‘It’s in our DNA:’ How Irish talent keeps turning Hollywood green
The Uber driver’s ears perk up when he hears the destination is a pre-Oscars event in Santa Monica celebrating Irish film and talent. He’s Puerto Rican, he says, but spent three weeks in Ireland right before the Covid shutdown – waxing lyrical about the pubs, the music, the culture, and the bus tour he took of the Game of Thrones filming locations in the country’s north.
Then he pulls up to the curb at Santa Monica production company Bad Robot, owned by filmmaker JJ Abrams of Star Wars fame, where a green carpet has been laid out for the arrivals of Ireland’s on- and off-screen industry heavyweights. They’re here for the Oscar Wilde Awards, an annual celebration of Irish film and talent hosted by the US-Ireland Alliance honouring big players, facilitating networking and essentially functioning as a big “party with a purpose” during the Irish-American Heritage Month of March.
If the past few years are anything to go by, the Irish certainly have a reason to party. Not only does Ireland boast a Best Actor nomination for Cillian Murphy’s performance, but half
