Oscars flashback: Hilary Swank goes 2 for 2

Even erstwhile an Oscar infinitesimal is meant to absorption connected the champion actresses successful the concern … it often becomes astir the actors.

Early successful the opening monologue for the 77th Academy Awards, held astatine the Kodak Theatre successful Hollywood connected Feb. 27, 2005, big Chris Rock struck a chord with astatine slightest a fewer actors successful the audience. He compared Tom Cruise with Jude Law and past asked, “Who is Jude Law? Why is helium successful each movie I person seen successful the past 4 years? … He’s successful everything.”

It was a callout that overmuch aboriginal successful the amusement Sean Penn, who was onstage to work retired the nominees for pb actress, decided to address. Going off-script, Penn said, “Forgive my compromised consciousness of humor, but I did privation to reply [Rock’s] question astir who Jude Law is. He’s 1 of our finest actors.” Only past did helium pivot to absorption connected the women: “What Jude and each talented actors cognize is that for each greatly talented actor, determination are 5 actresses who are thing abbreviated of magic. And the Academy’s favourite 5 this twelvemonth are…”

After that segue, it was clip for a tiny spot of past to beryllium made, erstwhile Hilary Swank earned her 2nd Oscar.

She hits, she scores

By winning that award, Swank became the archetypal pistillate successful academy past to triumph for playing a boxer, successful “Million Dollar Baby.” (She’d already go the archetypal nominated.) After giving hubby Chad Lowe a hug successful the assemblage (they would divorcement 2 years later), Swank took the signifier to judge the award. It was her 2nd triumph connected her 2nd nomination; she’d won her archetypal Oscar successful 2000 for “Boys Don’t Cry.”

“I don’t cognize what I did successful this beingness to merit each this,” she said successful her Nebraska twang. “I’m conscionable a miss from a trailer parkland who had a dream.”

She gave Lowe thanks, calling him “my everything,” and made definite to convey the formed and unit from “Million,” which had already earned co-star Morgan Freeman an Oscar for his relation successful the movie and would soon thereafter gain director-producer Clint Eastwood 2 much Oscars (for directing and champion picture). Swank besides thanked her parent “for believing successful maine from the beginning; my dada for support,” past saved peculiar thoughts for Eastwood, calling him her “mo chuisle,” an Irish operation meaning “pulse of my heart” that was utilized successful the film.

A acquainted pairing

Surely, Annette Bening, who besides was nominated successful the class for playing an histrion successful “Being Julia,” was having déjà vu. She and Swank had been other 1 different successful the pb histrion nominee database successful 2000. At that time, Bening was up for “American Beauty,” and Swank won it past too, for “Boys Don’t Cry.” Bening has been nominated 5 times for an Oscar (1991, 2000, 2005, 2011, 2024) with nary wins; each of them were starring nominations but one, successful the supporting category.

“I would deliberation it would consciousness truly large [to win], but I surely cognize what it’s similar not to win,” she told Rolling Stone up of the 2024 Oscars ceremony. “I’ve been determination and I’ve done that, and that’s besides not truthful bad.”

Also up for the grant were first-time nominee Catalina Sandino Moreno, who played a cause mule successful “Maria Full of Grace”; chap first-timer Imelda Staunton, who played the rubric character, an termination provider, successful “Vera Drake”; and Kate Winslet, for playing a pistillate who’s had her memories erased successful “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.” Winslet is simply a seven-time nominee (1996, 1998, 2002, 2005, 2007, 2009 and 2016), which includes her 1 triumph successful the class successful 2009 for “The Reader.” Winslet missed a information this twelvemonth for her biopic “Lee,” based connected American lensman Lee Miller.