Oscars 2021 – live: Winners, acceptance speeches and highlights from the Academy Awards
Chloé Zhao wins Best Director while Frances McDormand earns Best Actress prize
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Road movie Nomadland won the top prize at the 93rd Academy Awards, which fulfilled many expectations but threw in a couple of surprise wins in an unusual ceremony.
The film’s director Chloe Zhao also made history, becoming the first woman of colour to win the award for directing, and the second woman in history — and the film scooped the Best Actress prize for its star Frances McDormand.
Sir Anthony Hopkins won the Best Actor Oscar — his first since The Silence of the Lambs in 1992 — for his performance in The Father, about a man slipping into dementia, defeating presumptive favourite Chadwick Boseman, who died last year aged 43 following a private four-year battle with colon cancer.
Daniel Kaluuya, who was born in London to Ugandan parents, is the first black British winner of the best Supporting Actor prize for his turn as community organiser and member of the Black Panther Party Fred Hampton in Judas and the Black Messiah.
There were a number of surprise wins. David Fincher’s Mank led the pack with 10 nominations, but ultimately won two.
Due to coronavirus, the Oscars moved out of their usual venue, the Dolby Theatre, and were based out of Los Angeles’s Union Station instead. The ceremony’s format was overhauled too, with attendees observing social distancing and some joining via video link from other parts of the world.
Nomadland had been a favourite to win Best Picture; it fulfilled that expectation, beating The Father, Judas and the Black Messiah, Mank, Minari, Promising Young Woman, Sound of Metal, and The Trial of the Chicago 7.
Minari actor Youn Yuh-jung also won over the crowd in her acceptance speech for Best Supporting Actress, which was presented to her by Brad Pitt. “Mr Brad Pitt, finally, nice to meet you!” she told him after making her way onto the stage. She then proceeded to acknowledge the ways in which her name has been mispronounced throughout the awards season, telling the crowd: “Tonight, you are all forgiven.”
With her win, Youn became the first Korean actor to take home an Academy Award.
Follow our liveblog for highlights from the ceremony and the buzz-worthy aftermath.
Another Oscars moment worth revisiting: when Glenn Close stunned viewers by twerking to “Da Butt”.
Glenn Close stuns Oscars viewers by twerking to ‘Da Butt’
‘Get that woman her Oscar,’ one shocked viewer wrote
Here is the moment Anthony Hopkins won Best Actor:
Did you catch Harrison Ford reading scathing critiques of Blade Runner while presenting the Oscar for Best Editing? If there was an Oscar for Best Presenting, he would deserve to win it:
Harrison Ford reads list of all the mean things people said about Blade Runner at Oscars
Actor read from a list of ‘editorial suggestions’ he had received about the film
One of the biggest shockers of the night was the late Chadwick Boseman losing out on the Best Actor award - with the prize going to Sir Anthony Hopkins.
Boseman had long been the favourite to receive the award for his performance in the August Wilson adaptation Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, but the Academy ultimately recognised Hopkins for his turn in The Father.
Read the full story here...
Fans shocked by Chadwick Boseman upset as late star loses Best Actor
Best Actor award went to Sir Anthony Hopkins for his role in The Father
This lovely picture of the winners of the acting categories - Youn Yuh-jung, Daniel Kaluuya and Frances McDormand - just dropped. McDormand’s face is one of pure joy. Check out her howling after Nomadland won Best Picture, here.
Chloe Zhao, the first woman of colour to win a Best Director Oscar, poses here with her two awards (the other was for Best Picture)
Here are the biggest talking points from Oscars night, from Daniel Kaluuya providing much of the night’s laughter to Anthony Hopkins’s anti-climactic no-show
The six biggest talking points from last night’s Oscars
This was always going to be an unusual year, but ‘unusual’ doesn’t have to be mean ‘mostly unbearable’
Chloé Zhao has revealed the reason for Frances McDormand’s howling after the film won Best Picture. “The howling is for our production sound mixer, Wolf, who was in the In Memoriam. He was part of our family,” she explained backstage.
Read about the death of Michael Wolf Snyder, here.
Carey Mulligan shed a few tears after Emerald Fennell won Best Original Screenplay for Promising Young Woman
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments