Anthony Hopkins, who was asleep when he won an Oscar, belatedly accepts it from Wales


Looking for more closure after the Oscars' shockingly anticlimactic ending? You'll need to head over to Anthony Hopkins' Instagram page.
The actor posted a video from Wales early on Monday to accept his Best Actor Oscar after not being there to do so during the Academy Awards' jaw-dropping conclusion. Hopkins become the oldest actor to ever win an Oscar.
"At 83 years of age, I did not expect to get this award," Hopkins said in the video. "I really didn't. I'm very grateful to the Academy, and thank you."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Hopkins isn't just being humble there, as most awards prognosticators didn't anticipate this, either. Chadwick Boseman was widely expected to posthumously win Best Actor for Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, so much so that the Oscars' producers took the unusual step of placing this award at the end of the broadcast after Best Picture was already presented. It seemed likely they were hoping to end the Oscars with an emotional tribute to Boseman, assuming he would win.
Instead, not only did Boseman lose, but the final award went to someone who wasn't even there to accept it, which was one heck of a deflating way for Hollywood's biggest night to conclude. Hopkins' agent confirmed to People he was asleep in Wales when he won the award, and he had to be woken up at 4:00 a.m. to be told about it. Hopkins' representatives had "pleaded for him" to be allowed to join the Oscars from Zoom because he didn't want to travel to participate in it in-person amid the pandemic, IndieWire reports. But producers had decided that no nominee would be permitted to Zoom into the Oscars, and, well, here we are.
Hopkins in his Instagram video paid tribute to Boseman, noting he "was taken from us far too early." Well, that might have been a nicer note to go out on during the actual Oscars, right? Brendan Morrow
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Anthony Hopkins (@anthonyhopkins)
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
Today's political cartoons - April 19, 2025
Cartoons Saturday's cartoons - free trade, judicial pushback, and more
By The Week US
-
5 educational cartoons about the Harvard pushback
Cartoons Artists take on academic freedom, institutional resistance, and more
By The Week US
-
One-pan black chickpeas with baharat and orange recipe
The Week Recommends This one-pan dish offers bold flavours, low effort and minimum clean up
By The Week UK
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wife
speed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Giant schnauzer wins top prize at Westminster show
Speed Read Monty won best in show at the 149th Westminster Kennel Club dog show
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar take top Grammys
Speed Read Beyoncé took home album of the year for 'Cowboy Carter' and Kendrick Lamar's diss track 'Not Like Us' won five awards
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
The Louvre is giving 'Mona Lisa' her own room
Speed Read The world's most-visited art museum is getting a major renovation
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Honda and Nissan in merger talks
Speed Read The companies are currently Japan's second and third-biggest automakers, respectively
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Taylor Swift wraps up record-shattering Eras tour
Speed Read The pop star finally ended her long-running tour in Vancouver, Canada
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Drake claims illegal boosting, defamation
Speed Read The rapper accused Universal Music of boosting Kendrick Lamar's diss track and said UMG allowed him to be falsely accused of pedophilia
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
'Wicked' and 'Gladiator II' ignite holiday box office
Speed Read The combination of the two movies revitalized a struggling box office
By Peter Weber, The Week US