Catherine Zeta-Jones is looking back on the surreal moment she won an Academy Award for her performance in Chicago.
The actress took home the Best Supporting Actress Oscar in 2003 for her performance as showgirl-turned-murderess Velma Kelly in the hit 2002 musical film, which she played opposite Renée Zellweger as Roxie Hart.
During a conversation at the Red Sea Film Festival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Friday, Dec. 6, Zeta-Jones said of both her Oscar and Tony Award win, “To be acknowledged by the Broadway lights, that was wonderful. But the Academy Award was something that was totally unexpected. It blew my mind,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Zeta-Jones, 55, nabbed the Tony for best actress in a musical seven years after her Oscar, for her performance as Desiree Armfeldt in the 2009 revival of Stephen Sondheim’s A Little Night Music.
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In her conversation at the Red Sea Film Festival, the Welsh actress discussed her dance and vocal training, beginning when she was a child, including first learning to tap dance at age 4.
“I started very young too in the theater. I’m certainly not a young chick. I’ve been in the industry for a very long time and I’ve loved every minute of it,” she said, per THR.
Zeta-Jones also reflected on collaborating with other dancers on the set of Chicago, a unique (and invaluable) experience compared to her stage training.
“The whole process of the rehearsals, when you think of the screen, all the different angles we had to do for those routines, that collaboration with dancers who felt I speak their language, it was wonderful,” said the Mask of Zorro star.
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Earlier this year, Zeta-Zones reflected on her Oscar moment in a photo on Instagram, remembering how she was just 10 days away from giving birth to her daughter Carys, now 21, when she won.
“21 years ago! Ten days before ‘I gotta baby’ ‘I gotta Oscar,’ ” the actress wrote in her caption, sharing a photo of herself from the night, posing with her award.
“Good luck to all the nominees tonight and all future mothers!!😘,” she added at the time.
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