Oscar
2018
:
Darkest
Hour
actor
Gery
Oldman
wins
best
actor
award
|
FilmiBeat
Gary
Oldman
today
clinched
his
career's
first
Oscar
for
Best
Actor
for
his
life-like
portrayal
of
former
British
Prime
Minister
Winston
Churchill
in
the
period
drama
"Darkest
Hour".
The
veteran
actor
was
a
spitting
image
as
the
UK
PM
who
led
Britain
to
an
allied
victory
in
the
World
War
II
in
the
Joe
Wright-directed
film.
"Thanks
for
this
glorious
prize.
I
owe
this
and
much
more
to
so
many,"
Oldman
said
in
his
acceptance
speech.
He
thanked
the
cast
and
crew
of
his
film,
Churchill
and
also
gave
a
shout-out
to
fellow
nominee
Denzel
Washington.
He
also
thanked
his
mother
for
her
love,
who
"is
older
than
the
Oscars
and
will
turn
99
on
her
next
birthday".
After
the
victory
at
the
Oscars
2018,
the
golden
run
is
now
complete
for
Oldman.
He
already
has
a
Golden
Globe,
a
SAG-AFTRA,
a
CCA
and
a
Bafta
in
his
kitty
for
playing
the
cigar
smoking,
arrogant
and
stubborn
Churchill
who
would
peer
through
the
round,
black-rimmed
glasses
and
address
Britain
for
the
first
time
as
the
PM
when
the
nation
was
left
alone
in
its
opposition
to
Nazi
Germany.
Actors
Timothee
Chalamet
("Call
Me
By
Your
Name"),
Daniel-Day
Lewis
("Phantom
Thread"),
Daniel
Kaluuya
("Get
Out")
and
Denzel
Washington
("Roman
J
Israel,
Esq")
were
among
the
other
Best
Actor
nominees.
The
59-year-old
actor
was
first
nominated
in
the
category
for
playing
an
espionage
veteran
in
"Tinker
Sailor
Soldier
Spy"
(2012)
but
lost
out
to
Jean
Dujardin
for
"The
Artist".
Oldman
initially
did
not
agree
to
take
up
the
role
as
he
was
unsure
about
how
physically
convincing
he
would
appear
as
Churchill.
But
an
ace
make-up
and
hair
job
led
by
Kazuhiro
Tsuji,
whose
name
he
suggested
to
director
Joe
Wright,
made
him
come
on
board
the
project.
"Darkest
Hour"
is
being
called
an
attempt
to
humanise
the
British
statesman,
who
inherited
a
messy
economy
and
fought
the
resistance
from
within
his
very
own
Cabinet.
Oldman's
expressive
and
playing
to
the
gallery
style
of
acting
has
lent
humour
and
energy
to
his
Churchill,
who
the
actor
believes
was
facing
a
struggle
of
all
sorts
when
he
was
sworn-in
as
the
prime
minister.
His
performance
has
been
lauded
by
the
reviewers
in
an
otherwise
slow
film.
One
of
the
memorable
moments
in
the
movie
is
when
Oldman
delivers
the
famous
"We
shall
never
surrender"
speech,
which
Churchill
gave
to
the
House
of
Commons
on
June
4,
1940,
a
month
after
he
assumed
the
office
when
thousands
of
soldiers
were
stuck
on
the
beaches
of
Dunkirk.
Actors
Brian
Cox,
Michael
Gambon,
Alan
C
Peterson,
Timothy
Spall,
Robert
Hardy
among
others
have
also
played
Churchill
in
films
and
on
television.
(PTI
News)