Mark Rylance, a best supporting actor winner Sunday night for his work in “Bridge of Spies,” gave Oscars host Chris Rock and activists credit for helping black actors.
Asked backstage if Broadway offered a better avenue for black performers, the British theater actor and director replied, “I think African-American actors are in a stronger position now, thanks a lot to what Chris Rock has done tonight and to what the activists … have said.”
Talking about “revelations about just how dominated this major storytelling form of our culture is … by men,” Rylance said he hoped the movement would diversify “the stories we see.”
“It’s of course not just for the performers, it’s a matter of audiences taking this on,” he said. “Taking a bet on more unusual plays and more unusual films” about “people who are in the minority.”
When asked about “knocking out” Sylvester Stallone, who some thought might nab the supporting actor statuette for portraying aging former fighter Rocky Balboa in “Creed,” Rylance said he felt “like more of a spokesman” than a competitor who beat out other actors.
He added he felt he also represented others who weren’t even nominated, naming Idris Elba and Paul Dano.
However, Rylance said it was “very exciting” to be part of awards season.
“You feel very grand being driven from a small theater in Brooklyn … and then being flown in one of these very powerful jets,” said the actor, who is appearing off-Broadway in “Nice Fish.”
“It’s a very trippy experience … having people you don’t know coming up and saying very nice things to you … I recommend it,” he said.
“I’ve been very lucky” in getting work, Rylance told reporters. “It’s just nice to be celebrated, isn’t it?”
The location shoot had some memorable moments too, the first-time Oscar winner said, including when German Chancellor Angela Merkel stopped by the “Bridge of Spies” set where Rylance played a Soviet spy.
Merkel wore “no hat, no scarves, no gloves,” to the frigid set, but stayed for about 45 minutes, Rylance said.
“She was a little disappointed that I didn’t speak Russian,” he said, smiling.
–City News Service