The actor gave the speech from his home country of Wales after choosing not to attend the awards show.
Anthony Hopkins woke up to some surprising news! The 83-year-old actor won the Best Actor award at the 2021 Oscars on Sunday night for his role in The Father, closing out the show in an anti-climatic moment as he did not choose to attend.
His win was a shocking upset as many had predicted actor Chadwick Boseman, who died last August after a battle with cancer, would posthumously win. Hopkins did make history with his win, however, as the oldest actor to take home the statuette.
Early Monday morning, Hopkins released an Instagram video, giving a belated speech and noting that he was not expecting to win his second-ever Oscar at this year's show.
"Here I am in my homeland of Wales. At 83 years of age I did not expect to get this award," Hopkins shared, standing in front of the sunny rolling hills. "I really didn't. I'm very grateful to the Academy, thank you."
Hopkins previously won the BAFTA Award for the role, but lost out at the Golden Globes and the SAG Awards to Boseman's performance in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom.
"I want to pay tribute to Chadwick Boseman, who was taken from us far too early," Hopkins added in his speech of the late Black Panther star. "Again, thank you all very much. I really did not expect this, so I've been very privileged and honored."
The actor's rep, Jeremy Barber, also released a statement to ET about breaking the news to Hopkins. "I am happy to confirm that Tony was asleep in Wales and that I called him at 4 a.m. to wake him up and give him the news that he had won," he shared. "He was so happy and surprised and filled with gratitude."
Hopkins last won the Best Actor Oscar in 1992 for his role as Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs. In addition to his win last night, he's also received four other Oscars nominations for acting.
Here is the complete Oscars winners list, as well as the biggest moments from the Oscars.
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