Anthony Hopkins and other shocking wins in Oscar history

But it was Bong Joon-ho ('Parasite'), a South Korean director with a foreign language film who had never received an Oscar nod before, who took both top honors. He also made history as the first Asian filmmaker to receive Best Director, Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, and Best International Feature for one film.

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Best Picture, 2006 - The beautifully tragic gay Western 'Brokeback Mountain,' starring Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, had already won the public over, so naturally it seemed poised to earn Best Picture.

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Best Picture, 2006 -

The top honor, however, went to Paul Haggis' drama 'Crash,' forever staining the Oscars' reputation with this inexplicable surprise.

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Best Supporting Actress, 1997 - Lauren Bacall, then 72, had been in the industry for more than 50 years when she received her first nomination ever, this in the Best Supporting Actress category, for her role in 'The Mirror Has Two Faces.' She had all that Hollywood nostalgia going for her...

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Best Supporting Actress, 1997 - But it was French actress Juliette Binoche who took the award home, for her performance in 'The English Patient.' Even Binoche admitted onstage that she expected Bacall to win.

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Best Actress, 1955 - Judy Garland's incredible career had gone unrecognized by the Academy Awards until she was expected to win the Best Actress Oscar for her role in 'A Star Is Born.'

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Best Actress, 1955 - The prize, however, went to Grace Kelly for 'The Country Girl.' At the time, Kelly was only a few years into her acting career.

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Best Supporting Actress, 1993 - Marisa Tomei, though now an accomplished actress, was the least obvious choice among accomplished talents like Judy Davis, Vanessa Redgrave, Miranda Richardson, and Joan Plowright.

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Best Supporting Actress, 1993 - No one could have expected Tomei would win, much less for her role in 'My Cousin Vinny,' and rumors began to float that her win was actually a mistake.

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Best Picture, 1995 - 'Pulp Fiction' and 'The Shawshank Redemption' were extremely strong contenders for Best Picture, and the popularity of both films has remained monumental.

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Best Picture, 1995 - Yet, for reasons that have only become more bewildering as the years progress, the award went to 'Forrest Gump' instead.

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Best Director, 1991 - Martin Scorsese's gangster classic 'Goodfellas' seemed to make him a shoo-in winner for the Best Director category.

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Best Director, 1991 - But the iconic director lost out to Kevin Costner, who directed and starred in 'Dances with Wolves.'

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Best Picture, 1977 - In 1977, it seemed that either 'All the President's Men' or 'Network' were going to take home Best Picture.

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Best Picture, 1977 - But many movie lovers were surprised when 'Rocky,' starring Sylvester Stallone, was announced as the winner instead.

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Best Picture, 1999 - Steven Spielberg's 'Saving Private Ryan' was widely believed to be the favorite for Best Picture.

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Best Picture, 1999 - But in the end it was 'Shakespeare in Love' that took home the award. Many whispers spread arguing that Harvey Weinstein paid to increase the odds in his film's favor.

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Best Actor, 2003 - The nominees for Best Actor in 2003 included enormous Hollywood names, such as front-runners Daniel Day-Lewis ('Gangs of New York') and Jack Nicholson ('About Schmidt').

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Best Actor, 2003 - However, it was the lesser-known Adrien Brody who won the Oscar in the end, for his role in 'The Pianist.'

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Best Director, 1973 - With the massive success of 'The Godfather,' nearly everyone expected to see Francis Ford Coppola walk onto the stage to accept the award for Best Director.

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Best Director, 1973 - To everyone's surprise, however, it was Bob Fosse who took home the trophy for his work on 'Cabaret.'

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Best Picture, 1942 - Orson Welles' 'Citizen Kane' has been considered one of the greatest films ever made, so you can imagine people's surprise when it lost the race for Best Picture.

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Best Picture, 1942 - Instead, the award went to John Ford's 'How Green Was My Valley.'

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Best Supporting Actress, 2001 - In 2001, several big names were in the running for Best Supporting Actress, including Kate Hudson ('Almost Famous'), Judi Dench ('Chocolat'), and Frances McDormand ('Almost Famous').

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Best Supporting Actress, 2001 - To everyone's surprise, Marcia Gay Harden took home the Oscar for her role in 'Pollock,' despite the fact that her performance was not recognized at the Golden Globes, SAG Awards, or BAFTAs.

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Best Picture, 1953 - In a time where Westerns were thriving, 'High Noon,' directed by Fred Zinnemann, was tipped to win for Best Picture.

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Best Picture, 1953 - Instead, it was 'The Greatest Show on Earth,' starring Charlton Heston and Betty Hutton, that took home the night's biggest prize.

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Best Supporting Actress, 1977 - Jodie Foster ('Taxi Driver') and Piper Laurie ('Carrie') were in the running for Best Supporting Actress, but they lost out to someone who appeared on screen for less than six minutes...

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Best Supporting Actress, 1977 - Beatrice Straight won the Oscar for her role in 'Network,' though she appeared in the film for just five minutes and forty seconds. Unsurprisingly, she set the record for winning an Oscar with the least amount of screen time.

