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What a thrill, Harden said when she arrived at the podium.
It paid off: Her performance is the heart of the film, which marked Harriss directorial debut.
This was Ed Harriss dream project.
Hes said he put you through several rounds of auditions before you got the part.
What do you remember about that process?
Im a bit of a softer person.
By then, I feel like that might have been my third.
That one is seared into my brain forever.
They were up in one of the canyons, so already youre nervous.
Hes such a grouch.
I loved to tease him and poke fun at him, and we had a friggin blast onstage together.
Id been looking at Lee Krasner tapes and studying the accent from Queens, and there I am.
I might have even had my hair in a certain way, wearing some billowy gown.
I was completely in character.
After about ten minutes, Ed says, Marcia Gay, what are you doing?
He goes, We have to stop it immediately.
I brought it down.
Ill never forget that.
All of it was so larger-than-life.
It was like from a movie, but there was a rusticness to it, a reality to it.
Youre offered coffee and you take it and hope they dont notice that your hand is shaking.
And youre doing all of this already knowing theres another actress he also has in mind?
I think there were maybe two.
I feel like maybe Judy Davis might have been up for it.
I can see that.
Icould see it left, right, and center.
Obviously we each offer something different.
When you get to that point, youre equally good.
Im pretty darn easy on set.
Theres not a lot of diva in me.
Most interestingly, what happened was we developed a symbiotic relationship.
And it felt fantastic.
What did that look like for you?
I remember the pressures being so heavy on Ed.
He was wearing all these different hats, and his own money was at stake in this film.
It was just intense.
I would bring him water, I would make him laugh, I would rub his back.
He was intense, and Im a person who believes theres a lot of room for conflict in creativity.
Sometimes it made the crew uncomfortable, but I knew what he was doing.
No matter what Ed did or said to me, it always ended in a hug.
What is this shit?
It was the way friends can talk to each other.
Still I love that guy; we still text and talk.
The one darker note in that Oscars Night is that Ed didnt win.
I got to hold the baby, and hes so worthy.
Thats the fun distortion of Oscars and awards.
Youll go, Are you kidding me, Glenn Close has never won?
What do you think the win did or didnt do for you?
I think there are a lot of factors involved, 9/11 being one of them.
I had a family now, so I had taken a television job in New York at the time.
It was right afterPollock.
ThatsThe Education of Max Bickford?
Retrospect is not my best friend.
I think its a leash around your neck that keeps tugging you back.
But I didMax Bickford, and I loved doing it.
We were there on 9/11 in Queens watching that horribleness happen.
I was the breadwinner for my family, so it was important to keep my family afloat.
For anyone observing the way that season was unfolding, your Oscar was a total left-field win.
Well, c’mon understand, at that moment, I was a complete Oscar ignoramus.
Positioning, campaigning all of those things were completely new to me.
I didnt know that they had people at five in the morning that announced the Oscar nominations.
I was busy traveling around the country doing the media thing going to Texas and Cincinnati, wherever.
My mindset was, Oh great, Ill go to Texas and get to see my mom!
Oh my God, theyre flying me everywhere!
Would I have said that that equalled an Oscar package?
That made me go,Maybe people will take notice but not necessarily of me.
For me, it was Eds movie.
I dont think Id even been Miss Lets Watch the Oscars Every Year.
Id never paid attention to it that closely, other than how glorious it is.
I went, What?!
It was only the New York Critics Award.
I didnt know how that would balance the scale.
I knew the odds in Vegas were really great against me by the time they came up.
So going in to that night, you were told it was unlikely you would win?
Oh, it was unlikely in my brain.
It was a dream that Ed would win, and I was thrilled to be there.
They all say, Its easy to say that when youve won an Oscar.
But for me, that night was the win.
And then winning was the win!
Who did you think was going to win?
Yeah, I think thats what most people thought.
Yeah, and by the way, everybody deserves to win.
In that moment, everybody has presented such worthy performances that its really hard to tell.
It was a really strong lineup that you were part of.
When they called my name, it was a blur.
Somebody behind him said, Sir, you must sit down!
I was like, hey dont let it be Scorsese.
Had you prepared a speech?
Yeah, of course, because Im a people pleaser.
I tried to make it sweet and elegant and fit my parents in there.
I didnt even think of my siblings!
Yourfirst wordswere, What a thrill, which is a fantastic way to begin an Oscars speech.
I dont know whether you know that people who follow the Oscars religiously love the What a thrill moment.
I didnt know that.
Are you telling me that Im almost a meme?
Did you know that What a thrill was going to be your first line?
That was the one unscripted line.
Maybe because it made him seem like he was second.
I didnt understand why that moment elicited laughter in the room.
So thats where that line came from.
Its the same four people winning every single award.
It just felt great.
And by the way, I felt the girls were really happy for me as well.
There was one I will not mention but it wasnt Kate who seemingly wasnt so happy.
And then you get to go to the Governors Ball!
That was a dream.
Are you kidding me?
There was this rotating centerpiece that the orchestra was on, and everything was so beautiful.
There was champagne on the table and people coming by to say congratulations, and my gown was pretty.
I was in these Harry Winston diamonds, and it felt like a dream come true.
After you win, you go backstage and you do all of that.
When I came back to my seat, my dad wasnt there.
There was a filler in his seat, and Mom says, Hes gone to get a drink.
I just wasnt thinking, and apparently that created major panic.
I found Dad, who was getting drinks for everybody.
I said, Im so sorry, Ill never do it again.
My dad died in 2002, so I was just blessed that he was there.
The night was magical, truly.
It ended with this crazy paparazzi chase.
When we were heading back to the hotel, we realized we were being chased by paparazzi.
My mother was like, Theyre after the jewels!
Lets fling them from the sunroof!
I want to live!
Im sure the bodyguard would have loved that.
He was in the car with us, and he was like, No!
He was on the radio to the police, and the police were chasing the paparazzi.
Then we went to sleep, and to answer the question of, Did you think things would change?
Instead, you kick off the windows and its just another day.
But I would never say anything negative because what a night, right?
But one of them was less than satisfied.
And Im friends with Frances McDormand.
Right, I dont think Frances McDormand gives a shit about what awards she wins.
So, Judi Dench.
Frances doesnt give a shit.
But I dont want to say anything negative about anybody, honestly.
It was my perception that somebody wasnt so happy, but you never know what people have going on.
However, Im a big one for effusive congratulations.
Thats who I am.
Im just so happy for other people in their wins and their glories.
For me, theres plenty of room at the top.
Sometimes you just accept that life rolls along and things come to you when they should.
This is neither here nor there, but interestingly, Julia Roberts won Best Actress that night forErin Brockovich.
You beat out Julia Roberts for the role inMillers Crossing, the movie that put you on the map.
Were you aware of that at the time?
I did not rub it in [laughs].
They put new people on the map.
And that night, I didnt say, You know, Julia, guess what?
First of all, I love her.
I think she is so incredibly talented.
She does something thats really, really hard to do.
She is likable even when shes unlikable.
Even at the height of her anger, you still relate to her.
And shes friggin funny.
In 2019,you saidthat you doubt youd ever win an Oscar again.
So Im curious why you think that.
Okay, I take it back.
I dont know why I would have said such a thing.
Maybe because its not where my head is.
Of course I would.
Its about the scope of the work.
I just never believe it.
Why wouldnt you care?
I dont really believe it, either.
Validation is one of the greatest teaching tools in the world.
The Oscars are part of the machine.
I dont like to pooh-pooh it at all because I think its an important part of the industry.
It gives these movies a little breath of life.
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
