There was no joy for the Irish
BAFTA hopefuls last night as silent movie The Artist made the most noise at the glitzy awards bash in London.
The black-and-white movie scooped seven gongs, including Best Picture and Best Director for Michel Hazanavicius.
It swept the board in London just as it is expected to do the same at the Oscars in two weeks time. Hunky Kerry star Michael Fassbender (34) was amongst the host of Irish talent left disappointed by The Artist’s unstoppable success.
He lost out on the Leading Actor gong to the silent movie’s star Jean Dujardin. Luckily for Fassbender, he had his award from Saturday night’s IFTAs bash in Dublin to console him. Rising Roscommon funnyman Chris O’Dowd (32), who starred in US box office smash Bridesmaids, lost out on the Orange Rising Star award to British actor Adam Deacon.
Elsewhere, Meryl Streep bagged the Leading Actress gong for her portrayal of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady. Amongst the other big winners on the night included Christopher Plummer, who bagged the Best Supporting Actor for Beginners, while the gong for Outstanding British Film was given to Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.
The award goes to...
Best Film:
The Artist
Outstanding British Film:
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Director:
Michel Hazanavicius
Leading Actor:
Jean Dujardin
Leading Actress:
Meryl Streep
Supporting Actor:
Christopher Plummer
Supporting Actress:
Octavia Spencer
Bafta Fellowship:
Martin Scorsese