There are just a few hours left for the 96th Academy Awards to finally take place and honor the careers of people involved in the art of filmmaking. For years, acclaimed personalities like Francis Ford Coppola, Steven Spielberg, Meryl Streep, and others, have etched their place in the entertainment industry by achieving several coveted awards.
However, Tinseltown has also witnessed few stars who dared to refuse to accept the envious accolade despite their deserving wins. Standing tall in line after Dudley Nichols is George C. Scott and Marlon Brando, who boycotted the award for their respective reasons. While Nichols and Brando had quite definite reasons, Scott’s refusal to attend the Oscars, came over a bizarre reason.
Dudley Nichols and Marlon Brando Boycotted the Oscars
As Tinseltown is currently preparing to host the most significant honor for the people involved in the art of filmmaking, there are a few celebrities who dared to refuse the coveted award of Oscar. With a few hours left for the 96th Academy Awards to finally take place, it’s time to recall the time when Dudley Nichols took the first step to boycott the award, despite his deserving win.
While most people cried, rejoiced, and celebrated the Oscars, Dudley Nichols defied all odds and refused to attend the event. Being the first person in the history of the Academy Awards to boycott the event despite being nominated, Nichols etched his name in the history of Hollywood, for a totally different reason. Having a long-drawn feud with the Screen Writers Guild, the actor decided to boycott the award.
Following in his footsteps came George C. Scott and Marlon Brando, who ended up being the last two people in the history of Hollywood to boycott the Oscars. Much like Dudley Nichols, The Godfather actor Brando boycotted the Oscars to make a statement about the unfair treatment of Native Americans in the film industry. In protest of the harsh treatment that Native Americans faced in the sector, Marlon Brando refused his Oscar.
George C. Scott’s Bizarre Reason to Not Attend the Oscars
While Dudley Nichols and Marlon Brando had significant reasons to boycott the Oscars, George C. Scott’s decision to not attend the event seemed rather bizarre. Having no feud or protest to stand for, Scott seemed to boycott the event for a completely different reason, whatsoever. Winning the Best Actors award for Patton, during the 43rd Academy Awards in 1971, Scott turned down the coveted accolade.
According to Collider, George C. Scott didn’t believe in the competition among actors. Having the ideology that every dramatic performance was unique in its own way and could not be compared to one another, Scott didn’t want to participate in the event that turned art into competition. Thus he described the Oscars as,
“A two-hour meat parade, a public display with contrived suspense for economic reasons.”
However, despite George C. Scott turning down the award in 1971, and boycotting the Oscars, it seemed the Academy Awards was quite fond of him. Ironically, the very next year, the actor was again nominated for his role in The Hospital. Perhaps unfazed by Scott’s description of the event, the Academy Awards failed to turn a blind eye to Scott and his work.