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Best Original Song, 2006 - Movie lovers everywhere were surprised when Memphis rap group Three 6 Mafia won the Oscar for Best Original Song. Their track, 'It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp,' was featured in the film 'Hustle & Flow,' which starred Terrence Howard.

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Best Original Song, 2006 - "For anyone keeping record," then-host Jon Stewart joked, "Martin Scorsese, zero Oscars. For Three 6 Mafia, one."

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Best Actor, 1999 - Edward Norton ('American History X'), Nick Nolte ('Affliction'), and Tom Hanks ('Saving Private Ryan') were all strong contenders for Best Actor in 1999.

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Best Actor, 1999 - But the award went to Roberto Benigni, for his role in 'Life Is Beautiful,' which also won Best Foreign-Language Film that night.

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Best Supporting Actress, 1994 -

Winona Ryder's performance in Martin Scorsese's 'The Age of Innocence' seemed to be the favorite, with other strong contenders like Rosie Perez ('Fearless'), Emma Thompson ('In the Name of the Father'), and Holly Hunter ('The Firm') also vying for Best Supporting Actress.

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Best Supporting Actress, 1994 -

Instead, 11-year-old Anna Paquin, a first-time actress in 'The Piano,' was announced as the winner. You can tell from this photo that it took her by surprise as well!

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Best Adapted Screenplay, 2010 - Armando Iannucci's 'In the Loop' and Jason Reitman's 'Up in the Air' were favorites in the category for Best Adapted Screenplay.

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Best Adapted Screenplay, 2010 - It was Geoffrey Fletcher, however, who ended up winning the Oscar for his work on the film 'Precious.'

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Best Picture, 2011 - The Oscar for Best Picture seemed destined for either '127 Hours,' 'The Social Network,' or 'The Fighter.'

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Best Picture, 2011 - Many were shocked when the award went to 'The King's Speech' instead, which was a great film that showcased Colin Firth's talent but ultimately seemed a bizarre choice.

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Best Picture, 2017 - By 2017, people had become accustomed to expect certain choices by the Academy, which is why it seemed 'La La Land' was tipped to win Best Picture.

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Best Picture, 2017 - But after a mistake announcement that 'La La Land' had won, the true victor of the night was revealed: 'Moonlight.' The shock was tangible.

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Best Picture, 2019 -

Many believed that Alfonso Cuarón’s 'Roma' would make history both as the first Netflix film to win Best Picture and also as the first foreign-language film to surpass English contenders.

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Best Picture, 2019 -

And yet, against 'Roma,' 'Black Panther,' 'BlacKkKlansman,' 'Bohemian Rhapsody,' 'The Favourite,' 'A Star Is Born,' and 'Vice,' Best Picture was awarded to 'Green Book.'

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Best Actress, 2019 -

Receiving her seventh Oscar nomination, for her role in 'The Wife,' many thought Glenn Close would finally have her moment onstage at the Academy Awards. But they were wrong.

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Best Actress, 2019 -

Even Olivia Colman was surprised when she was named Best Actress for her role in 'The Favourite.' She gave a shout-out to Glenn Close, adding, "This is not how I wanted it to be, and I think you’re amazing, and I love you very much."

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Best Director and Best Picture, 2020 -

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Best Director and Best Picture, 2020 -

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Best Picture, 2006 -

The top honor, however, went to Paul Haggis' drama 'Crash,' forever staining the Oscars' reputation with this inexplicable surprise.

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Best Actress, 1955 - Judy Garland's incredible career had gone unrecognized by the Academy Awards until she was expected to win the Best Actress Oscar for her role in 'A Star Is Born.'

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Best Actress, 1955 - The prize, however, went to Grace Kelly for 'The Country Girl.' At the time, Kelly was only a few years into her acting career.

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Best Supporting Actress, 1993 - No one could have expected Tomei would win, much less for her role in 'My Cousin Vinny,' and rumors began to float that her win was actually a mistake.

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Best Picture, 1995 - 'Pulp Fiction' and 'The Shawshank Redemption' were extremely strong contenders for Best Picture, and the popularity of both films has remained monumental.

12 / 48 Fotos

Best Picture, 1995 - Yet, for reasons that have only become more bewildering as the years progress, the award went to 'Forrest Gump' instead.

13 / 48 Fotos

Best Director, 1991 - Martin Scorsese's gangster classic 'Goodfellas' seemed to make him a shoo-in winner for the Best Director category.

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Best Director, 1991 - But the iconic director lost out to Kevin Costner, who directed and starred in 'Dances with Wolves.'

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Best Picture, 1977 - In 1977, it seemed that either 'All the President's Men' or 'Network' were going to take home Best Picture.

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Best Picture, 1977 - But many movie lovers were surprised when 'Rocky,' starring Sylvester Stallone, was announced as the winner instead.

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Best Picture, 1999 - Steven Spielberg's 'Saving Private Ryan' was widely believed to be the favorite for Best Picture.

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Best Picture, 1999 - But in the end it was 'Shakespeare in Love' that took home the award. Many whispers spread arguing that Harvey Weinstein paid to increase the odds in his film's favor.

