Simon Delaney to Host the 9th Annual Irish Film & Television Awards
Irish actor Simon Delaney will return to host the 9th Annual Irish Film & Television Awards. This is Simon's second successive year hosting the IFTA Awards Ceremony, which will broadcast from Dublin's landmark Convention Centre (CCD) on Saturday 11th of February at 9.30pm GMT.Commenting on hosting the IFTAs in 2012, Simon Delaney said:
"I am so proud to be hosting the IFTAs again this year. There's a lot to be proud of in the Irish film and television industry and what's being achieved, and I think that's what makes the IFTA night so special. We are all working to promote our business internationally and the IFTAs are our international calling card, we can stand behind this event and say, ‘look at this room, look who we have here, this is our creative industry - this is Ireland!
"People are already asking me what have you got up your sleeve for this year? We raised the bar last year with such a different show so expectations are now even higher for the IFTAs in February - so, no pressure! All I can tell you is that IFTA 2012 will be something very special!"
Áine Moriarty, Chief Executive of the Irish Film & Television Academy (IFTA) welcomed Simon back to the Awards team by saying:
"Simon was a terrific host last year as he is so well-loved by his peers and the public alike. He's great to work with, such a professional and good fun too - so we're delighted to ask him back. He's had a busy year working on projects both in Ireland and the US and he's always a proud supporter of the work produced by his fellow Irish actors and filmmakers. No doubt Simon will lead the way on the night with his impeccable charm, wit and mischievous, entertaining sparkle - we're looking forward to it."
The nominees for the Irish Film & Television Awards will be announced on Tuesday 10th of January 2012 with the Awards ceremony taking place on Saturday 11th of February at Dublin's CCD - broadcasting on RTÉ One at 9.30pm.
ABOUT SIMON DELANEY
Simon Delaney has been working as an actor and director in both Ireland and the UK for the past fifteen years.
Simon recently played a guest lead in the US series, The Good Wife opposite Juliana Margulies and Eddie Izzard which screened to an audience of over 21 million in the US. The actor also recently appeared in the pilot episode for FOX's new drama series Touch, which also stars Keifer Sutherland and Danny Glover and begins production this month.
He shot a feature film called This Must be the Place opposite Sean Penn in August and September of 2010 which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. Prior to that he played the title role in John Carney's latest feature film, Zonad which was nominated for six IFTA awards including Best Film, and was a huge hit at the Tribeca Film Festival, receiving a five star review from Variety magazine.
Other recent screen work includes Every Second Sunday (Hubbard Banks Media), Val Falvey T.D. (RTÉ), Father & Son (RTÉ/ITV). Simon recently finished filming series two of Roy for BBC, which won the RTS best drama award last year, along with two BAFTA nominations. He will next film Chris O'Dowd's new Irish comedy for Sky Moone Boy.
Simon's other screen credits include Intermission (Bill), Spin the Bottle (Keith), The Actors (Ronnie), An Everlasting Piece (Frank), David Copperfield (Tommy Traddles) and The Halo Effect (Rock Steady Eddie).
The Irish Film & Television Awards are sponsored by Bord Scannán na hÉireann/the Irish Film Board; RTÉ, IFTN, Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, Philips, RTÉ Guide; and has Partners MAC, CityJet, BMW, Moet & Chandon, Walt Disney Studios (Ireland).