Maria writer Steven Knight has brushed off Angelina Jolie’s Oscar snub, which saw the star unexpectedly left out of the Best Actress category at this year’s Academy Awards.
Jolie earned critical acclaim for her portrayal of the American-born Greek opera singer Maria Callas in Pablo Larraín’s biopic, which followed the singer in the final days before her fatal 1977 heart attack.
As well as losing out at the Oscars, Jolie also failed to pick up a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination and, although she received a Golden Globes nod, was beaten by Fernanda Torres for I’m Still Here.
Yet, despite the actor’s performance being heralded as “career-defining” in The Independent’s four star review, Knight said he was unsurprised by the outcome.
“You have to treat those sorts of things like the weather. There’s nothing you can do about it really and you just have to either get wet or enjoy the sunshine,” he said.
“I’m not sure that…the performance isn’t the only consideration, let me put it that way,” he added.
Maria marked Jolie’s first film role since she starred alongside Richard Madden as Thena in the 2021 Marvel film Eternals and Taylor Sheridan’s thriller Those Who Wish Me Dead the same year.
Knight claimed having an actor of Jolie’s standard to star in the film in fact made writing easier as he knew the actor would understand certain performance details without them being in the script.
The writer explained: “The thing with Angelia, was that she’s lived a life that in some ways is similar to Maria’s life. In that, she’s been reviewed all through her life…sometimes very harshly.”
“The fact that she could relate to what Maria Callas went through meant that you’re starting from a position where you’ve almost got that character without her having to do anything,” he said.
Knight then recommended viewers watch Jolie’s performance as Maria Callas for themselves.
“Even if you don't like opera, I think you should watch [it] because it’s a very powerful emotional story and the music, opera music, surprises you. It takes you on the journey,” he said.
Writing in her four star review of the film, The Independent’s Clarisse Loughrey said: “Jolie and Callas feel the most like twinned spirits. It’s a career-defining bit of synchronicity, bolstered by one of Jolie’s very best performances.”
Maria is being released on DVD and Blu-ray on 31 March and is available now digitally.
Read The Independent’s chat with Knight about the forthcoming Peaky Blinders film here.
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