Maestro actress Carey Mulligan has broken one of Hollywood’s oldest taboos when it comes to Awards season: never say it matters.
Mulligan, who is Oscar-nominated for the third time this year for her role of Leonard Bernstein’s wife Felicia Montealegre in the Netflix biopic Maestro, told The Times of London of her joy at being nominated:
“(It) is just the coolest thing. Because it’s from your peers. It’s wicked.
And of all the actors who say that awards don’t matter and that it’s the work that counts? “They are 100 per cent lying.”
Mulligan added her voice to those protesting at the omission of Greta Gerwig from the Best Director category for her box office behemoth Barbie:
“I’m gutted for Greta because I don’t know what else you can do as a director to get nominated. You make a critically acclaimed film that’s also an incredible global success, and yet you don’t get nominated?”
Both Mulligan and Cooper are nominated for their roles in their movie, which tells the tale of Bernstein’s marriage, and the challenges posed to it. Cooper has also been overlooked in the Best Director category, although the film itself has received a nod for Best Picture.
Mulligan has received a clutch of awards over her career, but her most memorable Awards night thus far came at last year’s Bafta Awards when she was mistakenly declared to be the winner of the Best Actress gong for her role in #MeToo drama She Said. With shades of the 2017 La La Land/Moonlight Oscars debacle, Kerry Condon was the real winner on the night for her role in The Banshees of Inisherin, but deaf presenter Troy Kotsur signed the word “Kerry”, the interpreter took that to mean “Carey” and… off they went.
The mistake was soon righted, and not televised, but clearly remembered by Mulligan, who says now she remained frozen, halfway between standing and sitting, while one of her actor friends Jamie Dornan broke into hysterical laughter nearby. Come victory or defeat at this year’s Academy Awards on March 10, Mulligan will be hoping for a smoother evening.