And Oscar makes 11... not a bad year, Gary!
HIS broad smile says it all. Sat at home surrounded by his haul of trophies Gary Oldman reflects on his phenomenal success this awards season for his portrayal of Winston Churchill.
The 59-year-old, who referred to the collection as ‘the wins’, said he was able to add ‘the biggest accolade of them all for an actor,’ on Sunday night.
The award he was referring to was the Oscar he collected for his performance in Darkest Hour.
He told the Daily Mail he was ‘beyond chuffed’ to win the Academy award.
On stage on Sunday night he praised his 98-year-old mother, Kathleen, telling her to ‘put the kettle on’ because he was bringing home Oscar.
Last night in Los Angeles he said: ‘I’m glad she’s alive to see this. I don’t think in her wildest dreams that she imagined something like this could happen to us.
‘We’ve drunk gallons of tea and my mother hasn’t stopped smiling.’ Oldman is pleased the awards season is now over. ‘I was saying to some of the other nominated actors the other night that as much fun as it has been, it’s also been a long haul. The film was shown publicly for the first time at the Telluride Film Festival back in late August or early September and we didn’t know then that getting from there to here would be such a journey.’
The awards calendar is jam-packed with awards ceremonies. But three are key to winning the ultimate prize. Winning the Golden Globe best actor was important, as was the trophy given by the Screen Actors Guild. Then the Bafta from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.
Oldman’s wife Gisele Schmidt said: ‘Gary also received countless critics choice awards from all over but we don’t know the specific list, yet.’ She said she and her husband wanted a photographic record of his trophy haul for the film. ‘We wanted something fun,’ she added, so they came up with a bowling alley concept where they lined the awards in a V for Victory and he pretended to knock them all down. ‘A bit of Sarf London fun,’ Oldman explained.
They have put his 11 trophies on a mantelpiece near a photo of Churchill.
Oldman said: ‘I loved the man. I can remember when I was a kid and when he died and the train carrying his coffin. Never thought I’d play him in a film!’