British talent is poised to experience its longest drought for acting accolades at the Oscars this century, with no UK performers expected to win any of the four major awards for the fifth consecutive year.
The UK's strongest hopes lay in the supporting categories. British-Nigerian Bafta-winner Wunmi Mosaku was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the horror film Sinners, but lost out to American Amy Madigan, who bagged the award for her part in the supernatural mystery Weapons.
The Field Of Dreams star collected the prize for her terrifying turn as Aunt Gladys in the horror film Weapons.
Referring to her husband of more than 40 years, she said: “The most important is my beloved Ed who’s been with me forever, and that’s a long-ass time, and none of this would mean anything if he wasn’t by my side.
She added: “Thank you, I’m very overwhelmed.”
London-born Delroy Lindo, now considering himself American, was also a Best Supporting Actor contender for Sinners, losing to veteran US actor Sean Penn, who won for the comedy action epic One Battle After Another.
The 65-year-old actor previously won Best Actor for Mystic River and Milk in 2004 and 2009, respectively.
However, after last year’s winner, A Real Pain star Culkin, announced six-time nominee Penn’s victory, he revealed that the actor wasn’t there to claim the award.
According to The New York Times, Penn was visiting Ukraine instead. The actor has been one of the most high-profile supporters of Ukraine’s President Zelensky during his country’s war with Russia.
In his usual wry tone, Culkin poked fun at Penn’s absence, telling the crowd: “Sean Penn couldn’t be here this evening. Or didn’t want to. So I'll be accepting the award on his behalf.”
No British performers were nominated in either the Best Actor or Best Actress categories this year. This marks the first time since 2012 the UK has been entirely shut out of both lead acting races.
The combined outcome means the UK will have failed to secure any of the four acting Oscars from 2022 to 2026, a barren run not witnessed since the 1990s.
