Cillian Murphy nominated for Golden Globe

CILLIAN MURPHY and Pierce Brosnan were nominated in the best actor category yesterday as gay cowboy romance Brokeback Mountain swept the boards at the Golden Globes with seven nominations.

Brosnan was nominated for best actor in a movie, musical or comedy, for his role as a burned-out hitman in The Matador, while Corkman Cillian Murphy won his nod for his part as a cross-dressing Irishman in Breakfast on Pluto.

This category is separate from the best dramatic actor.

One of Murphy's early film roles was in Kirsten Sheridan's Disco Pigs but he went on play Dr Jonathan Crane and his evil alter ego The Scarecrow in Batman Begins, star as a killer who kidnaps an airline passenger in Wes Craven's Red Eye, take the lead role in 28 Days Later and star in the blockbuster Cold Mountain.

Brokeback Mountain won best dramatic picture nominations and honours for actors Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams and director Ang Lee, positioning itself as a key Academy Awards competitor.

Other best drama picture contenders were the John Le Carré murder thriller The Constant Gardener, George Clooney's Good Night, and Good Luck, the mobster story A History of Violence and the infidelity drama Match Point.

The Globes were a triumph for smaller budgeted films over big studio productions.

"This is the first time in the history of the Golden Globes that all of the best [dramatic] film nominees are independent movies made for under $30 million [€25m]," said Philip Berk, president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

The Globes were the latest recognition for Brokeback Mountain, a critical darling that has received top honours from critics' groups in New York, Los Angeles and Boston. Ledger plays a family man concealing a homosexual affair from his family.

Globe nominations

Best actor in a movie, musical or comedy: Pierce Brosnan, Matador; Cillian Murphy, Breakfast on Pluto; Jeff Daniels, The Squid and the Whale; Johnny Depp, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory; Nathan Lane, The Producers; Joaquin Phoenix, Walk the Line.

Best director: Ang Lee, Brokeback Mountain; George Clooney, Good Night and Good Luck; Woody Allen, Match Point; Peter Jackson, King Kong; Fernando Meirelles, The Constant Gardener; Steven Spielberg, Munich.

Best supporting actor: George Clooney, Syriana; Matt Dillon, Crash; Will Ferrell, The Producers; Paul Giamatti, Cinderella Man; Bob Hoskins, Mrs Henderson Presents.

Best supporting actress: Scarlett Johansson, Match Point; Shirley MacLaine, In Her Shoes; Frances McDormand, North Country; Rachel Weisz, The Constant Gardener; Michelle Williams, Brokeback Mountain.