Winnie takes all? Churchill leads British charge for Oscar glory
GARY Oldman led a huge charge of UK talent yesterday in this year’s Oscar nominations.
British stars dominated the best actor list, securing three of the five nominations. There were also nominations for best actress, supporting actress, director and film.
Oldman was given the best actor nod for his acclaimed portrayal of Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour, Daniel DayLewis for his performance as a 1950s dress designer in Phantom Thread and Skins star Daniel Kaluuya for his lead role in the horror-thriller Get Out.
Sally Hawkins was named a best actress contender for her exquisite performance in the poetic fantasy film The Shape Of Water, which led the field with 13 Academy Award nominations.
Miss Hawkins finds herself in one of the most competitive sections, up against Frances McDormand for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Australian actress Margot Robbie for her hard-faced turn as disgraced ice skater Tonya Harding in I, Tonya, Saoirse Ronan in comedy drama Lady Bird and Meryl Streep in The Post.
Lesley Manville was nominated for best supporting actress in Phantom Thread. British film-maker Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk took eight nominations, including best film and best director. Darkest Hour, which was backed by London-based studio Working Title, had six nominations.
Three Billboards, designated a British film because of investment from Film4, was also nominated, although director Martin McDonagh missed out.
Christopher Plummer became the oldest to contend for a golden statuette – at the age of 88 – in the best supporting actor section for his portrayal of billionaire J Paul Getty, in All The Money In The World. He replaced Kevin Spacey, who was edited out amid allegations of sexual misconduct. In Darkest Hour, set in 1940, Oldman plays Churchill just as he becomes prime minister following the resignation of Neville Chamberlain. Lily James plays his secretary Elizabeth Layton.
Oldman, who has not touched alcohol in over five years, celebrated his Oscar nomination – only his second of a 40-year career – with a cup of tea.
The 59-year-old actor called Darkest Hour ‘gloriously British’ and described it as a ‘love letter to the resilience of the British and Britain’. He said that he was ‘really chuffed’ to be nominated for por- traying one of the greatest men in British history.
‘I was born in 1958 and I can remember when Churchill died,’ he said. ‘I was seven but I can remember the day of his funeral and everything. My parents and our neighbours still talked about the war in those days.
‘My mother, aged 98, is still alive, God bless her, and went through the Blitz in the war and she used to tell me how she went to work with her gas mask. My dad went into the Royal Navy in 1935 and was in the Atlantic convoys under Churchill, so the man’s in my blood. He’s part of my history.’
Laughing, Oldman added: ‘To my sons, they look at this movie and it’s ancient history. But it’s connecting with young and old and it’s galvanising people.
‘It’s wonderful to be reminded of the power of the written word and great oratory. Churchill was a writer before he was a politician and in the film we’re reminded that he knew how powerful words can be, and his words from over 70 years ago stir something up in people.’
Oldman said Churchill was in some ways similar to two other Britons he has portrayed – Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious in Sid and Nancy and playwright Joe Orton in Prick Up Your Ears.
‘They were all anti-establishment and in their own peculiar way they were all eccentric,’ he said. ‘Churchill ate breakfast in bed along with a glass of champagne. He dictated memos from the bath. And, along with Vicious and Orton, Churchill shared that wonderful, dark British humour.’
Culture Secretary Matt Hancock tweeted: ‘Great to see a host of cracking British contenders in this year’s Oscar nominations.’