Sinners star Delroy Lindo was in bed when he discovered he had been nominated for his first Oscar
Delroy Lindo has revealed that he was woken up by his son calling to inform him that he had been nominated for the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role as musician Delta Slim in Sinners.
Delroy Lindo was in bed when he found out that he had been nominated for an Oscar.
The 73-year-old star is up for Best Supporting Actor at March's Academy Awards ceremony for his portrayal of Delta Slim in Ryan Coogler's horror movie Sinners and revealed that he was woken up by his son telling him that he had been nominated for a statuette for the first time.
Lindo told Good Morning America on Friday (23.01.26): "My son called me. I was in bed. I was kind of halfway between being asleep and waking, and the phone rang, and I picked it up, and my son was on the other line, and it's perfect that I got the news from him."
The Get Shorty star's Oscar nod was just one of a record 16 nominations for Sinners and he has been taken aback by the response to his achievement.
Lindo said: "It feels terrific. I'm still processing, if I'm really honest, but it's wonderful. And part of my response has to do with how positive everybody else's response has been. A lot of support, a lot of love. It really feels good."
The Gone in 60 Seconds actor explained that he did his best to ignore the Oscar buzz surrounding Sinners and the prospect of finally earning a nomination after more than 50 years in the industry.
He said: "I was trying to maintain a certain distance, because I was not sure of what would happen.
"It's difficult to not have it on your mind. But I was trying as much as I could to just let it be what it was going to be."
Delroy revealed that he found Delta Slim a difficult part to play because he had to master musical instruments for the role.
He explained: "The musical aspect - the piano, the keyboard and the harmonica - it's a different side of the brain.
"So I would be at the keyboard practicing, and I had some incredible musicians who helped me, but I was aware - sometimes the mind and the fingers, they don't line up well."
Lindo revealed that he had spoken to Coogler and several cast members following the Oscar nominations record and expressed his delight for the filmmaker - who has been nominated for the Best Director prize.
He said: "Ryan and I had a long talk, and in true Ryan fashion, he just wanted to talk about me.
"I don't have the words to articulate how thrilled I am for [Coogler], because from the very first time I read the script, I saw what he was trying to do, and it's extraordinary that audiences have embraced it and embraced his vision."
Sinners is coming back to cinemas at select locations later this month, after it was first released on the big screen last April, and Delroy thinks it needs to be watched multiple times to be appreciated fully.
He said: "I think the fact that there are so many narratives going on in this film is part of the reason that audience members are going back two, three, four, five, times to see this.
"People are saying that when they go back and watch it, they're seeing different things, picking up different things, and that's, again, a testament to Ryan Coogler."
