TOP 10 OF 2019: DMF’s Mega Molony Review Of The Year

2019 has been filled with many, many mega Molony moments for the Molonian fandom to enjoy!

Damien has starred in many incredible projects on the small and big screen – 2 equally fantastic but highly different TV comedy dramas (Brassic series 1, GameFace series 2), a huge, much anticipated feature film (The Current War), an exciting and important short film (Keep Breathing), and his first short stop animated short film (The Fabric Of You). 

Our fave actor was also announced for and filmed more exciting things that are yet to come (The Split Series 2, Brassic Series 2).

He also appeared at a plethora of events and gave loads of interviews.

We’ve also had trailers and promo photos, behind the scenes treats and more!

On top of all this, Damien also found time to continue his blood donation campaign and collaborated with us once again for another charity prize draw.

We really have been spoiled this year!

Below is a top 10 journey through 2019, but with all the Molony moments and key dates gathered together in one place for you to celebrate the past year with us! (Please note, this is more of chronological top 10, not in order of favourites!)

1. Brassic Series 1

Damien Molony as Dylan, Brassic © Sky One

In 2018 Damien was announced as cast in and filmed new Sky comedy drama Brassic, co-created and starring Joe Gilgun. In 2019 we were treated to some fabulous promo and events and we finally had the chance to see Damien as Dylan Colding in series 1!

12 February: Sky Ireland launch at the Westbury Hotel in Dublin

6 May: Sky trailer dropped and ITV Studios promo art  gave us our first glimpse of Brassic and Damien as his character Dylan

9 July: Exclusive Brassic Promo portraits of Damien as Dylan shared with DMF by the lovely people at Sky

30 July: London launch and special screening at the Ham Yard Hotel

21 August: Manchester launch and special screening at the Vue Printworks Cinema

22 August: Brassic series 1 premiered on Sky, NOW TV in the UK

30 September: Brassic series 1 became available on DVD (region 2 Uk & Europe) and on VOD platforms

9 October:  International distribution announced for Brassic Series 1 in France, Spain, Canada, New Zealand and Australia

18 December: Brassic series 1 became available to Watch free via the Radio Times website until 18 January (and works internationally!)

2. GameFace Series 2

Roisin Conaty’s brilliant GameFace returned this year – Damien was confirmed and filming in March until April and the series aired during the summer! It was all we hoped for and more – with Joncella galore!

25 March: Damien confirmed for series 2

24 April: Damien completed filming, he and the cast shared bts photos

26 June: Damien attended a press screening and Q&A with Roisin Conaty cast and director

3 July:  The new trailer dropped and the air date was revealed –  we had our first exciting look at GameFace 2 (and Damien as Jon) in the new series

17 July – 14 August: The series aired on Channel 4, ending with a double fill finale. Read our review here!

3. Keep Breathing

© Keep Breathing Short Film

Damien was cast and appeared in crowdfunded short film inspired by the #MeToo movement, Keep Breathing, opposite Emmeline Hartley, as a woman and a man trapped in a lift and forced to confront their past behaviour. The film premiered at the underwire Film Festival and was selected for the BFI Film Festival.

8 March: Damien was revealed as cast, bts photos released and official announcement followed

18 September: Underwire Film Fest premiere in London, with tickets for screenings available

29 August: The Keep Breathing trailer dropped

4 & 6 October: BFI Film Fest screenings

4. The Fabric Of You

Photo credit Damien Molony

Damien starred in his first short stop animation film The Fabric Of You, written and directed by Josephine Lohoar Self and also starring Iain Glen, voicing the character Micheal. The film premiered at the Edinburgh International Film Festival and received a Scottish BAFTA nomination.

11 June: Damien was revealed as cast with the release of a new poster

29 June: World premiere at the Edinburgh film festival

5. The Current War

After a very long delay, The Current War finally saw the light of day in 2019, with Damien appearing as Bourke Cockran on the big screen in cinemas across the world.

26 June: UK trailer dropped and release date announced, with our first tease of Damien’s character

26 July:  Opened in UK / Ireland cinemas, Damien shares a bts photo the day after

18 November: The film was released on DVD (region 2)  and VOD in the UK

6. The Split

Thrilling news of a new project for Damien arrived in 2019, with his casting in the second series of BBC One legal drama The Split, as the character Tyler Donaghue.

11 July: The Damien Molony Forum announced Damien as cast and that he was mid filming for the new series

26 July:  Damien wrapped filming and shared character prop clues

7. Brassic Series 2

On the same day series 1 premiered, Brassic series 2 was announced. Filming began shortly after and many bts treats followed!

22 August: Brassic series 2 announced 

August – December: Damien Filmed Brassic 2 in Manchester and we saw lots of on set and bts photos

17 December: Damien wrapped on Brassic 2, shared bts wrap photos

8. Damien Interviews

Damien Molony What2Watch ‘big interview’ star

In 2019 we were treated to a huge number of epic Damien interviews and Q&As, in the press, a radio podcast and a live Twitter broadcast. Many were in-depth and included some of the best Damien interviews of all time.

Below were our faves of the year!

13 August: Damien Molony as Dylan Colding: The Indiana Jones of Brassic 

15 August: What2Watch Twitter Broadcast Damien Molony Brassic interview 

17 August: Damien Molony: from Kildare to the top of British TV – “both a lover and a fighter” The Irish Times

19 August: Damien Molony In-Depth Interview in the RTÉ Guide 

7 September: ‘Damien Molony – Star Of Brassic’ interviewed on RTÉ 2FM Show

9. Brassic Fantastic

In 2019 the Damien Molony Forum collaborated with Damien for our sixth charity prize draw: Brassic Fantastic, in aid of SANE.

5 – 29 November: With Damien’s help and generosity, we ran our biggest prize draw yet, with 29 one of a kind Brassic prizes, most signed by Damien and the cast. Our chosen charity this year was mental health charity SANE, inspired by Joe Gilgun and themes in Brassic. It was our most successful fundraiser to date, and with the help of the fandom we raised £1360 for the charity, to support their work and services.

10. Damien’s Blood Donations

Since 2012 Damien has been giving blood and publicly sharing his donations online to inspire others – this year was no exception!

23 July: Damien made his 18^th blood donation

8 December: Damien made his 19^th blood donation during the last week of Brassic series 2 filming

As the year comes to a close, not only can we look back with gratitude on the past year, but we have lots to look forward to in 2020 too. Thank you for joining us on the journey, here’s to sharing many more Molony moments next year!