COLIN FARRELL, BRENDAN GLEESON AND JONATHAN RHYS MEYERS TO BE HONORED BY ALLIANCE

Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, and Jonathan Rhys Meyers will be honored by the US-Ireland Alliance at its fourth annual "Oscar Wilde: Honoring The Irish in Film" pre-Academy Awards party, Thursday, February 19, 2009 at the Wilshire Ebell in Los Angeles.

Hosted by the US-Ireland Alliance, a non-profit organization created to foster ties between the US and Ireland, the event is designed to bring together leaders in the Irish and US film, music and entertainment communities. “We are delighted to honor three such outstanding Irish actors, all of whom have exciting current projects underway as well as prolific careers and an abundance of acclaimed roles,” said US-Ireland Alliance president, Trina Vargo, in making the announcement.

Colin Farrell continues to turn heads in Hollywood. He can next be seen starring opposite Ed Norton in the New Line film Pride and Glory. The film is directed by Gavin O’Conner, which centers on a family of New York City police officers who are torn apart by corruption and scandal. Colin recently completed three films; Ondine by Irish director Neil Jordan which revolves around an Irish fisherman who discovers a woman he thinks is a mermaid; Terry Gilliam’s The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnasus alongside Jude Law and Johnny Depp; Triage by Bosnian helmer Danis Tanovic about a photojournalist who returns home following a dangerous assignment without his colleague and best friend.

Colin’s other films include Woody Allen’s Cassandra’s Dream; Martin McDonagh’s dark comedy In Bruges; Miami Vice; Alexander; Terrence Malick’s The New World; opposite Al Pacino in The Recruit; A Home at the End of the World based on the Michael Cunningham novel; two Joel Schumacher's films - Phone Booth and Tigerland; Minority Report, Daredevil, American Outlaws, SWAT, and Intermission.

Brendan Gleeson’s rise to fame began when he appeared in Jim Sheridan’s The Field, followed by a number of small roles in such films as Far and Away and Into The West. He attracted the attention of Hollywood, when he starred in Braveheart, alongside Mel Gibson. His latest project is Green Zone, a Paul Greengrass film starring with Matt Damon. Brendan’s first starring role was in I Went Down, which was followed by his highly acclaimed role in John Boorman’s The General, for which he received a number of awards: Boston Society of Film Critics Award and Irish Film and Television Award for Best Actor and London Critics Circle Award for British Actor of the Year. " Other film credits include M. Knight Shyamalan’s The Village; Cold Mountain directed by Anthony Minghella; Ridley Scott’s Kingdom of Heaven; Breakfast on Pluto directed by Neil Jordan; two Harry Potter films; John Boorman’s The Tiger’s Tail; Beowulf directed by Robert Zemeckis; John Woo’s Mission Impossible II; Steven Spielberg’s AI; and Martin Scorsese’s Gangs of New York. He recently appeared in In Bruges alongside Colin Farrell and Ralph Fiennes. He has just finished work on the HBO movie Churchill at War for director Thaddeus O’Sullivan, where he plays the title role.

Jonathan Rhys Meyers first gained international attention and a London Film Critics Circle Award for his starring role in Todd Haynes’ Velvet Goldmine with Ewan McGregor, Christian Bale and Toni Collette. Since then, he has garnered a Golden Globe Award for his starring role in the CBS television miniseries Elvis and recently received a Golden Globe nomination for his role as Henry the VIII in SHOWTIME’S The Tudors. Jonathan just wrapped filming on the psycho-thriller Shelter opposite Julianne Moore. He was last seen in the film, The Children of Huang Shi, directed by Roger Spottiswoode. Other credits include the musical romance August Rush, directed by In America’s Kirsten Sheridan; Mission Impossible III in which he co-stared with Tom Cruise, Laurence Fishburne, and Phillip Seymour Hoffmann under the direction of J.J. Abrams; Woody Allen’s, Match Point; Bend It Like Beckham, in which he starred with Keira Knightly and Parminder Nagra; Oliver Stone’s epic Alexander, with Colin Farrell and Angelina Jolie; and Mira Nair’s Vanity Fair, with Reese Witherspoon.

This annual Hollywood event has become the fun, casual Irish party that precedes the Academy Awards. Previous honorees include James L. Brooks, Colm Meaney, Fiona Shaw, Van Morrison, Terry George, Bill Monahan, Neil Jordan, Jim Sheridan and David Holmes. The event brings out studio executives, writers, directors, producers, and a host of luminaries, including Al Pacino, Jodie Foster, Terrence Howard, Anjelica Huston, Cecelia Ahern, Charlize Theron, Stuart Townsend, Roma Downey, Scott Burnett, Rachel Griffiths and Orlando Bloom.

Sponsors of the event include Walt Disney Studios. Renowned glass blower, Simon Pearce, will create a custom-designed Oscar Wilde award for the honorees. Corporate sponsors of the US-Ireland Alliance include Quinlan Private, Jurys Doyle Hotels, and Cross Atlantic Capital Partners.