Triangle of Sadness star Dolly De Leon honestly said that she felt bad and cried over her “Oscars snub.” But what helped her move on from it was the amount of support she received from family, friends and even strangers.
After landing in forecast lists, embarking on an extensive campaign and getting Golden Globe and BAFTA nods in the lead-up to the 95th Academy Awards, Dolly was shut out in the Best Supporting Actress nominations for her performance in the Cannes Palme d’Or-winning social class satire. The film, nevertheless, earned noms for Best Film as well as Best Director and Best Original Screenplay for Ruben Ostlund.
“My initial reaction really was umiyak ako, nalungkot ako. I felt bad for about two to three days and then after that, OK na ako,” she said in a Wednesday interview during the launch of her advocacy art project Hulmahan to help Marikina shoemakers get back on their feet (more on this in a follow-up story).
“But I’m not gonna lie. I’m not gonna pretend na OK lang sa akin that I wasn’t nominated that time. Of course, I felt bad because people were saying, maybe, maybe, maybe, that it became ingrained in my mind that maybe I would be included,” Dolly continued.
Clearly, she has since moved on. “For me, this is a game we’re all playing anyway, if you think about it — this awards thing. Great and ganda if there’s recognition but at the end of the day, hopefully, let the work speak for itself, right?” she said.
Dolly, however, clarified that this statement was not to discredit the Best Supporting Actress nominations because she has so much respect for all the nominees, among them two Asians actresses Hong Chau for The Whale and Stephanie Hsu for Everything Everywhere All at Once. “You know, whatever the outcome, whatever happened, OK na, it’s all good,” she said.
Meanwhile, in a separate one-on-one with The Philippine STAR, she gave credit to her family and friends for their support.
“My brother Ricky, he lives in Oakland. That time, when that happened, I was staying with him. ‘Di ako nakaabang, I was sleeping at that time. Then I heard a text and yun nga dun ko nalaman,” Dolly shared.
“And my brother really gave me comfort, he and his partner, Scott, and two of my daughters, Luccia, my eldest and Ella, my second daughter. It’s really more of my family and friends. And also random strangers who messaged me.”
On the day the nominations were announced, Dolly actually became a top trending topic on Twitter as Filipinos waited with bated breath and then expressed their disappointment over the results.
She said that during this time, she didn’t feel the pressure, only the love of fellow Filipinos. “That’s what I felt before, when nag-Cannes kami but when it came to this (Oscars) and what happened recently, feeling ko kasama ko kayo lahat during that whole time. That I wasn’t alone,” a grateful Dolly said.
“But it wasn’t like before na-pe-pressure ako or kailangan ko maging masaya ang lahat ng tao. I understand why the whole country is rooting for us. Gets ko na yun. So it’s not pressure, it’s love.”
Some Hollywood news outlets like Rolling Stone and Hollywood Reporter saw the non-inclusion as one of the biggest surprises, while Baby Driver and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World director Edgar Wright tweeted, “I’m still writing Dolly De Leon on my ballot.”
Dolly said there were people who also offered their “theories” but for her, any analysis on her part, at this point, is pointless.
She reflected: “As humans, we always go through so many hardships and challenges and troubles. And me living on this Earth for such a long time, it’s just another day at work… Buhay ko yan eh, sanay na ako sa rejection, sa paasa, it’s part of the job. And now I’m just happy to work with different filmmakers. I’m happy about that and get to work on exciting projects.”
Nevertheless, Dolly is hoping to score an invite and join her Triangle of Sadness director Ruben on the Oscars awards night in March.
“Definitely, hoping for that,” she said. “I wanna go. I want to experience (it).”
She further said of the Swedish filmmaker: “I owe that man my life, he changed everything for me. It’s his script, directing style, his vision, his genius. It’s really him.”
Dolly also recalled how “compassionate” her director was when she didn’t get the Golden Globe.
“When Angela Bassett won, si Ruben talaga ever since, he’s not just a director, he’s a very compassionate person. Gumanun siya sa akin, Dolly, next time, next time. So when it was announced that Everything Everywhere All at Once yung nanalo ng Best Film, ginanon ko rin siya, Ruben, next time. Nagtawanan nalang kami (We just laughed about it).”
On Feb. 16, Dolly is scheduled to fly to London for the British Academy Film and Television Awards (BAFTAs) where she’s nominated for Best Supporting Actress.
After her all-black leather ensemble at the Golden Globes, she teased that her gown at the BAFTAS would be equally “kabog.”
“What I will wear, siguro yung ‘di ako giginawin kasi ang lamig-lamig ngayon dun. Kabog dapat and a very formal classic look,” she said.
It’s been a historic awards-season journey so far for Dolly as she became the first Filipino to be nominated at the Golden Globes and BAFTAs, and to win at the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards as well as the Guldbagge Awards, which is Sweden’s equivalent of the Oscars.
And after this international awards season is over, what’s next for Dolly?
She hinted at new projects besides the Jason Schwartzman comedy where she plays the “evil stepmother” of the actor.
She confirmed she’s shooting another Hollywood comedy film this year, plus a limited series in April.
On the local front, Dolly recently made an important cameo in the pilot week of the ABS-CBN primetime series Dirty Linen, where her character’s “death” sparked an elaborate revenge plan hatched by her family, led by Janine Gutierrez who plays her daughter.
“Magtrabaho dun ako excited. To work with a new script, a new filmmaker, experience working in a set where everyone is passionate,” she said of her main goal this 2023.