I have not seen, written or thought about Melissa Leo in many years. It’s not like I have anything against the woman, it just completely slipped my mind that she exists. Not only that, it completely slipped my mind that she’s an Oscar winner. I saw a headline which referenced her Oscar and I was like “wait, what?” She won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in 2011, for The Fighter. Since then, she’s worked consistently on a variety of film, theater and television projects, usually in supporting roles. Which is fine – I actually like it when a supporting-actor Oscar goes to a true character actor, especially one who works in the theater constantly. Well, Melissa recently chatted with the Guardian about her career, her hobbies and what it was like to win an Oscar. She mentions that she thought her career was better BEFORE the Oscar (she’s right).

Why she didn’t insist on kissing Denzel Washington in the Equalizer movies: “Well, if you go back to the first Equalizer, he comes to my character seeking permission to do his “equalizing”. I’d been his boss and trained him, so kissing him would be highly inappropriate. However, if somebody is looking to see me kiss Mr Washington, please whisper that into his ear.

She knits & does pottery: “The knitting has been eclipsed by pottery the past three years. I go to a local pottery studio, do what I can on a wheel, and get my creativity out there. The knitting was a wonderful thing. I’d make simple squares without having to count stitches, then sew them all together. I must have made about a dozen blankets, most of which are still in a trunk upstairs. If I get another job in television – which I hope I do – that has you sitting around quite a bit, so knitting is a good mobile craft.

She wishes she was offered something other than blue-collar characters: “Absolutely! I am dying to do that kind of work. I’ve been asking for years: “Please, may I play the princess? The glorious, kind, benevolent queen?” I want lovely fancy costumes, maybe from another period. Years ago, I made a film called A Time of Destiny, which was set in the 40s. Not all actors can fit in period pieces because they feel too modern, but I can play goodies and baddies – past, present and future.

What goes through your mind when you win an Oscar: “One loses one’s mind. I had won a lot of prestigious awards for The Fighter that season, and sat in that great gigantic theatre thinking: ‘Well, it certainly is possible.’ Kirk Douglas came out to present the best supporting actress award, opened the envelope and called my name. I was so delighted to meet him – that was all I was thinking about. I turned to the house, which in most theatres, you can see by looking a little above your own eyesight. In the Dolby theatre, you have to raise your chin like you’re about to scale Mount Everest. Every single actor, director and producer you recognise, is staring you in the face. I then cursed, and I’m still sorry I cursed. I f–king curse all the time, but you cannot curse on network television. Thank God for the 10-second delay, which was introduced for f–king idiots like me. Having said that, winning an Oscar has not been good for me or my career. I didn’t dream of it, I never wanted it, and I had a much better career before I won.

[From The Guardian]

“…Winning an Oscar has not been good for me or my career. I didn’t dream of it, I never wanted it, and I had a much better career before I won.” As I said, she’s probably right and it’s not even her fault – she won the Oscar in her early 50s, when she was probably already trying to transition to the kinds of roles available to actresses in that demographic. Then she was probably told by her agent, “hey, you won an Oscar, you should do big-budget movies and collect those paychecks!” And there wasn’t a lot on offer. She would have been better off remaining an acclaimed independent-film actress who worked a lot in theater. That being said, the trade off is that you won an Oscar! You get to have an Oscar statuette in your house!

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.