Andrea Riseborough is speaking out about her Oscar nomination dispute for the first time

Andrea Riseborough was as surprised as anyone when her name was mentioned during the announcement of the Oscar nominations last month.

“I’m amazed,” she told Deadline at the time. “It was so hard to believe it could ever happen because we really weren’t in the running for anything else. Although we had a lot of support, the idea that it would actually happen seemed so far away.

Now, even looking back a few weeks, Riseborough is still a little taken aback.

“I don’t know what I know,” she told The Hollywood Reporter today. “I think once I have time to process it all, maybe I’ll understand it a little better.”

After questions were raised about how such a little-known performance works in the little-seen film To Lesley could have led to a Best Actress nomination, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences launched an investigation into the grassroots campaign in support of figures such as Charlize Theron and Gwyneth Paltrow that propelled Riseborough to the top. In the end, the academy decided not to withdraw Riseborough’s Oscar nomination To Lesley.

“The Academy has determined that the activity in question has not reached the level at which the film’s nomination should be withdrawn,” Bill Kramer, CEO of AMPAS, said in a statement.

“It was confusing,” Riseborough told THR in her initial statements about the controversy. And it’s great that the film is being seen. I assume it is a very bright beam of light. If any of us is working on something, we want that work to be recorded in some way. You have no control over how people take it.”

As for the actions to be taken, she noted: “Awards campaigns are as strict as ever exclusive. I don’t yet know what measures will best stimulate the meritocracy. I have worked to discover them and will continue to do so .”

Commenting on the debate surrounding her nomination, Riseborough said: “It’s not only sensible that this conversation should be sparked, it’s necessary. The film industry is terribly unequal in terms of opportunity. I am careful not to speak for the experiences of others because they are better able to speak and I like to listen.

She continued, “I’m grateful for the conversation because it needs to be had. It touched me deeply.”