Jimmy Smallhorne is an Irish

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 filmmaker who wrote, directed and acted in his debut feature film 2by4

2by4

2by4 or 2 x 4 is a 1998 American drama film directed by and starring Jimmy Smallhorne. The screenplay by Smallhorne, Terry McGoff, and Fergus Tighe focuses on the closeted foreman of a construction worker of a New York City construction crew.At the January 1998 Sundance Film Festival, the film was...

. The drama about a closeted gay construction worker in New York City was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival

Sundance Film Festival

The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...

 and received the Festival's Cinematography award for the camera work of Declan Quinn

Declan Quinn

Declan Quinn is an Irish-American cinematographer and a three-time winner of the Independent Spirit Award for Best Cinematography.Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, Quinn is one of five children. His four siblings, the most famous of whom is Aidan, are actors...

 (Leaving Las Vegas

Leaving Las Vegas

Leaving Las Vegas is a 1995 romantic drama film directed and written by Mike Figgis, based on a semi-autobiographical novel of the same name by John O'Brien. Nicolas Cage stars as a suicidal alcoholic who has ended his personal and professional life to drink himself to death in Las Vegas...

, Vanya on 42nd Street

Vanya on 42nd Street

Vanya on 42nd Street is a 1994 film by Louis Malle and Andre Gregory. The film is an intimate, interpretive performance of the play Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov based on the English translation by David Mamet...

, Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love

Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love

Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love is a 1996 American drama film directed by Mira Nair. The film takes its title from the ancient Indian text, the Kama Sutra, but this only serves as a common link between the characters....

).

Smallhorne appeared in the crime thriller When the Sky Falls

When the Sky Falls

When the Sky Falls is a 2000 film à clef directed by John Mackenzie and filmed in Ireland, starring Joan Allen. The story is based on that of Veronica Guerin, a crime reporter writing about drugs for the Sunday Independent, her investigations and murder.-Cast:*Joan Allen as Sinead Hamilton*Patrick...

. At the 2004 Cannes Film Festival, it was announced that Smallhorne would direct his comedy screenplay Pushers Needed with an all-star cast of Joan Allen

Joan Allen

Joan Allen is an American actress. She worked in theatre, television and film during her early career, and achieved recognition for her Broadway debut in Burn This, winning a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play in 1989.She has received three Academy Award nominations;...

, Claire Danes

Claire Danes

Claire Catherine Danes is an American actress of television, stage and film. She has appeared in roles as diverse as Angela Chase in My So-Called Life, as Juliet in Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet, as Kate Brewster in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, as Yvaine in Stardust and as Temple Grandin in...

, Kathy Bates

Kathy Bates

Kathleen Doyle "Kathy" Bates is an American actress and director.After several small roles in film and television, Bates rose to prominence with her performance in Misery , for which she won both the Academy Award for Best Actress and a Golden Globe...

, Brenda Blethyn

Brenda Blethyn

Brenda Anne Blethyn, OBE is an English actress who has worked in theatre, television and film. Blethyn has received two Academy Award nominations, two SAG Award nominations, two Emmy Award nominations and three Golden Globe Award nominations, winning one...

 and Maggie Smith

Maggie Smith

Dame Margaret Natalie Smith, DBE , better known as Maggie Smith, is an English film, stage, and television actress who made her stage debut in 1952 and is still performing after 59 years...

.

Smallhorne grew up in the Ballyfermot

Ballyfermot

Ballyfermot is a suburb in the city of Dublin.Celebrities such as the famous Furey Brothers and the brilliant Keenan family have all resided in Ballyfermot.Ireland, located 7 kilometres due west from the city centre, and to the south of the Phoenix Park...

 suburb of Dublin, Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

. Smallhorne has discussed his gambling addiction and temporary homelessness during his teenage years. He emigrated to the United States in 1994, finding work as a construction laborer. While working in construction, Smallhorne helped organize the Irish Bronx Theater.

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