Gary Oldman Thanked The Usual Folks For His Best Actor Oscar, But Saved His Best Thanks For His Mother

Following a sea of preceding Oscars categories and their respective winners, the “Big Four” quickly took center stage as Sunday’s telecast came to a close. Guillermo del Toro won the coveted Best Director trophy, the announcement of which was promptly followed by the third-to-last award to be highlight, the Best Actor Oscar. And the winner, who was hilariously introduced by Jane Fonda and Helen Mirren, who took turns trading jokes about Hollywood’s cabal of older white men? Gary Oldman, who played Sir Winston Churchill in the second of the year’s two Dunkirk-themed films, Darkest Hour.

Even so, Oldman — who joked amid his otherwise typical Oscars acceptance speech, “Obviously I’m not going to win the ski” — reserved his most sincere thanks for his “99 years young” mother. “I would like to thank mother, who is older than the Oscar,” he said. “She’s watching the ceremony from the comfort of her sofa. I say to my mother: Thank you for your love and support. Put the kettle on. I’m bringing Oscar home.” Oldman also thanked his wife Gisele Schmidt, who was his guest for the evening’s festivities, but his professed thanks for his mother (and his “99 years young” quip) earned him plenty of points with the crowd.

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