Melissa Leo’s career didn’t exactly soar after she won an Oscar.
Leo is reflecting on the impact of winning the 2011 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in The Fighter.
During a chat with The Guardian, the actress remarked that winning the award put the brakes on her career.
“Winning an Oscar has not been good for me or my career. I didn’t dream of it, I never wanted it, and I had a much better career before I won,” she said.
The actress was also asked “What goes through your mind when you stand up to receive an Oscar?”
“One loses one’s mind. I had won a lot of prestigious awards for The Fighter that season, and sat in that great gigantic theater thinking: ‘Well, it certainly is possible,'” Leo recalled.
“Kirk Douglas came out to present the Best Supporting Actress award, opened the envelope and called my name. I was so delighted to meet him – that was all I was thinking about,” she recalled.
She recalled panicking and saying a swear word after accepting the award.
“I turned to the house, which in most theaters, you can see by looking a little above your own eyesight,” she explained. “In the Dolby Theatre, you have to raise your chin like you’re about to scale Mount Everest. Every single actor, director and producer you recognize is staring you in the face. I then cursed, and I’m still sorry I cursed. I f***ing curse all the time, but you cannot curse on network television. Thank God for the 10-second delay, which was introduced for f***Ing idiots like me.”
Melissa Leo co-starred with the likes of Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale in 2011’s critically acclaimed The Fighter.
