Anthony Hopkins pays tribute to Chadwick Boseman after his Best Actor In A Leading Role win
When the Oscars moved the Best Actor In A Leading Role category to the last instead of following the tradition of Best Picture being the closing award of the night, it seemed like it was a move anticipating the posthumous win of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom star Chadwick Boseman. But, instead, we got one of the most bizarre finales in Oscars history. In a surprising twist, Anthony Hopkins was awarded for his role in The Father, but he wasn’t able to accept his award, so the ceremony awkwardly ended with presenter Joaquin Phoenix accepting it on his behalf, and with the credits quickly rolling out.
On Monday morning, Hopkins shared a video on social media accepting his award and admitted he was just as surprised as we all were, while also paying his respects to the late actor. “Good morning, here I am in my homeland of Wales and at 83-years-of-age I did not expect to get this award. I really didn’t,” said the actor. “I am grateful to the Academy and thank you. I want to pay tribute to Chadwick Boseman who was taken from us far too early, and again, thank you all very much. I really did not expect this, so I feel very privileged and honored.”
Hopkins also hilariously didn’t care too much about staying awake for the Oscars —which makes sense, given how it was 4 a.m. in Wales. His long-time agent Jeremy Barber told People that he woke up the actor to tell him the news in the middle of the night, saying Hopkins was “so happy and grateful” for his win.
But just because this isn’t the win we were expecting doesn’t mean it’s not important, either. Hopkins is now the oldest actor at 83 years old to win an award for an acting nomination. Christopher Plummer previously held the title of the oldest actor to win an acting Oscar for his role in Beginners, which he won at age 82.