British theater actor Mark Rylance surprised everyone including himself on Sunday night when he won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for “Bridge of Spies.”
Steven Spielberg literally jumped out of his chair when Rylance’s name was called. Spielberg directed “Bridge of Spies,” an extraordinarily good film and the latest on Spielberg’s long list of accomplishments. He’s the most successful director of our time, hands down.
But here’s a little trivia. Despite having three Oscars of his own, Spielberg has only directed one other actor to a winning Oscar. That was Daniel Day Lewis as Abraham Lincoln in “Lincoln,” three years ago. Until DDL, Spielberg cast members had only been nominated- like Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes in “Schindler’s List,” and Tom Hanks in “Saving Private Ryan.”
