When Academy Awards host James Franco takes the stage at the Kodak Theatre on February 27, 2011, it will undoubtedly be a big night for him−but it could also be one for Oscar’s history books. It’s been over 50 years since an Academy Awards host has won the award for Best Actor in a Lead Role. (David Niven took the trophy in 1959 for his role in Separate Tables.)
Franco played climber Aron Ralston who amputated his own arm.
Franco’s name was recently announced as a Best Actor in a Leading Role nominee for his portrayal in 127 Hours, a drama about the hiker who amputated his own arm in order to survive a fall in Utah in 2003. Franco, 32, and Anne Hathaway, 28, were chosen last November as co-hosts of the 83rd Academy Awards ceremony as part of what many Hollywood insiders believe to be a move towards attracting a younger audience.
Oscar Trivia: The last time an Oscar host was a nominee was 1976 when Walter Matthau was nominated for The Sunshine Boys
It will be the older viewers, and perhaps Oscar trivia buffs, however, who will sit up and take note when Sandra Bullock presents the Lead Actor award (as well as anyone with a heartbeat who can’t help but recall all that’s happened to America’s sweetheart since she won her Oscar just last year). The most recent occurrence of an Oscar host to sit nervously in the wings while his acting category was announced was in 1976 when Walter Matthau was nominated for his role in The Sunshine Boys. (He lost to Jack Nicholson in One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest.) In 1973 host Michael Caine likely carried out his duties with his fingers crossed for his role in Sleuth, but The Godfather’s Marlon Brando went home with the trophy that year.
1987’s host Paul Hogan, of Crocodile Dundee fame, was nominated for Best Original Screenplay but the winner was Hannah and Her Sisters scribe Woody Allen. Other than David Niven’s win in 1959, the only other occurrence in Academy Awards history in which a host has won was none other than director Frank Capra in 1939 for You Can’t Take It With You.
The President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Tom Sherak, has made assurances that there won’t be any disruption to the Oscar coverage if Franco does indeed win the Lead Actor category this year. While winners are normally whisked off to the press room for interviews, "…the show must go on" as they like to say in Hollywood.
Franco joins Oscar nominees Javier Bardem, Jeff Bridges, Jesse Eisenberg and Colin Firth.
Whether James Franco will break a 50-year streak in Oscar history will be determined live on ABC on Sunday, February 27 at 8:00 EST. The other contenders in the Lead Actor category are Javier Bardem (Buitiful), Jeff Bridges (True Grit), Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network) and Colin Firth (The King’s Speech). I must say, it’s been about 48 hours since I took in Franco’s incredible performance in 127 Hours and I still can’t stop thinking about what that man put me through in the darkness of that theater. His portrayal of climber Aron Ralston’s last ditch effort to save his life by cutting off his own arm trumped Colin Firth’s retelling of King George IV’s struggles with public speaking in my book.
Franco’s career has taken him from TV’s Freaks and Geeks in 2000 to feature films such as Eat, Pray, Love and even a guest daytime stint on ABC’s General Hospital in 2010. Most recently he presented his newest project−a multimedia installation entitled Three’s Company: The Drama−at the Sundance Film Festival in the New Frontier category. He’s currently a student at Yale in pursuit of a doctorate in English and film studies.
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