An Oscar nomination can be seen as a golden ticket by some to open more doors that may have alluded you before you were in the running for the coveted golden statue. An Oscar win is usually viewed as a sure-fire way to break those doors down and for some, it certainly does. Actress Gabourey Sidibe did not win an Oscar but she was nominated for Best Actress for her riveting performance in PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL BY SAPPHIRE. Her performance was raved upon by critics and the Oscar nomination was certainly something Sidibe appreciated but she's admitting today during a chat with "Collider" that the opportunities that might normally come with an Oscar nomination, did not come to her after her recognition.
"I've heard the idea that I'm just lucky before. I've heard that. I'm an extremely unlucky person, actually. I'm very, very unlucky in a lot of ways. I work really, really hard though. I work really, really hard. And no, the Hollywood seas didn't part for me in the same way that it might have for maybe Anna Kendrick who was nominated for the first time that year as well, who then went on to star in films and television and the whole thing."
Back in 2009, Sidibe was pretty much up and coming as a part of a new batch of Hollywood actresses that were being called "the next big thing." Anna Kendrick was one of those actresses, along with Sidibe, and both were nominated for Oscars the same year. Anna Kendrick received a Best Supporting Actress nomination for UP IN THE AIR while Sidibe received her notice for PRECIOUS. Kendrick went on to find great success in many films following her nomination and has still continued to be a prominent player in the game as an actress and producer. Sidibe goes on to explain that she found herself pushed to the side after her nomination and it felt like Hollywood didn't know what to do with her. Sidibe continued to make her way in the industry by staying true to herself and she had to discover that she had to reject Hollywood's parameters of success in order to be successful in her own right:
"The seas did not part that same way for me and I assume that there are a few factors that made that so, but I am still working 10 years later. I'm still working 12 years after having filmed it. I have agency. I am comfortable with who I am. I know my voice. I know what I want to say to the world. I know what I want to give to the world and what I want to give to myself. I know my artistry. And so, you know, starring in things or being on the covers of magazines, all of these things that say that I've 'made it,' everything that solidifies my position on the A-list, whatever that means, doesn't actually mean anything to my self-worth and my sense of artistry."
Sidibe has mostly thrived on television since her Oscar nomination with a three-season run on the critically acclaimed, The Big C, starring Laura Linney and doing 98 episodes of Fox's Empire. The actress also has been a part of the Ryan Murphy club with roles on American Horror Story. Her film credits after PRECIOUS include TOWER HEIST and SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS and she can most recently be seen in the horror film ANTEBELLUM, where she plays the best friend of an author who has to deal with a horrific past that involves slavery and oppression. Sidibe is a talented actress and I'm sure she will continue to honor or own integrity by taking on roles that truly speak to her.