Adam Sandleris coming out on top.
The comedian, 53, picked up the best male lead 2020 Independent Spirit Award forUncut Gemsafter being snubbed inthe Oscarscategory. Sandler’s dramatic turn in the hectic Safdie Brothers film brought him critical acclaim. TheMurder Mysterystar plays a jewelry store owner deep in gambling debt who places all he has left on the sale of a rare gem.
Sandler beat out Robert Pattinson forThe Lighthouse, Chris Galust forGive Me Liberty, Kelvin Harrison Jr. forLuceand Matthias Schoenaerts forThe Mustang.
“I’d like to give a shout-out to my fellow nominees who will henceforth be known as the guys who f—ing lost to Adam Sandler,” he joked during his acceptance speech.
Sandler later added, “Tonight as I look around this room I realize that the Independent Spirit Awards are the ‘best personality’ awards of Hollywood. So, when all those feather-haired douchebag motherf—ers go to get their Oscars tomorrow night, their handsome good looks will fade in time… but our independent personalities will shine on forever.”
Speaking with reporters after the movie’s release, Sandler said the praise for his performance was “nice and sweet,” but he really just wanted to participate in the directors’, brothers Josh and Benny Safdie, unique project.
“I try not to jump into that thought process just because that really wasn’t the goal,” he said at the time of awards possibilities. “My goal was these guys wrote a great movie and they’re incredible filmmakers and I just wanted to do as good of a job as I could for them.”
Adam Sandler inUncut Gems.A24
Shortly after the 2020Academy Awardnominations wereannouncedin early January, the actor responded to being left out of the Best Actor category. Along with his reaction to the snub, Sandler gave a shout-out to his former onscreen mom,Kathy Bates.
“Bad news: Sandman gets no love from the Academy. Good news: Sandman can stop wearing suits. Congrats to all my friends who got nominated, especially Mama,” hewroteon Twitter, referencing his 1998 football comedyThe Waterboy.
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
Bates, 71, scored a Best Supporting Actress nomination this year for her role as a real-life mother inClint Eastwood‘s dramaRichard Jewell.
source: people.com
