Which actor gave the shortest oscar-winning performance ever? (Photo Credit – Wikipedia)
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As far as the Oscar awards are concerned, longer screen time is often interpreted as a more impactful performance. But every once in a while, an actor delivers such an impactful performance that they win laurels across the globe despite a significantly shorter screen time. While many know Anthony Hopkins’
The 16-minute role in The Silence of the Lambs was one of the shortest to win an Oscar, another performance quietly holds the record for the shortest Oscar-winning performance. Curious to know which actor/actress made Oscar history in a lesser time than it takes to drink a cup of tea? Read on to know the details.
The Shortest Oscar-Winning Performance
Without beating around the bush, we’ll come straight to the point. The Oscar-winning performance, which had the shortest screen time, was delivered by Beatrice Straight in the 1976 film Network. She bagged the Oscar in the Best Supporting Actress category. And it’s still an unbeaten record. The actress had an incredibly short screen time of 5 minutes and 2 seconds.
And out of those 5 minutes, the actress delivered a four-minute emotionally charged monologue about her husband’s extramarital affair. The impact of her dialogue delivery in that monologue was so much that it stunned the Oscar jury.
For the sake of comparison, Anthony Hopkins’ Oscar-winning performance as Hannibal Lecter in the cult serial killer movie ‘The Silence of the Lambs’ had a screen time of around 16 minutes.
More About Beatrice Straight
The immensely talented performer featured in several films and acted in many plays before her appearance in the movie Network. She had also won the prestigious Tony Award for her performance in the 1953 play The Crucible. Later, she starred in the Steven Spielberg-backed supernatural horror film ‘Poltergeist’ where she played the role of a parapsychologist.
Network Movie Plot & Critical Acclaim
The satirical dark comedy film Network was helmed by veteran filmmaker Sidney Lumet. The film’s plot follows the story of a veteran news anchor, Howard Beale (played by Peter Finch), who is on the verge of losing his job. When Howard has a breakdown on national television, he threatens to kill himself.
The incident leads to a phenomenal rise in TV ratings. But an opportunistic programming executive, Diana Christensen (Faye Dunaway), exploits the situation to turn it into sensationalized entertainment for the viewers.
Network was widely admired by critics and eventually bagged four Oscars in the Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Original Screenplay categories. The movie has a highly impressive Rotten Tomatoes critics’ score of 91% and an IMDB user rating of 8.1/10.
You can check out a clip from Beatrice Straight’s Oscar-winning performance from the movie Network here.
