Michael Caine wades into Academy Awards controversy: Be patient – it took me years to win an Oscar

The actor said nominations should be given based on how an actor performed - not on the colour of their skin
'Patience': Sir Michael Caine wades into the Oscars race row
Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty
Emma Powell22 January 2016
The Weekender

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Sir Michael Caine has waded into the Oscars controversy and warned black actors to be “patient”.

Caine, 83, said nominations should be given to those who gave a “good performance” and not for the sake of diversity.

Speaking to the BBC he said: “There’s loads of black actors but you can’t vote for an actor because he’s black. You can’t just say ‘I’ll vote for him, he’s not very good but he’s black’. You’ve got to give a good performance – and I’m sure there were.”

Praising Idris Elba – who was expected to be nominated for his role in Beasts of No Nation – he said: “I saw Idris Elba... I thought he was wonderful."

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The two-time Best Supporting Actor honouree said receiving a nomination is a waiting game.

“Be patient, of course it will come,” he said. “It took me years to get an Oscar, years.”

The actor – who is currently promoting his latest film, Youth – joked that an Oscars snub allows you to not attend the coveted ceremony.

"The best thing about it is you don't have to go," he explained. "Especially the Oscars, 24 hours on an aeroplane and I've got to sit there clapping Leonardo DiCaprio.

"I love Leonardo, he played my son in a movie, but I'm too old to travel that far and sit in an audience and clap someone else."

Stars including Spike Lee, Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith have announced their plans to boycott the ceremony after it was revealed that the four main acting categories were being contested by all-white actors for the second consecutive year.

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