Viola Davis is "absolutely thrilled" to be nominated for an Oscar.

Viola Davis

Viola Davis

The 55-year-old actress was honoured by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences with a nomination in the Best Actress category for her role in 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom' and she admits the accolade - which makes her the most-nominated Black actress in Oscars history - is very overwhelming.

Taking to photo-sharing site Instagram, she wrote, alongside a yellow heart emoji: "Absolutely thrilled!! Congratulations to the whole @MaRaineyFilm team! Deserved! (sic)"

And Riz Ahmed - who has become the first Muslim man to be nominated in the Best Actor category for his role in 'Sound of Metal' admitted he was "honoured".

Taking to Instagram, he wrote: "Wow! I'm honoured to be nominated by my fellow actors alongside such inspiring performances, and am grateful to the Academy for their support and encouragement. I’m equally thrilled for our visionary writer-director Darius Marder and the brilliant Paul Raci, as well as our editor Mikkel, sound designer Nicolas, and co-writer Abe Marder.

"These nominations represents the time, generosity and talents of so many — all of our incredible cast, crew, producers, and in particular I’d like to thank my mentors in the drumming, addiction recovery, and D/deaf communities.⁣ Sound of Metal is about how a health crisis can cut you off from your life and loved ones, and force you to grow in unexpected ways. In a challenging year for so many, I hope this story can inspire us to forge new and deeper connections with ourselves and others. (sic)"

Gary Oldman - who was given a nod in the Best Actor category for 'Mank', which received the most - 10 - nominations across the board - said the return of the Academy Awards gave him a sense of "normalcy".

He shared: "After such a stressed pandemic year, there is a kind of comfort and reassurance in knowing that we soldier on in many ways with important traditions. In our industry there is nothing more traditional than the Academy Awards, which hopefully sends a sign of hope that we will get out of this. The Oscars are such a sign that normalcy still exists. In my case today marks my third Academy Award Nomination. Not to trivialise the current state of the world, it is a source of great pride and honour to be recognised alongside these other tremendous, wonderful artists."

The Academy Awards will take place on April 26.

Tagged in