Sir Anthony Hopkins presents the Best Actress award to Jessica Chastain at Oscars 2022.
British actor Sir Anthony Hopkins made his return to the Oscars on Sunday night. The 84-year-old presented the Best Actress award to Jessica Chastain for 'The Eyes of Tammy Faye' and also gave one of the viral moments from the afterparty. He had skipped the event last year despite winning the Best Actor award for 'The Father', which led to a lot of speculation. Sir Anthony was given standing ovation from the crowd, including the A-listers for which he thanked him.
"Wonderful to be back at The Academy Awards... To my surprise, I thought the standing ovation was a fire drill," he said in a tweet posted after the ceremony, which had a short video showing him taking the stage at Los Angeles' Dolby Theatre amid thunderous applause.
Sir Anthony presented the award shortly after Will Smith received the Best Actor trophy for 'King Richard', where in an emotional speech he apologised to the Academy for slapping comedian Chris Rock.
“What an evening, Will Smith said it all. What more can be said? Let's have peace and love and quiet,” Sir Anthony said.
He also shared a video of himself "getting ready" for the ceremony and dancing as he buttoned up his suit.
A year ago, Sir Anthony had skipped the ceremony, later explaining that he was convinced he wouldn't win the Best Actor award for his performance in 'The Father'.
“I didn't expect to get it, at all. My phone went, and it was a text from my agent saying 'you've won the Oscar' at about 5 o'clock in the morning. I couldn't believe it. I really couldn't believe it. I didn't expect it,” Sir Anthony said a few months after last year's Oscars ceremony.
At the afterparty after Sunday's Oscars ceremony, Sir Anthony took to the dance stage and showed off his moves.
The video went viral with social media users celebrating the acclaimed actor. “I really needed to see this. Tfs,” said a user on Twitter.