A BRIT OF ALL RIGHT
AS THIS YEAR’S OSCAR NOMINATIONS ARE ANNOUNCED, MARION McMULLEN LOOKS AT BRITISH SUCCESSES
1 Sir Mark Rylance, left, was the last Brit to win the best actor Oscar, for Bridge Of Spies in 2016. He thanked director Steven Spielberg and co-star Tom Hanks in his acceptance speech and said: “It’s a wonderful time to be an actor.”
2 This year’s Oscars represent the best showing by British acting talent for nearly two decades. Eight of the 20 acting nominations are for British performers – the highest proportion since 2002. British performers accounted for just four of the 20 nominees last year. The winners will be announced on April 26 after the ceremony had to be delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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The eight British acting nominees this year are: Sir Anthony Hopkins (The Father), Gary Oldman (Mank) and Riz Ahmed (Sound Of Metal) for best actor; Carey Mulligan (Promising Young Woman) and Vanessa Kirby (Pieces Of A Woman) for best actress; Sacha Baron Cohen (The Trial Of The Chicago 7) and Daniel Kaluuya (Judas & The Black Messiah) for best supporting actor and Olivia Colman who is nominated for best supporting actress for The Father.
4 Vivien Leigh, below, was the first British actress to win an Oscar for best actress, for her role as Scarlett O’Hara in the 1939 blockbuster Gone With The Wind. She picked up a second in 1952 for A Streetcar Named Desire. She reportedly used one of the awards as a doorstop in her bathroom.
5 Lancashire actor and writer Colin Welland won a writing Oscar in 1982 for Chariots Of Fire and ended his acceptance speech with the rallying cry of “The British are coming!”. The film went on to win four Oscars including best picture.
6 Sir Anthony Hopkins, pictured with Silence Of The Lambs co-star Jodie Foster, won a best actor Oscar in 1992 for his chilling performance as Hannibal Lecter. He has had a further five nominations. He said: “It’s fun to get the Oscar, it was fun to get a knighthood but you wake up in the morning, reality’s still there. You’re still mortal.”
7 David Niven, below, was co-hosting the 1959 awards when he also won the best actor Oscar for Separate Tables. He had sent a telegram to fellow nominee Tony Curtis saying: “Congratulations, chum, but I want to make one thing crystal clear. “Unless someone happens to be looking over my shoulder, I’ll be voting for myself.”
8 Dame Judi Dench has been nominated seven times for an Oscar and won the best supporting actress award in 1999 for playing Queen Elizabeth I in the comedy Shakespeare In Love, pictured. Her performance in the film lasts for about six minutes.
9 Dame Maggie Smith, right, has two Oscars. She won best actress for
The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie in 1970 and took home best supporting actress in 1979 for playing an Oscar loser in California Suite. Due to Maggie’s stage commitments, her best actress Oscar was accepted on her behalf by American actress Alice Ghostley.
10 Sir Alec Guinness, below, was also not present when he won the best actor award for The Bridge On The River Kwai in 1958. Jean Simmons collected it on his behalf. He later said of the film: “It was a huge success and I got an Oscar for it, though I don’t think it made an enormous difference to my career.”