Melissa Leo says winning an Oscar was ‘not good’ for her career as she hits out at offers to play ‘nasty women’

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Melissa Leo shared that winning an Oscar didn’t actually lead to the surge in job offers many people might assume.

The 65-year-old actress won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in 2011 for her performance in the boxing movie The Fighter, which also featured Mark Wahlberg, Amy Adams, and Christian Bale.

She recently told The Guardian that winning an Academy Award hasn’t actually benefited her personally or professionally.

Leo explained that she hadn’t sought fame and actually preferred her career before winning an Oscar, adding her voice to those who believe an Oscar win can sometimes hinder an actor’s future work – a situation often called ‘the Oscar curse’.

After playing the strong and controlling Alice Ward in a biographical sports film, Leo complained that Hollywood started to typecast her. She only received roles as ‘older, unpleasant women’ after that performance.

‘I don’t want to do that anymore,’ she stated. 

Leo mentioned that the actress felt limited in the roles she was offered after winning an Oscar, implying she wasn’t satisfied with the options available to her.

I feel like the roles I get are meant for me,” she explained. “I’m glad to take on what comes my way, though after ‘The Fighter,’ I only received offers to play unpleasant, older characters.

When a fan asked how she prepared to play Alice – the mother and manager of boxers Micky Ward and Dicky Eklund – she explained that she focused on understanding the character, even with all their complexities.

She said she agreed to the role because the director, David O. Russell, was very enthusiastic about having her play Alice.

I later met the actual Alice Ward, and although she came from a different social and economic background than my maternal grandmother, I still recognized a similar spirit in her. That connection helped me understand how I could connect with and become like her.

Leo explained that he was only about ten years older than the actors playing Alice’s children, but that’s just how things often work in filmmaking.

The Fighter tells the real-life story of Micky Ward, a boxer battling both in the ring and with his troubled family, including his brother’s struggle with addiction, as he pursues a world championship.

In addition to being Oscar-nominated, Leo’s portrayal of a working-class mother’s manager won her a Golden Globe, a SAG Award, and a Critics’ Choice Award.

Leo’s co-star, Bale, also won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role as Dicky in the film. 

As for Leo’s future roles, the star revealed she is ‘dying’ to play a princess or queen.

I’m really interested in beautiful, elaborate costumes, perhaps inspired by a different era. I actually made a film a while back, called A Time of Destiny, and it was set in the 1940s.

She explained that period dramas don’t suit every actor, as many come across as too contemporary. However, she feels comfortable playing both heroic and villainous roles, regardless of the time period – whether it’s the past, present, or future.

Speaking of the moment she became an Oscar winner, the actress shared, ‘One loses one’s mind.’

After winning several major awards for The Fighter that year, I was sitting in the enormous theater and realized, ‘Wow, this could actually happen.’

Let me tell you, being at that event was surreal! All I could focus on was finally meeting Kirk Douglas – it was a total ‘pinch me’ moment. Honestly, it felt like everyone who’s anyone in Hollywood was right there, just a look away. Every actor, director, and producer you’ve ever admired was literally within sight – it was incredibly overwhelming and exciting!

Okay, let me be real with you. I definitely slipped up on live TV – a bad word came out, and I immediately regretted it. Honestly, I’m not usually one to swear, but the pressure of the moment got to me. I’m so grateful they have that ten-second delay in place, because let’s face it, we all make mistakes, and that buffer saved me from a major on-air blunder. It’s a good thing that safety net exists for those of us who aren’t always perfect!

Leonardo DiCaprio recently appeared in the 2025 action comedy Guns Up, with Kevin James and Christina Ricci.

Oh my gosh, you HAVE to see her in everything! Seriously, ‘Frozen River’ from 2008 is just…wow. And ‘Louie’ in 2012? Incredible. Then there’s ‘Prisoners’ from 2013 – I still think about that performance. ‘Conviction’ in 2010 is another one of my favorites. But before all that, she was Detective Sergeant Kay Howard on ‘Homicide: Life on the Street’ – I used to watch that religiously! And then later, she absolutely killed it as Toni Bernette in ‘Treme’. Honestly, she’s just consistently amazing in every single role.

Leo is not the first star who has expressed her grievances after winning an Oscar.

Winning an acting award is often seen as the highest honor, but it can sometimes unexpectedly hinder an actor’s career.

The paradoxical phenomenon is so frequent, it even has a name – ‘the Oscar curse.’

There are a couple of ideas behind the so-called ‘Oscar curse.’ One thought is that winning an Academy Award creates such high expectations from the public that it actually makes it harder for actors to find work afterward.

Winning an Oscar often brings a lot of media attention, but too much can actually lead to people losing interest.

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2026-01-16 07:04