America Ferrera thought Oscar nomination was 'made up'

24 January 2024

America Ferrera thought she had "made up" her Oscar nomination.

America Ferrera is stunned by her Oscar nomination

The 39-year-old actress has received her first Academy Awards nod for Best Supporting Actress in recognition of her performance as Gloria in 'Barbie' and she watched the shortlists on her phone in bed while her husband Ryan Piers Williams drove their kids to school, so it took a while for the news to sink in.

She told Variety: “There was a moment where I wasn’t sure if I had made it up. And then my phone started blowing up so I figured that I must have heard it right.

“I still haven’t really been able to get in my feelings because I’m still on like the top layer of ‘I can’t even believe that this is real.' "

After a call from her publicist, America then excitedly spoke to her husband.

She said: “He was screaming and emotional. And I just heard my kids in the back, like so confused. ‘What are you screaming about?' "

The 'Superstore' actress admitted it is "disappointing" that her co-star Margot Robbie failed to land a Best Actress nomination, though she is recognised as producer in the Best Picture category, and Greta Gerwig lost out on a place on the Best Director shortlist.

She said: “I was incredibly disappointed that they weren’t nominated.

“Greta has done just about everything that a director could do to deserve it. Creating this world, and taking something that didn’t have inherent value to most people and making it a global phenomenon. It feels disappointing to not see her on that list...

“What Margot achieved as an actress is truly unbelievable.

"One of the things about Margot as an actress is how easy she makes everything look. And perhaps people got fooled into thinking that the work seems easy, but Margot is a magician as an actress in front of the screen, and it was one of the honours of my career to get to witness her pull off the amazing performance she did.

"She brings so much heart and humor and depth and joy and fun to the character. In my book, she’s a master.”