93rd Oscars Trivia

[HarryGoldfarb]

- This is only the third time in history that the Best Actor winner has won for playing a role with his own name, after George C. Scott won for playing George S. Patton, Jr. and Daniel Day-Lewis won for playing Daniel Plainview.

Add to that the fact that Anthony Hopkins character in The Father was born on the exact same date as the actor portraying him. When asked his birth date at his medical appointment he replies December 31st 1937, which is exactly Anthony Hopkins birth date.

Yes, but the role Hopkins was playing was tailored for him. His character in the play was named André. He was French and lived in Paris, not London in both the original French play and its English adaptation.

True, but the fact that he won for playing a character in his film with his own name (regardless of the background) remains...

[HarryGoldfarb]

While all the attention has focused on Hopkins being the oldest actor to win for Best Actor (and in any acting category), it is noteworthy that both McDormand and Youn have entered the top 10 of the oldest actresses to win in their respective categories, coincidentally both occupying now the third place.

McDormand, winning at 63 years and 306 days, is surpassed only by Jessica Tandy (80 years) and Katherine Hepburn (74 years) and has displaced Marie Dressler to 4th place.

Youn, winning at 73 years old, is surpassed only by Peggy Ashcroft (77 years old) and Josephine Hull (74 years old), and has displaced Ruth Gordon to 4th place.

For his part, Kaluuya is now the 7th youngest actor to win Supporting Actor, displacing Van Heflin to 8th place.

[Big Magilla]

- This is only the third time in history that the Best Actor winner has won for playing a role with his own name, after George C. Scott won for playing George S. Patton, Jr. and Daniel Day-Lewis won for playing Daniel Plainview.

Add to that the fact that Anthony Hopkins character in The Father was born on the exact same date as the actor portraying him. When asked his birth date at his medical appointment he replies December 31st 1937, which is exactly Anthony Hopkins birth date.

Yes, but the role Hopkins was playing was tailored for him. His character in the play was named André. He was French and lived in Paris, not London in both the original French play and its English adaptation.

[Greg]

For two years in a row, both Best Picture winners featured characters who were at least temporarily homeless.

[mlrg]

- This is only the third time in history that the Best Actor winner has won for playing a role with his own name, after George C. Scott won for playing George S. Patton, Jr. and Daniel Day-Lewis won for playing Daniel Plainview.

Add to that the fact that Anthony Hopkins character in The Father was born on the exact same date as the actor portraying him. When asked his birth date at his medical appointment he replies December 31st 1937, which is exactly Anthony Hopkins birth date.

[HarryGoldfarb]

- At 89, Ann Roth is now the oldest woman to win an Oscar in any category. Same age as James Ivory, but I don't have the time or dedication to determine who is the oldest when they won.

I've found the time the check this out, and at 89 years and 177 days, Roth is the second oldest person in history to win a competitive award; Ivory keeps his record having won his award at 89 years and 270 days.

On an unrelated note, after a decade in which no women managed to win in the screenwriting categories, we kicked off this one with Fennell winning. She is the first woman to win a Best Original Screenplay since 2007, when Diablo Cody won for Juno.

[HarryGoldfarb]

- This is only the third time in history that the Best Actor winner has won for playing a role with his own name, after George C. Scott won for playing George S. Patton, Jr. and Daniel Day-Lewis won for playing Daniel Plainview.

- I think this is only the second time that the winners for actor and actress in a leading role are previous winners in these same categories, since 1938, when Spencer Tracy and Bette Davis received their second statuettes. We have instances like 1994, when both winners were previous winners, but Jessica Lange had previously won a Supporting Actress award.

- Fourth year in a row that at least one of the acting winners won for playing a real life person. We'd be on an uninterrupted streak since the 71st ceremony (a 23-years period) if it weren't for 2016, when all four actors won for fictional characters.

[Big Magilla]

Of the three or more multiple acting winners, McDormand is the only one to have won every time she was nominated for a lead performance while losing every time she was nominated for a supporting performance.

[anonymous1980]

Here's another fun trivia: I do believe at just 23 years old, H.E.R. is currently the youngest living Oscar winner of any category.

[Uri]

That's because it was traditionally Uri's thing, and his appearances are brief at this point.

For old times sake:

McDormand becomes the THIRD actor to win two Oscars - one for acting and a second one - for the same film. Prior to Olivier there was Harold Russell who won an honorary award on top of his supporting actor one, both for his performance in The Best Years of Our Lives. BTW, Olivier was also a recipient of an honorary award that same year for his multi-tasking job on Henry V, alas he didn't win any of the competitive Oscars he was nominated for that year.

[jack]

Didn't Lawrence Olivier win both actor and picture with Hamlet?

Oh, crap. I thought he wasn't a producer.

It likely doesn't count though as I don't thing the producer got the Oscar back then.

[anonymous1980]

Didn't Lawrence Olivier win both actor and picture with Hamlet?

Oh, crap. I thought he wasn't a producer.

[jack]

Didn't Lawrence Olivier win both actor and picture with Hamlet?

[anonymous1980]

Another stat that hasn't been talked about much: Frances McDormand IS the first woman to win an acting and a producing Oscar and only the SECOND to win for the same film.

[Big Magilla]

The Father may have shot itself in the foot by having its New York opening pulled at the last minute, which affected its eligibility for the New York Film Critics, National Board of Review and National Society of Film Critics awards, but it was eligible for most other awards including the Globes, Satellites, Broadcasters, and SAG, all of which nominated it.

Hopkins' win at BAFTA and the Oscars was merit based, but it also had its share of sentiment behind it. With so many deaths over the course of the elongated Oscar season, the idea that the now oldest living major actor still working after the deaths of Max von Sydow and Christopher Plummer, could have been up for his last Oscar nomination, was just about the only scenario that could compete against the idea of giving the Oscar to a much admired actor who kept working almost to his last breath from cancer.

Hopkins in his acceptance speech, delivered via Instagram, had this to say:

"At 83 years of age, I did not expect to get this award, I really didn't. I'm very grateful to the Academy, and thank you. And 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. Thank you."