Jennifer Connelly Recalls Feeling 'Panic' During Her 2002 Oscar Speech: I Had a 'Complete Shutdown'

Jennifer Connelly reflects on the feeling of shock during her big win at the Oscars.

The star, who won Best Supporting Actress at the 74th Academy Awards for A beautiful mind back in 2002, reminded of The Drew Barrymore Show how she felt “panic” when she had to go up on stage and give her acceptance speech.

“For me, I think I [had a] complete shutdown, like, panic,” Connelly, now 53, said. “I was so nervous and overwhelmed.”

“I remember looking out at the audience full of all these amazing people and then just seeing it say 40 seconds and, you know, because there’s a monitor that tells you how long you have to speak,” she continued. “I saw it and I think I’m just, like, it’s a complete shock.”

Jennifer Connelly on The Drew Barrymore Show.

The Drew Barrymore Show

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She said the whole night felt like an out-of-body experience. “I was kind of floating and sliding into it when I was coming,” she said, adding that having her dad as a guest helped her loosen up. “I went there with my dad … he came with me, which was really special for me, so he kind of bonded me,” she said.

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A beautiful mind it also won Best Picture, Best Director for Ron Howard, and Best Adapted Screenplay. Costar Russell Crowe is nominated for Best Actor, with other nominations for Editing, Original Score and Makeup.

Connelly also detailed the Oscar-winning moment in an interview on Today in 2003, saying that while she seemed calm when her name was announced and she took the stage, she was anything but.

“I had a bit of deer-in-the-headlights syndrome,” she said at the time. “This is an overwhelming moment, a big, big moment.”

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Jennifer Connelly December 3, 2023

Taylor Hill/WireImage

Connelly, who is promoting her new series Dark matterrecently said on Late Night with Seth Meyers that her mother is credited with getting her into acting as a child, since she “never” did a school play or saw movies.

“It was my mom’s idea and I started working,” he said Labyrinth the star recalled. “Then at a certain point, when I got a little older, I thought, ‘Do I really want to do this? This is not what I chose for my life.’ ”

“Well, I’m here, so apparently I chose again,” she said. “But after a bit of investigation and really thinking about it.”

Dark matterThe first two episodes are now streaming on Apple TV+, with new episodes every Wednesday.

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Source: HIS Education