Marisa Tomei Found the Controversy Around Her Oscar Win ‘Very Hurtful’
Winning an Oscar is usually an occasion for celebration for a celebrity. For actors who can practically afford anything, it’s one of the few possessions in the world that can’t be purchased. Instead, it’s earned through sheer acting skill and talent. Marisa Tomei was one of the fortunate few in the industry who won the golden statue.
But her excitement was short-lived, as soon a cloud hung over her Oscar win that affected her victory.
Marisa Tomei was almost cut from the movie that earned her an Oscar
The 1992 film, My Cousin Vinny, was an American comedy directed by Jonathan Lynn and written by Dale Launer. Starring Joe Pesci, the movie followed a Brooklyn lawyer making his way to Alabama to defend two murder suspects. Marisa Tomei was cast as Pesci’s fiancee, Mona Lisa Vito, the role that earned her an Oscar.
Tomei didn’t have much on-screen experience at the time. But according to Herald Weekly, Lynn was impressed by Tomei’s performance as a blonde flapper in the 1920s. Noticing the actor’s talent, he decided to give her a chance when she auditioned for Mona Lisa. In an interview with The Wrap, Lynn recalled he knew she was perfect for the role after the first scene they shot. It was when Tomei recited the line from the movie, “Oh yeah, you blend,” that sold him on her.
“The way she said it, I just knew — that was it,” Lynn said.
But if the studio had it their way, Tomei wouldn’t have gotten a chance to showcase her skills. Launer revealed the studio wanted to remove Tomei’s character to give all the big moments to Pesci. Launer responded by doubling down on Tomei’s role in the film.
“I thought they were looking at the best thing in the movie and wanted to cut it out,” Launer said. “Not only did I not take Lisa out, I decided to put more of her into the movie.”
Marisa Tomei found her first Oscar win ‘very hurtful’
When Marisa Tomei won her first Oscar for best-supporting actress in 1993, it was an unbelievable moment for many. So much so that some asserted that the presenter at the time, actor Jack Palance, read Tomei’s name by mistake. An Academy Award spokesperson would later go on to dismiss the rumors as nonsense.
”It’s the policy of the Academy that should wrong information be given, a Price Waterhouse rep is empowered to go on stage and make the correction,” the spokesperson said via Entertainment Weekly.
Still, however, the rumors persisted. And they eventually took a toll on the Spider-Man star and her Oscar win.
“That was very hurtful for me,” Tomei said according to Contact Music. “I was a young actress and it was exciting, but there was a cloud over it.”
She also turned to the Academy themselves for further help, but at the time they declined to do so.
“I asked the Academy to clear it up, but they just said it would be giving it more credence than if we ignored it,” she added.
The Oscar-nominated role that drove Marisa Tomei ‘Kookoo’
Marisa Tomei has only won the Oscar once, although she’s been nominated a couple of times in her career. But her Oscar-nominated role in Darren Aronofsky’s The Wrestler was difficult to adjust to for several reasons. In an interview with First Showing, Tomei discussed what it was about the dark drama that nearly drove her crazy.
“It was rough. Just because, you know, I was naked, it was cold, and everyone else had coats on. And it was mostly because it was very long hours, and Darren likes a lot of takes. He’s very generous and he has an incredible vision, and he’s totally there for you. I think he wants to explore all aspects of a scene,” Tomei said about shooting The Wrestler. “So you’ll do it 20, 30, 40 times and that’s just one angle. So, that can make you kookoo. And wanting to shoot that much, and to get all that stuff in -it was packed.”
