Of all the shocks in this year’s Oscar nominations, none was quite as surprising as Andrea Riseborough landing herself in the race for an Academy Award.
Despite having next to no awards buzz for her role in To Leslie (a film that, if we’re being honest, most of us had probably not even heard of), the Newcastle-born star was revealed as a surprise contender in the Best Actress category, after bagging her first ever Oscar nomination on Tuesday afternoon.
This came after a number of high-profile stars – including Cate Blanchett and Gwyneth Paltrow – began singing Andrea’s praises for her performance in the film, which was interpreted by many as a grassroots campaign to land her some recognition from the Oscars.
Reacting to the support she’s received on Tuesday evening, the Birdman actor admitted she was “not entirely sure how the fuck this happened”.
She told Deadline: “I’m astounded. It’s such an unexpected ray of light.
“It was so hard to believe it might ever happen because we really hadn’t been in the running for anything else. Even though we had a lot of support, the idea it might actually happen seemed so far away.”
Andrea is up for Best Actress alongside Ana De Armas for Blonde, Cate Blanchett for Tár, Michelle Williams for The Fabelmans and Michelle Yeoh for Everything Everywhere All At Once.
The British actor was previously nominated for a TV Bafta for her role in The Long Walk To Finchley, and won a SAG Award alongside the rest of the Birdman cast in the Best Ensemble category.
Her additional credits include films like Happy-Go-Lucky, Brighton Rock, Battle Of The Sexes, Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical and the Madonna-directed W.E., as well as the TV dramas Black Mirror and National Treasure.
Check out the full list of this year’s Oscar nominees here.