'Molly' Miniseries Scores Nominations In Major Film & TV Awards

Samuel Johnson has secured a nomination for the Best Lead Actor In A Television Drama gong at this year’s AACTA awards for his portrayal of iconic music industry figure Ian ‘Molly’ Meldrum in the Network Seven biopic Molly.

The two-part miniseries that aired in February is also nominated in Best Telefeature Or Miniseries category — against Barracuda, The Beautiful Lie and The Kettering Incident. Johnson is also up against some stiff competition, with first-time nominee Matt Nable and previous AACTA Award-winners Code star Ashley Zuckerman and A-lister Richard Roxburgh – nominated for his performance in legal drama Rake – also up for the Best Lead Actor award.

Ben Gerrard was also nominated for his role as Molly's housemate Caroline. He's in the Best Guest Or Supporting Actor In A Television Drama up against Russell Dykstra (Rake); Damon Herriman (Secret City) and Hamish Michael (Janet King).

The most successful television show recognised by this year’s AACTAs is the ABC’s The Beautiful Lie, which received nine nominations including the Best Telefeature Award, Best Lead Actress Award for Sarah Snook, Best Supporting Actress Award for Celia Pacquola and six technical awards including Best Screenplay, Cinematography, Sound Design and Costumes.

Cult Foxtel series The Kettering Incident claimed eight nominations: the aforementioned Best Telefeature Or Miniseries category; Best Lead Actress for non-Australian star Elizabeth Debicki; Best Supporting Actress for both Sacha Horler and Sianoa Smit-McPhee; Best Direction, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography and Best Original Music Score.

In the film categories, Mel Gibson’s first major screen project in ten years, Hacksaw Ridge, dominated with 13 nominations including a Best Director nod. The film premiered to rave reviews at the Venice Film Festival in September, with many pundits suggesting the film’s success offers a chance at redemption for the often controversial filmmaker, dogged by racism and substance abuse scandals in recent years.

The winners of the 6th AACTA Awards will be announced on 6 Dec at a ceremony at the Star Casino in Sydney.

The full list of nominees for the 6th AACTA Awards can be found here.