Unemployed ex-offender in the running for Cannes top prize

It’s a zero-to-hero story worthy of a feelgood Hollywood movie.

Just 18 months ago Paul Brannigan was an unemployed ex-offender volunteering to help other youngsters in trouble with the law.

Now the 24-year-old Glaswegian is on the verge of breakthrough success as a film star, with his debut movie in the running to pick up the Palme d’Or at Cannes and a love scene with Scarlett Johannson under his belt.

The Angels’ Share is veteran director Ken Loach‘s 11 film to be selected for the film festival’s top prize, but much of the critical attention has been focused on Brannigan’s performance as Robbie, a violent young man who discovers a talent for tasting fine whisky.

The part reflects Brannigan’s past as a former inmate of a young offender’s institution, where he served a sentence for violent offences.

After making his acting debut in The Angels’ Share, Brannigan landed a role in Under the Skin, an upcoming film where he shares a sex scene with Scarlett Johansson.

He told Channel 4 News he nearly missed his big break and had to be cajoled into attending the audition by writer Paul Laverty.

“At the time my head was just in a right bad place. My motivation was gone and I didn’t really know where to turn. Fortunately he called me back and gave me the wee kick that I needed and I went and did it.”