Marcia Gay Harden
For some, Marcia Gay Harden’s win for her portrayal of artist Lee Krasner in Ed Harris’ directorial debut, the biopic of the painter “Pollock” (2000), came out of nowhere, as she had not been recognized by SAG r or major critics group.
My Oscar Book:
Harden’s nomination itself was a surprise, competing with Ziyi Zhang (“Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”), Catherine Zeta-Jones (“Traffic”), and Kate Winslet (“Quills”).
Many anticipated that Kate Hudson’s endearing turn as groupie Penny Lane in Almost Famous. Yet, it was Harden who emerged as the unexpected nominee.
Presenter Nicolas Cage announced the win, and no one was more surprised than Harden herself, who said: “For me, it’s not a career victory; it’s a fruition of a dream come true. I am a New York actress, and now I’m here–with Oscar.”
A low-budget indie, Pollock centered on the life of American painter Jackson Pollock, his struggles with alcoholism, as well as his troubled marriage to his wife Lee Krasner.
The film stars Ed Harris, who also directed, Marcia Gay Harden, Jennifer Connelly, Robert Knott, Bud Cort, Molly Regan, and Sada Thompson.
Ed Harris received his first Best Actor Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Pollock; he had been nominated before, but always in the supporting league.
The film was a long-term passion project for Harris, after reading the 1989 biography Jackson Pollock: An American Saga, written by Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith.
