Lily Gladstonemade history with her portrayal of Mollie Burkhart in Martin Scorsese’sKillers of the Flower Moon. She wasthe first Native Americanto win the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture-Drama and be nominated for the Best Actress Academy Award. The Oscar would go to Emma Stone for her portrayal of Bella Baxter in Yorgos Lanthimos’Poor Things,but that loss, Gladstone says, is “irrelevant.”
During a recent conversation withEmpire, Gladstone spoke about the film’s impact and said that “nobody was upset” that she didn’t take home the Oscar.
“I feel like when the Golden Globe happened, a lot of people who are very far away from the industry just kind of thought it was the Oscars. It’s about the fact that [the film has] been awarded and it’s historic, and it’s still just a really meaningful moment. So, it’s irrelevant whether or not I walked home with that statue in hand.”
Killers of the Flower Moon, based on a book by the same name, by David Grann, tells the real-life tragedy of the Osage nation. During the 1920s, over 60 members of the oil-rich Osage tribe were murdered under mysterious circumstances.Killers of the Flower Moongarnered critical acclaim and 10 Oscar nods. Following the nomination announcements, Gladstone and Stone quickly emerged as front-runners in the Best Actress race.
Lily Gladstone Recalls ‘Beautiful Homecoming’ After Oscar Loss
Killers of the Flower Moon
Thoughshe didn’t win the Oscar, Lily Gladstone received a day dedicated to her by her entire tribe, a testament to their respect and admiration, with the actress calling it the “biggest honour anybody could get.”
“My tribe, the Blackfeet Nation, is a part of a confederacy. And the whole confederacy came together for a Lily Gladstone Day. It was the biggest honour anybody could get. The confederacy decided together that they wanted to do it. It was a beautiful homecoming, and I could see my old house, the house I was brought to as a baby, right across from me.”
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Gladstone shared that two thousand people showed up “from every corner of the US,” calling the moment “one of the most moving things” to happen in her life.
“Getting to witness what the impact [of ‘Killers Of The Flower Moon’] was, going home to Montana and really having this moment shared by my tribe… it was amazing.”
Blackfeet Nation leaders had so much faith in Gladstone’s work onKillers of the Flower Moonthat they got “little cardboard cut-outs of gold-man statues that looked like an Oscar, to give to the kids.”
“They asked if that was okay, or if it was gonna hurt my feelings. I said: ‘No, absolutely not.’ That’s just the whole thing of award campaigns and the competitive nature of pitting art against art. Clearly this film, in this moment, had meaning. It did its job.”
Gladstone most recently starred in Hulu’s true crime drama seriesUnder the Bridge.She will next be seen inFancy Dance, set for a limited theatrical release on June 20, 2025, before landing on Apple TV+ on August 25, 2025. She has several projects lined up, includingThe Memory Police, which reunites her with Scorsese, as he serves as an executive producer on the film. During her conversation with the publication, the actress teased her involvement in an upcoming “deeply indie” ensemble romantic comedy.
