The Oscars ended in chaos — not only did the late Chadwick Boseman lose Best Actor, where he was heavily expected to win for his final role in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, but the win went to Anthony Hopkins, who wasn’t even in attendance, for The Father. Hopkins eventually accepted his trophy the next morning from his homeland of Wales, posting a short countryside video to his Instagram. “At 83 years of age, I did not expect to get this award, I really didn’t,†a shocked Hopkins said. Not only is the trophy Hopkins’s second, after winning for The Silence of the Lambs in 1992, the win makes him the oldest acting Oscar winner ever. Hopkins’s trophy was the second of the night for The Father, which also won Best Adapted Screenplay.
Hopkins acknowledged his fellow nominee, who died from colon cancer last August, at 43. “I want to pay tribute to Chadwick Boseman, who was taken from us far too early,†he said. Boseman won all of the precursor awards, including at the Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild Awards, with his widow Simone giving emotional acceptance speeches at each; Oscars producers even shifted the traditional order of awards to give Best Actor last, presumably hoping to end on an emotional tribute to Boseman. And hours later, not even Hopkins himself could get over the surprise of his upset. “Again, thank you all very much,†he said with a laugh. “I really did not expect this, so I’m very privileged and honored.â€