Rugby player wins Oscar

[beige]

This is reeeaaally tenuous Good film though...

Javier Bardem gets Oscars gong

By Brendan Gallagher
Last Updated: 12:35am GMT 28/02/2008

Rugged Spanish actor Javier Bardem has succeeded where the film industry's other great rugby-playing luvvies - Richard Harris, Richard Burton and Peter O'Toole - mysteriously failed by landing an Oscar on Sunday night for best supporting actor in No Country for Old Men.

Bardem, originally from Grand Canaria, played for Madrid RFC, was a star of Spain's under-16 and under-18 teams and appeared briefly in the senior squad before his acting career took over. He started life as a flanker and ended up as a prop.

When asked of his love of rugby on the red carpet in Hollywood on Sunday night he said that "being a rugby player in Spain is akin to be a bull-fighter in Japan". He is nonetheless aware that Spain's recent revival has seen them rise to 21st in the IRB world rankings and he received his gong shortly after Spain lost 17-11 to Romania.

Of the legends that went before him, Harris was twice nominated without success, Burton was nominated seven times but failed to sway the Academy. O'Toole went one better and received an extraordinary eight nominations without success. At least the Academy admitted their oversight by presenting O'Toole with an honorary lifetime achievement award. He still lives in hope, however, of belatedly landing the genuine article.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/mai.../srabou228.xml

[The InnFORCEr]

I thought only soccer players qualified for academy awards!

[jargan83]

Italian soccer players