Anthony Hopkins pays tribute to Chadwick Boseman while accepting Oscars 2021 win

The 93rd Academy Awards concluded on Sunday night, April 25, with Anthony Hopkins winning Best Actor for The Father. The actor wasn't present at the venue to receive the award. Nevertheless, he shared a video from his homeland in Wales and thanked the Academy for the award. He also paid a tribute to late actor Chadwick Boseman.

"At 83 years of age, I did not expect to get this award. I really didn't. I'm very grateful to the Academy. Thank you. I want to pay tribute to Chadwick Boseman, who was taken from us far too early. And again, thank you all very much. I really did not expect this, so I feel very privileged and honored, thank you," he said.

Hopkins' agent issued a statement to People which read, "Tony was in Wales, where he grew up, and he was asleep at 4 in the morning when I woke him up to tell him the news. He was so happy and so grateful." Hopkins was nominated alongside Riz Ahmed for Sound of Metal, Boseman for Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Gary Oldman for Mank, and Steven Yeun for Minari.

Many predicted that Boseman would receive the award at the Oscars this year. The sequence of awards were also changed, pushing the announcement of Best Actor to the end. However, when the results were announced, disappointed fans took to Twitter and expressed their shock.

"Anthony Hopkins is without fault. Class-act and brilliant performance in The Father. Truly, he, Boseman, and Ahmed were all neck and neck for me. Fault is on the Oscar producers who, for ratings, needlessly made the loss of an icon even harder on those anticipating his honor," a fan tweeted.

This win marks the second time Hopkins has received an Oscar in his career. The actor had previously won an award for his iconic performance in The Silence of the Lambs. Hopkins also made history with his win, becoming the older ever actor to win an Oscar.