NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Entertainment

Oscars 2021: Shock Chadwick Boseman loss leads to 'worst ending ever'

By Wenlei Ma
news.com.au·
26 Apr, 2021 03:36 AM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Anthony Hopkins, Frances McDormand and Chloe Zhao were among the big winners at the 93rd Academy Awards, a second ceremony where the usual spectacle has been disrupted by pandemic considerations. Video / Getty / TVNZ

An unprecedented change in the 2021 Academy Awards' running order has backfired spectacularly.

Usually, the Best Picture category ends the ceremony. This year, though, Best Actor came last - presumably because even the Oscars' producers thought Chadwick Boseman was going to win posthumously for his role in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom.

Doing Best Picture this early... it’s like putting Christmas on Black Friday.

— Louis Virtel (@louisvirtel) April 26, 2021

Best Picture before Best Actor/Actress?!? What is this madness #Oscars

— Jarett Wieselman (@JarettSays) April 26, 2021

That would've been a moving and celebratory moment - but it didn't happen.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Instead, Anthony Hopkins, off the back of his surprise Baftas win for his role in The Father, won over Boseman.

And Hopkins wasn't even there, or at the London satellite event. Last we heard, he was visiting his late father's grave in Wales:

Richard Hopkins, my beloved father, resting in eternal peace... 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿
“Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night” Dylan Thomas pic.twitter.com/LbOegtGa9b

— Anthony Hopkins (@AnthonyHopkins) April 25, 2021

Instead, presenter Joaquin Phoenix accepted the award on Hopkins' behalf before the credits rolled to a general sense of stunned bemusement.

The second Oscar for Hopkins comes nearly 30 years after his first in 1992, for playing Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs. He's been nominated four times since without a win.

So, if anyone had suspicions that the ceremony's producers got a tip-off before the night, now we know they don't. Steven Soderbergh was as much in the dark as you were.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The twitterati, naturally, had a lot to say about the anticlimactic moment.

The Academy: Anthony, come to the #oscars, you might actually win.

Anthony Hopkins: pic.twitter.com/2xd3Ytczkj

— Rami (@RamiofTeaneck) April 26, 2021

That's the worst TV ending since "Game of Thrones"

— Matt Brennan (@thefilmgoer) April 26, 2021

The Oscars were so sure that Chadwick Boseman was going to win that they REARRANGED THE ENTIRE CEREMONY so his category could be last, and then they gave the award to Anthony Hopkins instead...the most chaotic and unhinged thing I've ever seen.

— Spencer Althouse (@SpencerAlthouse) April 26, 2021

Me when Chadwick Boseman didn't win for Best Actor#Oscars
pic.twitter.com/EjFYg1wqA1

— Siobhain (@summer0001) April 26, 2021

"we're putting best actor last to end on an emotional note" pic.twitter.com/1fEbEq290L

— Dave Itzkoff (@ditzkoff) April 26, 2021

Joaquin Phoenix after announcing Anthony Hopkins won Best Actor pic.twitter.com/ira9tcQobL

— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) April 26, 2021

Not everybody saw the humour in the situation.

Anthony Hopkin’s performance was wonderful, but the Oscar’s used Chadwick’s legacy & name only to not honor him in their program. He deserved more respect than this.

— Black Panther 2 Updates (@bpanthernews) April 26, 2021

it’s the fact that they used his death for profit and views knowing Best Actor was the most anticipated award of the night and still didn’t even award him https://t.co/fgDImwkgd6

— ً (@furyofthegod) April 26, 2021

The big winners

Best Picture: Nomadland
Best Actor in a Leading Role: Anthony Hopkins – The Father
Best Actress in a Leading Role: Frances McDormand – Nomadland
Best Director: Chloé Zhao – Nomadland
Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Youn Yuh-jung – Minari
Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Daniel Kaluuya – Judas and the Black Messiah
Best adapted screenplay: The Father – Christopher Hampton, Florian Zeller
Best Original Screenplay: Promising Young Woman – Emerald Fennell
Best Animated Feature Film: Soul
Best International Feature Film: Another Round
Mank won three awards in the technical categories, while Ma Rainey's Black Bottom picked up two gongs for Costume and Hair & Make-up.

Discover more

Entertainment

Oscars 2021: Tyler Perry's powerful Oscars speech

26 Apr 03:35 AM
Entertainment

Oscars 2021: All you need to know

25 Apr 07:21 PM
Entertainment

Oscars red carpet: the fashion hits and misses

25 Apr 08:15 PM
Entertainment

Oscars 2021: Nomadland wins big, Anthony Hopkins Best Actor

26 Apr 12:31 AM
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Entertainment

New Zealand

Theatre stalwart's triumphant return after PTSD recovery

11 Jul 02:00 AM
Entertainment

Hamish McKay opens up about his dramatic 50kg weight loss

11 Jul 01:29 AM
Entertainment

Brad Pitt demands release of Angelina Jolie's private texts

10 Jul 11:28 PM

Get your kids involved in your reno

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Entertainment

Theatre stalwart's triumphant return after PTSD recovery

Theatre stalwart's triumphant return after PTSD recovery

11 Jul 02:00 AM

Di Leach is returning to theatre seven years after she became unwell.

Hamish McKay opens up about his dramatic 50kg weight loss

Hamish McKay opens up about his dramatic 50kg weight loss

11 Jul 01:29 AM
Brad Pitt demands release of Angelina Jolie's private texts

Brad Pitt demands release of Angelina Jolie's private texts

10 Jul 11:28 PM
'Too unfair': Julian McMahon’s cause of death confirmed

'Too unfair': Julian McMahon’s cause of death confirmed

10 Jul 09:45 PM
Sponsored: Why heat pumps make winter cheaper
sponsored

Sponsored: Why heat pumps make winter cheaper

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP