Mahershala Ali admits it was "very hard to feel joy" under the circumstances in which 'Moonlight' won the Best Picture Oscar.
Mahershala Ali
The 43-year-old actor "wasn't surprised" when 'La La Land' was announced as the winner of the prestigious award on Sunday (26.01.17) so was completely thrown when it was then revealed there had been a mistake and his own film had actually taken the honour.
And Mahershala doesn't think it is right to "take something away from someone else".
Speaking backstage at Los Angeles' Dolby Theatre, Mahershala - who also won Best Supporting Actor - said: "'La La Land' has done so well and it's resonated with so many people, especially in this time when people need a sense of buoyancy in their life.
"That film has really impacted people in a very different way than 'Moonlight', so when their name was read, I wasn't surprised - was really happy for them. It's a group of really extraordinary people.
"When I did see security or people coming out on stage and their moment was being disrupted in some way, I got really worried.
"And then when they said 'Moonlight' wins, it just threw me a bit. It threw me more than a bit!
"I just didn't want to go up there and take something from somebody. It's very hard to feel joy in a moment like that, but I feel very fortunate for all of us to have walked away with the Best Picture award. It's pretty remarkable."
Mahershala's co-star, Naomie Harris, thought the gaffe was a joke at their expense.
She told People: "It is really surreal. I went up on stage with this weird expression on my face like, 'What is happening?'
"I don't know what I'm going to look like onscreen."
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