- Amy Madigan won Best Supporting Actress at the 98th Academy Awards
- She received the award for her role in the film Weapons
- Madigan defeated Elle Fanning, Wunmi Mosaku, and Teyana Taylor
Amy Madigan won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress on Sunday night for her performance in Weapons, four decades after her last nomination.
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Madigan delivered a chilling performance as Gladys, the great-aunt of a young boy whose classmates mysteriously disappear overnight. She had earlier won the Critics' Choice Award and the Actor Award for the same role.
Letting out a delighted cackle as she took the stage, Madigan said, "This is great! I mean, everybody is asking me in the press, well, it's been 40 years, and, you know, what's different about this time? What's different is this little gold guy."
She added with characteristic humour, "I mean, I was in the shower last night trying to think of something to say as I was shaving my legs. Now, when I got pants on, I don't have to worry about that. Sorry. And, you know, we were kind of advised that, you know, don't say all these names because nobody knows who the hell these people are, but you're not rattling them off. They're people that mean something to you, that you couldn't be here without them."
The 75-year-old's win comes 40 years after her previous Oscar nomination for Twice in a Lifetime (1985), setting a record for the longest gap between nominations for an actress.
Speaking about the role's unexpected popularity, Madigan noted at an earlier ceremony, "Gladys has surprised me, she's getting a lot of love back. I didn't know y'all wanted to hang out with her." After her Oscar win, she added that the character is "kind of inspiring in a strange way," and said she would love to return for an Aunt Gladys prequel if given the chance.
Madigan thanked writer-director Zach Cregger for creating a "dream part" and welcomed the broader recognition for horror this year, saying the genre is often treated like the "little kids' table at Thanksgiving." She pointed to acclaim for both Weapons and Sinners as a positive shift.
Madigan prevailed over Elle Fanning (Sentimental Value), Wunmi Mosaku (Sinners), Teyana Taylor (One Battle After Another), and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas (Sentimental Value).
Looking back on a career spanning film and theatre, she reflected on longevity and opportunity. "Opportunities (as an older actress) are less and you just hope that something finds you so you can find it. And I don't take it for granted, because you can go up and then you can go all the way down, as we know," said Amy.
