Helen Mirren doesn’t think her Barbie colleagues should be too concerned over their Oscar nomination snubs.
The Barbie narrator has undoubtedly seen the outrage over Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie’s omission from the Best Director and Best Actress categories, respectively — both from fans and the movie’s costars. Still, Mirren, 78, says she would rather focus on the film’s overwhelming and historic success.
“You can’t get upset about things like that, honestly,” Mirren told Entertainment Tonight on Thursday, February 15. “What is fantastic is that Barbie was the highest-grossing film that Warner Bros. has ever had in their lives, and do you remember who won best film of the year before last?”
Mirren, who has an Oscar win and four nominations under her belt, clarified that she was disappointed to see Gerwig and Robbie left out, despite the pop culture phenomenon that Barbie became.
“I mean, of course I would have loved to have seen Greta [be nominated], and I think she should win best [director],” she said. “Christopher Nolan‘s work on Oppenheimer was spectacular, extraordinary. But [for] me, Greta’s work was so out there, it was so brave, it was something we’d never seen before. I just love the fact that the audience responded the way they did.”
The film grossed $1.46 billion at the box office as America Ferrera and Ryan Gosling earned Oscar nominations of their own. Both previously released statements simultaneously thanking the Academy for the nominations and slamming the decision to omit Gerwig and Robbie.
“To say that I’m disappointed that they are not nominated in their respective categories would be an understatement,” Gosling said in a statement last month. “Against all odds with nothing but a couple of soulless, scantily clad, and thankfully crotchless dolls, they made us laugh, they broke our hearts, they pushed the culture and they made history. Their work should be recognized along with the other very deserving nominees.”
For her part, Robbie seems to have taken the snub in stride and expressed more disappointment for Gerwig not getting the recognition she deserves.
“There’s no way to feel sad when you know you’re this blessed,” Robbie said at a January Screen Actors Guild screening of Barbie. “Obviously I think Greta should be nominated as a director, because what she did is a once-in-a-career, once-in-a-lifetime thing.”
Overall, Barbie received eight nominations, including one for Best Picture. The Oscars will air on ABC Sunday, March 10, at 7 p.m. ET.
