Éanna Hardwicke, the up-and-coming Irish actor who is set to star as the controversial Irish football captain Roy Keane opposite Steve Coogan in the film Saipan, will be honored at this year’s Oscar Wilde Awards.
John C. Reilly also will be feted Feb. 27 at the event held at the historic Ebell theater in Los Angeles. Organized by the US-Ireland Alliance, these awards celebrate the work of those from Ireland — and sometimes, of those who are not — who contribute to film, television and music.
Hardwicke, 28, will be presented with the “Wilde Card” Award, which recognizes rising talent. Previous recipients include Saoirse Ronan, Sarah Bolger and Eve Hewson.
The pandemic forced the cancellation of the 2021 Oscar Wilde Awards, and the L.A. wildfires prompted US-Ireland Alliance founder Trina Vargo to think about shelving this year’s event as well.
“Everyone involved with our organization, and the Oscar Wilde Awards, is saddened by the devastation resulting from the recent fires. We know how much the fires have disrupted the lives of many of our friends, the entertainment community and the broader Los Angeles community,” she said in a statement.
“We briefly considered canceling, but many told us that they were looking forward to this. We hope the event will provide a respite, for at least an evening.”
Saipan, directed by Glenn Leyburn and Lisa Barros D’Sa, revolves around the very public feud between the hot-headed Keane and Ireland soccer manager Mick McCarthy (played by Coogan in the film) that took place in 2002 in the lead-up to the World Cup in Japan.
Born in Cork, Ireland, Hardwicke acted on the stage as a youngster before he made his onscreen debut alongside Imogen Poots and Jesse Eisenberg in Vivarium (2019), which premiered at Cannes.
His credits also include the 2020 BBC miniseries Normal People; the 2021-23 RTÉ One/Hulu series Smother; the 2022 films The Sparrow and Lakelands; the 2022 Netflix series Fate: The Winx Saga; the 2023 Paramount+ series The Doll Factory; and the 2023 BBC miniseries The Sixth Commandment, for which he received a BAFTA nomination for his turn as an evil church warden.
Last year, Hardwicke portrayed Newsnight editor Stewart Maclean on the Prime Video miniseries A Very Royal Scandal, starring Ruth Wilson and Michael Sheen, and he’s now filming the feature No Ordinary Heist alongside Eddie Marsan.
