We’re less than two weeks away from the 94th annual Academy Awards, and actress Ariana DeBose has positioned herself even more solidly as the frontrunner for Best Supporting Actress with two more precursor wins this past weekend.
On Saturday (March 12), DeBose picked up the Best Supporting Actress award from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) for her role as Anita in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story.
She also won in the same category the following night (March 13) at the Critics Choice Awards.
At the BAFTAs, DeBose was noticeably stunned when her name was announced and reacted by saying, ‘Oh, sh—’ and then quickly covered her mouth once she realized that the camera was on her.
“I am someone who sings, dances [and] acts,” DeBose said during her acceptance speech. “I speak dance better than I speak English. So, I am truly honored by this recognition. It’s not every day you get to bring to life a character using all of these disciplines.”
Also winning a BAFTA on Saturday was Encanto co-producer Yvett Merino for Best Animated Film. During her acceptance speech, Merino shared her thoughts about the importance of representation in Hollywood.
“It was my dream to…help to create a film that I wish I had when I was a little girl – a film starring a family with different skin tones, different body types, different personalities, different hair,” Merino said. “A film that tells my beautiful brown children that they are seen, and their stories are heard and they’re important.”
During the BAFTA press conference after the show, DeBose spoke about diversity and referred to a “rumor going around” about her playing a villain in an upcoming Marvel movie.