Minnie Driver Didn’t Hold Back Her Response to Losing the Oscar for ‘Good Will Hunting’
The Academy Awards have been no stranger to controversy over the years. Odd choices for nominations, awkward acceptance speeches, and countless other bizarre moments always occur on Hollywood’s biggest night.
Among the worst of those moments, Minnie Driver’s response to losing out on an Oscar doesn’t stand out as strongly. At the time, however, it was a major topic. Today, with the accomplished actor still deprived of an Oscar, the moment carries some extra baggage.
Minnie Driver was already accomplished when she received her 1998 Oscar nomination
As her IMDb page attests, Driver had a breakout moment with the 1995 drama Circle of Friends after a run of small film and TV roles. The London native experienced another major role in 1997, with the dark romantic comedy Grosse Pointe Blank.
Later that same year, Driver starred in one of the biggest career-making movies of the ’90s: Good Will Hunting. Co-writer Ben Affleck and lead Matt Damon instantly skyrocketed to A-list status. Their involvement in the film from the screenplay to production drew wide admiration.
Driver herself turned in one of the best performances of the year. Among all of the excitement over Affleck and Damon, she couldn’t be ignored. For her role as Skylar, she earned a well-deserved nomination by the Academy for Best Supporting Actress.
Minnie Driver had a big reaction to losing an Oscar to Kim Basinger
When the time came to decide who would receive the nod for the Best Supporting Actress award, things got awkward. Looper reports that when Driver lost out on the award, her reaction was huge. The nominees included Kim Basinger for L.A. Confidential, Joan Cusack for In and Out, Julianne Moore for Boogie Nights, Gloria Stuart for Titanic, and, of course, Driver for Good Will Hunting. Basinger won for her work in the bleak LA-based crime drama.
Driver reacted strangely. She had a big, wide-eyed, and open-mouthed reaction, seemingly mouthing the word, “Wow!” The moment reads not as genuine excitement, but as a biting sort of sarcasm. L.A. Confidential remains a well-regarded film, as is Basinger’s performance in it. This made the whole moment even odder in retrospect.
Odd, except for one unfortunate fact. Driver has never won a major award since, despite nominations for Primetime Emmys and a Golden Globe, IMDb reports. Perhaps in that moment she somehow felt this was her best shot. Driver’s reaction, then, would’ve been more shocked at the idea that she might not be in that position ever again.
Driver once suffered a horrendous breakup with another Hollywood star
For Driver, 1998 was a rollercoaster of a year, which may also explain her uncouth reaction at the Oscars. She played Damon’s love interest in Good Will Hunting. At the same time, she dated the budding star in real-life. Sadly, their relationship began to unravel just as the excitement around their movie hit its peak.
It all ended in a particularly cruel manner. Damon appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show and, when asked about his famous girlfriend, told the audience the two had broken up. This was news to everyone — including the Grosse Pointe Blank star herself. She described the moment as “fantastically inappropriate.”
It came just one month after Damon proclaimed his love for her on The Late Show with David Letterman. He would soon be attached to another famous actor, Winona Ryder. He eventually married bartender, Luciana Barroso. Driver became more private with her romantic life until becoming engaged to documentary filmmaker Addison O’Dea in 2019.
