Trinity graduate Lenny Abrahamson gets Best Director nomination at this years Academy Awards

Following acclaim for What Richard Did and Frank, the Dublin born director is one of the many Irish people up for awards

NEWSThis morning the Oscar nominations were unveiled and it was a great year for the Irish. Saoirse Ronan was nominated for Best Actress in Brooklyn, and Brooklyn is also nominated for best picture and adapted screenplay as it is based on Colm Toibin novel. Michael Fassbender nominated for Best Actor in his work in the film Steve Jobs. Along with these big names Lenny Abrahamson is up for best director for his film Room which also got nominated for Best Picture, Best Actress, and Adapted Screenplay as it is based on the book Room by Irish writer Emma Donoghue.

Abrahamson hails from Dublin and is a former Trinity student. While here he studied philosophy and was elected a scholar. In 2015 Abrahamson received the Alumni Award from College.

Abrahamson has had success with films such as What Richard Did and Frank. When there was first Oscar buzz around ‘Room’ Abrahamson in an interview that: “If we get any nominations at all for a film of this scale with material like this, I think that would be an incredible triumph… let’s see what happens.”  

Room the novel was released in 2010 by Irish writer Emma Donoghue and has gone on to be a bestseller. Room tells the story of a woman and her son, who are played Brie Larson and Jacob Tremblay, who after years of being held in an enclosed space gain their freedom. Brie Larson is also nominated for Best Actress alongside Saoirse Ronan. The film also has a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 97%.

Lenny Abrahamson will be up against fellow directors Alejandro G. Inarritu for The Revenant, Adam McKay for The Big Short, George Miller for Mad Max: Fury Road and Tom McCarthy for Spotlight.

Along with Saoirse Ronan and Brie Larson others nominated for Best Actress include Cate Blanchett, Jennifer Lawrence and Charlotte Rampling. Those competing for the Best Actor award alongside Fassbender are Leonardo DiCaprio, Bryan Cranston, Eddie Redmayne and Matt Damon.

The Oscars will take place on February 28 and will be hosted by comedian Chris Rock.