Glenn Close Says Gwyneth Paltrow’s ‘Shakespeare in Love’ Oscar Win Didn’t Make Sense

Ryan Lattanzio
·2 min read
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Seven-time Academy Award-nominee Glenn Close is back in the Oscar mix for her turn in Ron Howard’s “Hillbilly Elegy,” now streaming on Netflix. All eyes were on Close last year to finally take home Best Actress for “The Wife,” but alas that honor went to Olivia Colman for “The Favourite.” Speaking with film critic Peter Travers for his ABC News special “Popcorn,” Close had some candid thoughts about the Oscars, pointing to the Best Actress race in 1999 as an example that didn’t “make sense.”

“I honestly feel that to be nominated by your peers is about as good as it gets,” Close said. “And then, I’ve never understood how you could honestly compare performances, you know? I remember the year Gwyneth Paltrow won over that incredible actress who was in ‘Central Station’ and I thought, ‘What?’ It doesn’t make sense.” (The “incredible actress” was Brazilian legend Fernanda Montenegro, who won prizes from the Berlin International Film Festival, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, and more for the film.)

The year Paltrow won, she was also up against Cate Blanchett in “Elizabeth,” Meryl Streep in “One True Thing,” and Emily Watson in “Hilary and Jackie.” Miramax-backed “Shakespeare in Love” was, ultimately, the toast of the night, winning Best Picture in what many considered an upset over “Saving Private Ryan.”

Close added, “So I think who wins has a lot of things to do with how things have been, you know, whether it has traction or whatever. Publicity, how much money did they have to put it out in front of everybody’s sight. I have to be philosophical about it, if I was upset about it.”

Close said she’s taken her Oscar losses in stride. “I’m very proud of the times that my peers have felt that my performance was worthy of attention,” she said.

Along with “The Wife,” Close has also been nominated in acting categories for “Albert Nobbs,” “Dangerous Liaisons,” “Fatal Attraction,” “The Natural,” “The Big Chill,” and “The World According to Garp.”

In the Peter Travers interview, below, she also revealed a film version of stage turn in “Sunset Boulevard” is also still in the works, and that it could begin production next summer.

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