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Best Actor, 2003 - The nominees for Best Actor in 2003 included enormous Hollywood names, such as front-runners Daniel Day-Lewis ('Gangs of New York') and Jack Nicholson ('About Schmidt').

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Best Actor, 2003 - However, it was the lesser-known Adrien Brody who won the Oscar in the end, for his role in 'The Pianist.'

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Best Director, 1973 - With the massive success of 'The Godfather,' nearly everyone expected to see Francis Ford Coppola walk onto the stage to accept the award for Best Director.

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Best Director, 1973 - To everyone's surprise, however, it was Bob Fosse who took home the trophy for his work on 'Cabaret.'

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Best Picture, 1942 - Orson Welles' 'Citizen Kane' has been considered one of the greatest films ever made, so you can imagine people's surprise when it lost the race for Best Picture.

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Best Picture, 1942 - Instead, the award went to John Ford's 'How Green Was My Valley.'

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Best Picture, 1953 - In a time where Westerns were thriving, 'High Noon,' directed by Fred Zinnemann, was tipped to win for Best Picture.

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Best Picture, 1953 - Instead, it was 'The Greatest Show on Earth,' starring Charlton Heston and Betty Hutton, that took home the night's biggest prize.

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Best Original Song, 2006 - "For anyone keeping record," then-host Jon Stewart joked, "Martin Scorsese, zero Oscars. For Three 6 Mafia, one."

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Best Actor, 1999 - Edward Norton ('American History X'), Nick Nolte ('Affliction'), and Tom Hanks ('Saving Private Ryan') were all strong contenders for Best Actor in 1999.

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Best Actor, 1999 - But the award went to Roberto Benigni, for his role in 'Life Is Beautiful,' which also won Best Foreign-Language Film that night.

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Best Supporting Actress, 1994 -

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Best Supporting Actress, 1994 -

Instead, 11-year-old Anna Paquin, a first-time actress in 'The Piano,' was announced as the winner. You can tell from this photo that it took her by surprise as well!

Getty Images

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Best Adapted Screenplay, 2010 - Armando Iannucci's 'In the Loop' and Jason Reitman's 'Up in the Air' were favorites in the category for Best Adapted Screenplay.

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Best Adapted Screenplay, 2010 - It was Geoffrey Fletcher, however, who ended up winning the Oscar for his work on the film 'Precious.'

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Best Picture, 2011 - The Oscar for Best Picture seemed destined for either '127 Hours,' 'The Social Network,' or 'The Fighter.'

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Best Picture, 2011 - Many were shocked when the award went to 'The King's Speech' instead, which was a great film that showcased Colin Firth's talent but ultimately seemed a bizarre choice.

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Best Picture, 2017 - By 2017, people had become accustomed to expect certain choices by the Academy, which is why it seemed 'La La Land' was tipped to win Best Picture.

42 / 48 Fotos

Best Picture, 2017 - But after a mistake announcement that 'La La Land' had won, the true victor of the night was revealed: 'Moonlight.' The shock was tangible.

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Best Picture, 2019 -

Many believed that Alfonso Cuarón’s 'Roma' would make history both as the first Netflix film to win Best Picture and also as the first foreign-language film to surpass English contenders.

Getty Images

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Best Picture, 2019 -

And yet, against 'Roma,' 'Black Panther,' 'BlacKkKlansman,' 'Bohemian Rhapsody,' 'The Favourite,' 'A Star Is Born,' and 'Vice,' Best Picture was awarded to 'Green Book.'

BrunoPress

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Best Actress, 2019 -

Receiving her seventh Oscar nomination, for her role in 'The Wife,' many thought Glenn Close would finally have her moment onstage at the Academy Awards. But they were wrong.

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Best Actress, 2019 -

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Anthony Hopkins and other shocking wins in Oscar history

The absent Best Actor winner says even he "really did not expect this"

26/04/21 | StarsInsider

MOVIES Academy awards

The Academy Awards are one of Hollywood's most anticipated events, gathering the industry together to watch some of the greatest films of the year compete for elite titles. With so much variety to choose from, combined with the often wide discrepancy between audiences and Academy members, there have been more than a few unexpected results over the years.

This year, the biggest shock winner of the night was Sir Anthony Hopkins, who won the Best Actor award for his role in 'The Father.' Many viewers were surprised by the win, as it appears the category was moved to the end of the show in anticipation of a tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman. Even Hopkins did not show up to the ceremony, neither in person or via video, though the morning after he shared a video on social media addressing his win.

"At 83 years of age I did not expect to get this award, I really didn't," he said, standing outside his home in Wales. While he was grateful to the Academy, he maintained that he really did not think he was going to win, and he paid a short tribute to Boseman as well. Other nominees for the award included Riz Ahmed ('Sound of Metal'), Gary Oldman ('Mank'), and Steven Yeun ('Minari').

The shock was so widespread that people began drawing comparisons between the end of this year's Oscars with that of 2017, where the event ended on 'La La Land' accidentally being announced for Best Picture instead of actual winner 'Moonlight'—except this time there was no mistake.

Click through this gallery to see the biggest shock winners over the history of the Academy Awards. How many of these moments do you remember?