Isabella Rossellini would be ‘flattered’ to receive Oscar nomination for near-silent Conclave role
Isabella Rossellini has admitted that she would be “immensely flattered” to receive an Oscar nomination for her nearly silent role in Conclave.
The Italian actor, 72, plays Vatican nun Sister Agnes in the film adaptation of Robert Harris’ novel, which depicts a group of cardinals as they gather to elect a new Pope.
Rossellini has less than eight minutes of screen time and barely talks throughout the film, but when she does eventually speak up, it forms one of the movie’s most pivotal moments.
So far, the Blue Velvet star has earned a Golden Globe nomination for best supporting actress, but lost out to Emilia Perez’s Zoe Saldaña.
She is widely tipped to receive an Academy Award nomination when Oscar nods are announced on 19 January.
Should Rossellini be nominated, it would mark the first time that she has been celebrated by the Academy over the course of her lengthy career.
She would also be following in the footsteps of her mother, the iconic actor Ingrid Bergman.
“Yes, it does feel important,” Rossellini told The Telegraph. “I will be immensely flattered, it would be amazing.”
“My mum had three Oscars,” she noted, referring to the awards that Bergman received for her roles in 1944’s Gaslight , 1956’s Anastasia and the 1974 adaptation of Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express.
“She won three Oscars and was nominated seven times,” she added. “So I would be very moved if that happens. But also be ready for that… maybe not to happen.”
Alluding to the relative brevity of her role, Rossellini said: “It’s true that I didn’t have many lines, but I think that was part of the role. Men talking, talking, talking, but women, silent and very wise, very aware and very present.”
Dame Judi Dench famously won the best supporting actress Oscar in 1999 for her turn as Elizabeth I in Shakespeare in Love, a role that involved four scenes and just under six minutes of screen time.
Dench’s royal role, however, is not the briefest performance to win an Academy Award. That particular record is held by Beatrice Straight for her role in the 1976 film Network, in which she had just appeared on screen for just over five minutes.
