dylan Moran, Richard Harris, Peter O'Toole.