Oscars 2021: Anthony Hopkins shocks as best actor, ‘Nomadland’ wins best picture
Oscars 2021: Anthony Hopkins shocks as best actor, ‘Nomadland’ wins best picture
April 26, 2021
Hollywood
Oscar race ever had one more big surprise in store Sunday night.
Director Chloe Zhao’s acclaimed road-trip drama “Nomadland” took best picture, director and actress (Frances McDormand) at the pandemic-delayed 93rd Academy Awards but the biggest shock happened in the best actor category where “The Father” star Anthony Hopkins upset Chadwick Boseman’s expected posthumous Oscar win for “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.”
Taking place primarily at L.A.’s historic Union Station, the Oscars also honored Daniel Kaluuya (“Judas and the Black Messiah”) for best supporting actor and Yuh-jung Youn (“Minari”) took home best supporting actress.
Check out all the live updates from the Oscar night pre-show and the winners from the Academy Awards ceremony.
‘Nomadland’:Chloé Zhao makes history as the first woman of color to win best director
Oscar winners 2021:See the full list of who won at the Academy Awards
Anthony Hopkins upsets Chadwick Boseman.with a howl as a tribute to the movie’s late sound mixer Michael Wolf Snyder.
He deserved more:Why Chadwick Boseman’s posthumous Oscar loss stings so much
“Mr. Brad Pitt, finally nice to meet you! Where were you when we were filming?” Youn quips to her trophy presenter, who was a “Minari” executive producer. The personable Youn, the first Korean actor to win an Oscar, cracks about the different pronunciations of her name (“Tonight you are all forgiven”) and shouts out her fellow nominees. “Tonight I’m luckier than you. And also maybe it’s American hospitality for the Korean actor?”
Regina King and Zendaya, we’d like our breath back, please
‘My Octopus Teacher’ named best documentary
After the Holocaust film “Colette” wins for best documentary short, the documentary feature goes to the Netflix movie about a filmmaker who strikes up a friendship with an octopus in a South Africa sea forest.
Laura Dern’s feathered Oscar de la Renta is the extra dress we needed
Chloé Zhao makes history as first woman of color to win best director
As expected, Zhao takes the top filmmaking Oscar for “Nomadland” and recalls a sentence that meant a lot to her growing up in China playing word games with her dad: “People at birth are inherently good.” Zhao, the second woman to ever win best director (after Kathryn Bigelow for 2009’s “The Hurt Locker”), asked the crowd to hold on to the goodness in each other. “Even though it might sometimes seem like the opposite is true, I have always found goodness in the people I’ve met everywhere in the world.”
It meant Daniel Kaluuya got to shock his mom
Daniel Kaluuya wins first Oscar, named best supporting actor
The “Judas and the Black Messiah” actor ran the table through award season all the way to Oscar glory for playing Black Panther Party Illinois chairman Fred Hampton. He shared the award with his castmates and filmmakers, and also honored Hampton: “Bro, what a man. How blessed we are to have lived in a lifetime where he existed. Thank you for your light. … Thank you so much for showing me myself.” He also found some time to embarrass family members: “My mum, my dad, they had sex. It’s amazing!”
Best international film goes to ‘Another Round’
If you’ve seen the scenes of Mads Mikkelsen dancing around with a beer, it’s from this great, uplifting Danish movie that’s now an Oscar winner. “This is something I’ve always imagined since I was 5,” director Thomas Vinterberg says in his acceptance speech. “Now here I am. It’s real.” He also thanks his star: “Mads, you gave us your finest.” Vinterberg tears up talking about the death of his daughter before filming the movie, in which she was supposed to have a role: “We ended up making this movie for her, her monument.”
‘The Father’ snags adapted screenplay honors for Florian Zeller
“It’s such a great joy and such a great honor,” says French director and co-writer Florian Zeller, who adapted the drama about a man with dementia from his own play with Christopher Hampton. Zeller also thanked his star, Anthony Hopkins: “I wrote the script for him. To me he’s the greatest living actor.”
Oscar history:Chloé Zhao makes history as the first woman of color — and second woman overall — to win best director
She shouts out Zack Morris from “Saved by the Bell” when trying not to cry, as well as her cast and crew. “They just made me look good.”starts the show a little political – “If things had gone differently this last week (with the Derek Chauvin trial), I might have traded in heels for marching boots,” she says – but then gets into how the movies helped us over the last pandemic year. She runs down all the masks and protocols they’re doing to present the Oscars like a movie and hints that the night will be a celebration of a “creative family of storytellers.”
H.E.R. performs funky ‘Fight for You,’ celebrates Fred Hampton
The Grammy-winning musician starts out on the drums and then grabs a mic to sing her nominated tune from “Judas and the Black Messiah.” She’s backed by a large band and masked dancers raising their fists a la Daniel Kaluuya as Hampton, the Black Panther Party leader whose words are also celebrated during the performance.
Leslie Odom Jr. is the Oscars’ musical ringer with ‘Speak Now’
The Tony-winning performer was cast in Sam Cooke in “One Night in Miami” – and played Aaron Burr in “Hamilton” – so you know he’s got some pipes. And the double Oscar nominee (for song and supporting actor) kills it again on the pre-show singing “Speak Now” from “Miami.” Hoping he’s back here sooner than later to entertain a live Academy crowd.
Celeste says ‘Hear My Voice’ to the masses
Next up on the parade of original song nominees was the tune from Aaron Sorkin’s best picture contender “The Trial of the Chicago 7.” British singer-songwriter Celeste sings, songwriting partner Daniel Pemberton plays piano, and the throwback soul tune rocks.
Diane Warren back in the Oscar mix with ‘Io Si’
Laura Pausini gets a little orchestra – plus legendary songwriter Diane Warren on piano – for her performance of original song nominee “Io Si” (from “The Life Ahead”). Maybe this is Warren’s lucky night: She’s been nominated for 12 Oscars (going back to “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” from 1987’s “Mannequin”) but is still seeking her first win.
The biggest Oscar moments you missed:From Chadwick Boseman’s loss to Glenn Close’s ‘Da Butt’
Húsavík.” Swedish singer Molly Sandén recorded her pre-show performance in actual Húsavík, Iceland, and if you didn’t love her backup children’s choir in sweaters, you might not have a soul.
red carpet gallery.
Davis, who plays the title blues singer of “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” would be the first Black woman with two wins in the acting categories if she’s victorious in best actress. (She previously won in 2017 for “Fences.”) There’s no clear frontrunner in her race, though, as multiple Oscar winner Frances McDormand (“Nomadland”), Carey Mulligan (“Promising Young Woman”) and Andra Day (“The United States vs. Billie Holliday”) have all picked up honors this awards season.
Boseman is the favorite for best actor – and would be only the third posthumous acting honoree in Oscar history – though “The Father” thespian Anthony Hopkins looms as a spoiler.
Chloe Zhao’s road-trip “Nomadland” appears to be in the pole position for best picture. However, it faces competition from Aaron Sorkin’s courtroom drama “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” the Korean family story “Minari” and revenge thriller “Promising Young Woman” with Carey Mulligan.
Here’s the skinny on how to watch the Oscars
Sunday’s Academy Awards air on ABC and also are viewable on the ABC app. Or you can stream the event on The Roku Channel, YouTube TV and Hulu with Live TV. But if you yearn for even more Oscar content, the Academy’s Facebook page will offer live interviews with Oscar winners fresh off the stage, while the Academy’s Instagram feed will feature exclusive photo sessions and pics from the Oscars red carpet.
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