Lesley Manville recalled the “bonkers” Oscars 2018 ceremony, where she and ex-husband Gary Oldman were nominated for the main awards.
The pair, who share son Alfie Oldman, split in 1990, although Manville said she was determined not to “fall apart” after the split.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs, she said that despite the history, the 90th annual ceremony was “beautiful” and that her son was now a member of a “very exclusive club” of children who were both named for the Oscars. year.
That year Manville was nominated for best supporting actor for Phantom Thread, and Oldman won the award for best actor for his portrayal of Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour.
“It was beautiful,” Manville told Lauren Laverne.
“And of course the beautiful thing was that Gary was nominated that year, and he won.
“So, Alfie was really … nice time). All his family were there. Both his parents were nominated for an Oscar the same year.
“It’s part of a very exclusive club. I think Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s children didn’t have the same thing.”
She continued: “So of course we went to the Governor’s Ball and we did a bit of that and Gary was there and Alfie’s half brothers were there and it was lovely.”
Manville initially revealed that she did not trust her family about the split from Oldman, and that it was “a very lonely time”.
“I thought, ‘oh well I won’t tell them because maybe in a few months, it will be fine’,” she said.
“But it was a very lonely time. (In) the days before cell phones too, so hard to talk to or you know what I imagined for myself.”
She said she and Oldman loved each other and had “the best time” before “the rug was really pulled from my feet”.
“I thought we’d be together forever, we’d have a big family, but maybe if that happened, I might not have the career I have now,” she said.
Manville made her professional debut in 1972 in a West End musical, and has since taken on a wide variety of roles on the big and small screen.
As well as her Oscar-nominated performance in Phantom Thread, she has starred in films including Mrs Harris Goes To Paris, Vera Drake and portrayed Princess Margaret in the latest series of The Crown.
Elsewhere in the episode she told Laverne about some “sliding doors” in her life, including her desire to become an opera singer.
Desert Island Discs is broadcast on Sundays on BBC Sounds and BBC Radio 4, at 11.15am.