Paul Raci Reveals How Wife Liz Helped Him Land His 2021 Oscar-Nominated Sound of Metal Role
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Paul Raci's wife Liz might just be to thank for him ending up at the 2021 Academy Awards.
The Sound of Metal star, up for Best Supporting Actor at this year's Oscars, told Giuliana Rancic during the Live from E!: Oscars pre-show Sunday that his wife and agent Liz made a call that led to him landing his Academy Award-nominated role.
"I got the audition, put it on tape, sent it in and I just forgot about it, because that's how it's gone for 40 years," began the actor, 73. "And then she decided to make a follow-up call and asked them if they'd seen it. They said 'no,' they had too many. They were inundated with tapes. They're going to start looking for a name, for a star, and she begged them to look at it. They did."
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Chris Pizzelo-Pool/Getty Paul Raci and Liz Hanley Raci
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Things moved quickly from there. "Ten minutes later, they called and said that Darius [Marder] the director was on the phone and the rest is like, history," Raci continued.
Raci, who plays the head of a sober shelter for Deaf people, commended Marder for accurately portraying the Deaf community in the drama, with help from three Deaf advisors on set.
RELATED VIDEO: The Cast of 'Sound of Metal' Discuss How they Hope the Film will Impact the Industry
"The Deaf community has a saying: 'Nothing about us without us.' So he was very inclusive in that way," said Raci, the hearing son of Deaf parents.
Listen below to the episode of our daily podcast PEOPLE Every Day for more on the 2021 Oscars.
The Chicago native, of course, brought his wife along as his date to Sunday's Oscars. "My wife has been my agent for 20 years now and she's been in there fighting for me," he previously told PEOPLE. "My wife Liz, she'll be there with me and she's my heart."
The 93rd Academy Awards are airing live on Sunday, April 25 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on ABC.
