Veteran Mollywood actor, Anthony Hopkins, has paid “tribute to Chadwick Boseman” after beating the late Black Panther star to the best actor at last night’s Oscar Awards.
83-year-old Hopkins bested Boseman’s “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” with his acclaimed role as a dementia patient in the film “The Father” as his daughter (Oscar winner Olivia Colman) moves in to take care of him.
Veteran Hollywood actor, Anthony Hopkins, has paid “tribute to Chadwick Boseman” after beating the late Black Panther star to the best actor at last night’s Oscar Awards.
The 83-year-old Hopkins bested Boseman’s “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” with his acclaimed role as a patient with dementia in the film “The Father” while his daughter (played by another Oscar winner, Olivia Colman) takes care of him.
Boseman had been commended for his role in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” which also earned Golden Globe just months after he died of cancer at age 43.
But the surprise win of the night went to Hopkins who succeeded last year’s winner Joaquin Phoenix who won the Oscar award for his role in “Joker.”
Although Hopkins was not physically present at the ceremony, Phoenix accepted the award on his behalf.
According to Variety, Hopkins won the lead actor prize 29 years ago for his iconic take on Hannibal Lecter in “The Silence of the Lambs.”
Reacting to the surprise win, Hopkins uploaded an appreciation video to his 2.8 million followers on his verified Instagram page on Monday morning where he thanked the Academy and paid a special tribute to Boseman.
“Here I am in my homeland in Wales. At 83 years of age, I did not expect to get this award, I really didn’t. I’m very grateful to the Academy.”
“I want to pay tribute to Chadwick Boseman, who was taken from us far too early,” he continued. “I really did not expect this, so I feel very privileged and honoured,” he said.
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However, during Sunday night’s event, he also bested other nominees which included Riz Ahmed (“Sound of Metal”), Gary Oldman (“Mank”) and Steven Yeun (“Minari”).
Last night’s win was Hopkins’ second best actor trophy and he made history as the oldest actor, male or female, to earn an Oscar ousting the late Christopher Plummer who held the title for winning the best supporting actor for “Beginners” in 2008 at the age of 82.
