Wunmi Mosaku has “not been able to celebrate” her Oscar nomination.
Wunmi Mosaku hasn’t felt able to celebrate her Oscar nomination
Mosaku, 39, is competing for the Best Supporting Actress prize at the upcoming Academy Awards for her role in vampire movie Sinners, but she’s admitted she hasn’t felt able to toast her achievement because of all the negative news stories in the US over the last few weeks.
She told The Sunday Times newspaper: “I’ve not been able to celebrate because of what’s going on right now, with the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by ICE agents in Minnesota and the kidnapping of a five-year-old boy.
“It’s difficult to hold both the nomination and the news because one feels beautiful and one is so dark and heavy; truly dystopian – how can I possibly go out and buy some drinks and enjoy the moment?”
In the interview, the actress – who is pregnant with her second child – went on to reveal she hopes to eventually leave the US but she hasn’t decided where she wants to take her family.
However, she won’t be moving back to her former home of Manchester, England because of the “weather”.
Mosaku was born in Nigeria but her family moved to the UK when she was a child and she was raised in the northern city of Manchester before moving to the US to pursue her acting career – and she’s confessed she’s been spoilt by the endless sunshine in California.
Mosaku – whose husband is American – added: “[It was] never part of my plan [to raise my children in the US]. I anticipate moving but I’m not sure where.
“I’d love to live closer to nature, I don’t know … In Tanzania? … I’m not going to lie, it’s hard to envision coming back [to Manchester] when you’ve been spoilt by the weather in LA. You get soft very quickly there.”
Mosaku previously showed off her baby bump on the red carpet at the Golden Globe Awards after confirming the pregnancy in an essay written for Vogue magazine.
However, the actress feels talking publicly about her family life goes against her culture and she only did it because she felt she “had to”.
She told the Guardian newspaper: “I was really against it. But then I thought, If I’m gonna do it, I want to do it with the caveat that I say: ‘I don’t want to do this, but I feel like I have to because you all comment on our bodies’.”
In her piece for Vogue, Mosaku admitted she decided not to “camouflage” her bump at the Golden Globes and just “embrace the moment”.
She wrote: “In my Nigerian culture, we don’t really announce this kind of news. It’s meant to be protected. Everything in me resists sharing it publicly – not because I’m not grateful or joyful, but because this feels like one of the few things that truly belongs to me …
“I’ve been advised to get ahead of speculation and questions. Keen eyes mean speculation has already begun. Is she pregnant? Has she gained weight? What’s with the outfit? …
“Truthfully, I’d love to just show up as me – a woman who happens to be pregnant – celebrating our powerful film and our amazing team, while I protect this most sacred prayer of my life.
“So, I’ve decided to stop trying to camouflage my bump today at the Golden Globes, so me and baby can truly enjoy and embrace the moment fully together.”
