SIR ANTHONY MAKES HISTORY AT OSCARS
SIR Anthony Hopkins paid tribute to Chadwick Boseman after securing his second Oscar win. The 83-year-old was named best actor for his role in The Father, directed by Florian Zeller, in which he plays an ageing man struggling with memory loss.
Black Panther star Boseman, who died in August last year aged 43 following a private four-year battle with colon cancer, had been tipped to win the prize for his performance as an ambitious trumpeter in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.
However, Sir Anthony, originally from Port Talbot, claimed the gong, becoming the oldest person to win an Academy Award for acting.
He did not attend the ceremony in Los Angeles on Sunday night, but shared an acceptance speech yesterday morning, which was filmed in Wales, where he is on holiday.
In the short clip, he expressed shock at winning the award and paid tribute to Boseman.
He said: “Good morning. Here I am in my homeland in Wales, and at 83 years of age I did not expect to get this award, I really didn’t. Very grateful to the Academy and thank you, and I want to pay tribute to Chadwick Boseman, who was taken from us far too early. And again thank you all very much. Really did not expect this, so I feel very privileged and honoured. Thank you.”
Sir Anthony won the best actor prize at the Baftas earlier this month and also accepted the award from Wales.
Speaking at the time, he said his family had gone on a “long vacation” after receiving their vaccinations.
“So we’re in Wales having a quiet time and are very grateful to everyone so that is where we will be,” he said.
Just before the ceremony he posted an emotional video on his Instagram feed showing him quoting Dylan Thomas’ poem Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night at the grave of his father, Richard Hopkins, in Wales.
Sir Anthony won his first Oscar in 1992 for his performance in The Silence Of The Lambs.
The Welsh legend’s message came after road movie Nomadland won the top prize at the Oscars, where director Chloe Zhao made history.
Zhao, who was born in China, is the first woman of colour to win the award for directing, and the second woman in history.
The only other woman to win the directing prize is Kathryn Bigelow, who was honoured for The Hurt Locker in 2010.
Nomadland, which tells the story about a woman travelling through the American West, also scooped a best actress prize for its star, Frances McDormand.
Ms McDormand, who has now won three best actress Oscars, howled on stage as the film won the award for best picture.
It was a tribute to Nomadland production sound mixer Michael Wolf Snyder, who died at the age of 35 earlier this year.
Daniel Kaluuya won the best supporting actor prize. Kaluuya, who was born in London to Ugandan parents, is the first black British winner of the best supporting actor prize, as he was celebrated for his portrayal of Black Panther leader Fred Hampton in Judas And The Black Messiah.
In his acceptance speech, Kaluuya told of his admiration for Hampton, who was shot and killed by police in Chicago in 1969 when he was 21.
He praised Hampton’s work in the black community and took aim at the forces of the state that worked to bring him down.
“When they played divide and conquer, we say unite and ascend,” Kaluuya said.
Addressing the starstudded audience, Kaluuya said: “There’s so much work to do, guys, and that’s on everyone in this room. This ain’t no single-man job. We’ve got work to do. I’m going to get back to work Tuesday morning, because tonight I’m going out.”
Kaluuya, speaking with his mother in the audience, added: “My mum met my dad, they had sex, it’s amazing. I’m here.
“I’m so happy to be alive so I’m going to celebrate that tonight.”
British film-maker Emerald Fennell won best original screenplay for her directorial debut, Promising Young Woman, and fought back tears as she delivered her improvised acceptance speech.
Looking at her statuette, the pregnant film-maker said: “He’s so heavy and he’s so cold.”
She paid tribute to the cast and crew, who made the film over a 23-day shoot.
Fennell, who was pregnant during the shoot, joked she was crossing her legs during production.
Christopher Hampton and Florian Zeller won the prize for best adapted screenplay for their work on the agonising drama The Father.
Korean star Yuh-Jung Youn won the best supporting actress prize for Minari and joked about meeting actor Brad Pitt in person, as he announced her win.
Taking to the stage, she said: “Where were you while we were filming in person?”
She also paid tribute to the other nominees in the category, saying she “doesn’t believe in competition”, while questioning how she could win over fellow nominee Glenn Close.
The prizes were mainly handed out at Union Station in Los Angeles, where producers had said they wanted the broadcast to resemble a film.
Attendees were not required to wear masks on camera but were asked to cover their faces when not on screen.
Attendance was limited to 170 people, with audience members rotated in and out during the ceremony.
International nominees who did not travel to the US accepted their prizes from remote hubs, with many of the British nominees gathering at the BFI in London’s Southbank.
The ceremony took place after a two-month delay and a bruising year for the film industry, with cinemas around the world closed for months on end and productions disrupted.