THE IRISH FILM BOARD and the Irish Film and Television Awards have announced the four nominees for this year’s IFTA Rising Star Award.

The nominees are: actor Chris O’Dowd of Bridesmaids; John Michael McDonagh, the writer and director of 2011 hit Irish film The Guard; actor Emmett Scanlan of Charlie Casanova; and Rebecca Daly, who wrote and directed The Other Side of Sleep.

McDonagh, pictured here with the cast of The Guard, said he was very pleased with his nomination but that “given that I am pathologically competitive, this nomination will mean nothing to me if I don’t win.”

“All opposition must be crushed,” he added. “Especially Chris O’Dowd, who will be starring with Brendan Gleeson in my next film late this year. If he wins, his role will have to be recast.”

“I’m that vindictive.”

Meanwhile, O’Dowd said he was especially looking forward to the awards night and the “glorious shindig in the big schmoke”. He also asked if he could meet Bosco.

IFTA’s chief executive Áine Moriarty said that the Rising Star category spotlights “great Irish talent making a significant mark in the film industry at large” and described each of this year’s four nominees as “world class talents in their respective fields”.

The winner will be announced during the IFTAs on 11 February.

[caption id="attachment_330750" align="alignnone" width="511" caption="IFTA nominee Chris O'Dowd meeting fans in Dublin and hoping for an audience with Bosco. (Image: Niall Carson/PA Wire)"][/caption]