Olivia Colman on her 2019 Oscar win: I can't remember what happened

24 March 2021

Olivia Colman “can’t remember what happened” on the night she won her Oscar.

Olivia Colman

The 47-year-old actress picked up the Best Actress gong in 2019 for her role as Queen Anne in ‘The Favourite’, and her acceptance speech saw her looking visibly dazed as she admitted it was “hilarious” to think she’d won the accolade.

And now, Olivia has said she genuinely doesn’t remember her speech – which also saw her thank her co-stars, crew, and kids through tears – or what happened after the ceremony because she was so overwhelmed with emotion.

She told ‘Entertainment Tonight’: "I can't remember what I said. I only know because I've seen it played back now. I can't remember what happened afterwards. My husband said it was the best night of his life. And had it been the other way around, if I could have watched him, I understand, I would have loved that, and I would've remembered everything. But I'm afraid I still can't quite believe it happened."

Meanwhile, Olivia recently revealed her co-stars Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz secretly declined being nominated for a Best Actress Oscar because they felt she deserved the trophy.

Emma and Rachel – who played Abigail Masham and Lady Sarah Churchill respectively – instead went up for Best Supporting Actress, although they both ultimately lost out on taking home the award.

Olivia said: “What I didn't realise for the Oscars was that you are meant to say what category you want to go up for. I went: ‘No, that's rude. I'm not doing that.’

“And also because I felt that we were all three equal people - Emma, me and Rachel were three equals. I said: ‘If they can't change it so that we can all be equals, then I don't want to do it, because it's not right.’

“So I refused to say it. I said: ‘We can either all go up for lead, or all go up for supporting.’”

Explaining the kind deed her co-stars had done in secret, she then explained: “But then what I didn't realise … someone let slip that Emma and Rachel had both decided - which makes me feel quite emotional - that they would go supporting to make me go lead, because they said they'd both had it, so it was my turn.

“Isn't that amazing? That's two incredible friends. I said I was not doing it unless we could all be equal. So they ignored me, and did something selfless and charitable.”