Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role 1965
Lila Kedrova Zorba the Greek 1965
SEX WORKER ROLE
Wins Both An Oscar And Tony Award For Playing A Prostitute
Lila Kedrova in Zorba the Greek 1965
The Oscar might not have gone to Lila Kedrova, as she was a last-minute replacement in this film. Initially, Simone Signoret was to be Madame Hortense. But after a day of filming, she didn’t feel right in the role. Simone withdrew from the role, prompting the search for an emergency recast. Just before the start of filming, producers signed Lila Kedrova for the role. As an aging prostitute and proprietor of the local hotel, the character finds herself caught between friends Basil and Zorba. Sixteen years after her Oscar win, she reprised her role in the Broadway adaptation of the film entitled “Zorba.” Lila would be the only person in history to first win the Oscar and then the Tony Award for the same part. Other performers have won the Tony first, then the Oscar for the same role. However, it has never happened the other way around!
Watch clip of the film “Zorba the Greek”
To read more about other Oscar-winning actresses playing characters working in the sex trade industry, please continue perusing Oscar Hookers