How does Emma Stone’s Oscar reaction rate on Best Actress shock meter?

Tariq Khan
·8 min read
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After the conclusion of each Academy Awards ceremony, I always go back and rewatch the telecast from start to finish. I want to pick up on all of the things that I might have missed during my initial viewing. I especially like to study the nominees’ reactions each time an envelope is opened — particularly for the major categories when the famous five-camera shot is strategically displayed on the TV screen. I always rewind the moment that each winner is announced, so that I can carefully study the look on each individual’s face both before and after the big reveal.

As we all know, this year’s Best Actress race was the only above-the-line race with any real suspense. That it made it all the more fascinating when reigning Best Actress Michelle Yeoh (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”) announced that the torch would be passed on to Emma Stone in “Poor Things.” Poor Emma. She seemed semi-horrified when she got the yay from Yeoh. And this from someone who played the child Frankenstein-like Bella Baxter in the freaky and fantastical film from Best Director nominee Yorgos Lanthimos. Did Stone really not expect to win? As host Jimmy Kimmel might answer, “Yorgos” is as good as mine.

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But based on her reaction, I would give Stone an easy “8” on the Oscar “shock meter.” That’s a term that I created decades ago, to assess how shocked an Oscar nominee was to learn that they were in fact the winner. A “1” would be someone who was all but certain that they would prevail. A “10” would be a person so certain of their defeat that they probably voted for someone else.

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Stone is just the latest in a long line of unsuspecting Oscar recipients. In fact, there have been countless dozens in the 96-year history of the Academy Awards. Many of those were for Best Actress. So how does Stone compare to others on the Best Actress shock meter? Let’s look back at some of the most delirious leading ladies of the past 25 years (in chronological order.)

1. Halle Berry, Best Actress of 2001 for “Monster’s Ball.”
The frontrunner for much of that season was Sissy Spacek in “In the Bedroom.” She was named Best Actress by both the New York Film Critics Circle and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. After she collected the Golden Globe for Best Drama Actress for “In the Bedroom,” it looked like Spacek had the Oscar in the bag. Then Nicole Kidman in “Moulin Rouge!” picked up momentum as her film began to surge. She had taken the Golden Globe for Best Comedy Actress and was also nominated on the Drama side for her other 2001 release, “The Others.” Berry wasn’t seen as a serious threat until she pulled off an upset at the SAG Awards. Heading into the Oscars, observers were largely split on which of the three was most likely to succeed. When Russell Crowe (2000’s Best Actor for “Gladiator”) read the name “Halle Berry,” the actress’s reaction was so dramatic that it practically outdid anything that she did in “Monster’s Ball” to actually win the award. (In all seriousness, she was astonishing as a poor and grieving mother in the gritty film.) Berry tearfully made her way to the stage as the audience gave the first Black Best Actress winner in Oscar history a thunderous standing ovation. Of course, her remarks (which lasted over four minutes) were so detailed and deliberate that we have to assume that she had extensively prepared and practiced. So were we all really just played by Halle? They don’t call it “Best Actress” for nothing. Oscar shock meter rating: 10.

2. Marion Cotillard, Best Actress of 2007 for “La Vie en Rose.”
The general consensus was that 1965’s Best Actress for “Darling” and 2007’s critics’ darling Julie Christie in “Away from Her” would finally receive an Oscar bookend. With both the Golden Globe for Best Drama Actress and the SAG Award, Christie was well-positioned to repeat at the Oscars. But when Forest Whitaker (2006’s Best Actor for “The Last King of Scotland”) presented the prize, it went away from Christie and instead to the French and fragile Cotillard.  Her body practically jolted as she jumped out of her seat and made her way into Whitaker’s arms. The actress struggled to find the right words in English to convey her gratitude to the academy. At a lunch at Tavern on the Green in New York City’s Central Park some years later, I asked Cotillard about her Oscar victory. She professed that she never expected to win, and apologized for her less-than-perfect English. I assured her that her speech was absolutely beautiful and that her honesty was wonderfully refreshing. In retrospect, her portrayal of legendary French singer Edith Piaf was so remarkable that it should have been obvious that “La Vie en Rose” would lead her to Oscar gold. And as for any stumbles that Cotillard made while grasping for the proper English? As the saying goes – c’est la vie. Oscar shock meter rating: 9.

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3. Meryl Streep, Best Actress of 2011 for “The Iron Lady.”
The two-time Oscar winner (Best Supporting Actress of 1979 for “Kramer vs. Kramer” and Best Actress of 1982 for “Sophie’s Choice”) was on her then-record 17th nomination for playing former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in the biographical film. She had come tantalizingly close to nabbing the Best Actress trophy for 2008’s “Doubt” and again for 2009’s “Julie and Julia.” After those losses, many were doubtful that the academy would ever recognize Streep again. Streep had been elected Best Actress at both the Golden Globe (for Drama) and BAFTA Awards for “The Iron Lady.” Yet most pundits expected her former “Doubt” co-star and Critics’s Choice and SAG choice Viola Davis in “The Help” to clean up at the Oscars. Streep was initially surprised when Colin Firth (2010’s Best Actor for “The King’s Speech” and Streep’s former “Mamma Mia” love interest) called out her name. She quickly seized the moment and delivered an articulate and astute acceptance speech. Streep has since been nominated for Oscars four more times, putting her tally at a staggering and record 21. All I can say is … mamma mia. Oscar shock meter rating: 6.

4. Olivia Colman, Best Actress of 2018 for “The Favourite.” She wasn’t the favorite, that’s for sure. After the ridiculously Oscar-overdue Glenn Close in “The Wife” pulled off an upset at the Golden Globes, most of us believed that the academy would finally say “I do” to the perennial Oscar bridesmaid. The SAG Award also went her way. And it looked like Close was on her way to honeymoon with the Oscar. When the big night finally came, Frances McDormand (2017’s Best Actress for “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) stoically stated that the crown belonged to Colman. (She fittingly and frighteningly played Britain’s Queen Anne in the picture.) Colman was nothing short of stunned. It practically took the nudging of her “Favourite” cast mate Emma Stone to get her out of her seat and on to the stage. Colman commented on how “stressful” it was to be up there, and humbly saluted her “idol” Glenn. Close was as gracious as ever. “The Wife” marked her seventh try for the Oscar, and she must have come close. Lesson learned: sometimes it pays to bet against the favorite. (And in that case, Colman in “The Favourite.”) Oscar shock meter rating: 9.

5. Frances McDormand, Best Actress of 2020 for “Nomadland.”
It was the “huh?” heard across the internet. The four major precursors had gone to four different women. So the Oscar outcome was the ultimate cliffhanger. Carey Mulligan in “Promising Young Woman” and Viola Davis in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” topped the Gold Derby odds. And Andra Day in “The United States vs. Billie Holiday” was not far behind them. So when Renee Zellwger (2019’s Best Actress for “Judy”) said McDormand’s name, pundits everywhere were practically paralyzed. Did voters really think that her work as a van-dwelling nomad in the American West warranted a third statuette? Especially when she had been honored just three years earlier? They obviously did. McDormand was equally surprised and seemed almost annoyed. She had already accepted the Best Picture Oscar as a producer of “Nomadland.” Even she might have realized that the Best Actress award was a little too much. Fran, I couldn’t agree more. Oscar shock meter rating: 7.

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