Gary Oldman thinks his mother "was hanging on" for him to win an Oscar before she died.
The 60-year-old actor took the Best Actor Academy Award for his portrayal of Sir Winston Churchill in ‘Darkest Hour’ last year and his beloved mum Kathleen, who was known as Kay, passed away aged 98 just three months later.
And the ‘Harry Potter’ star admitted Kay had always been "optimistic" about his chances of winning the Hollywood honour – and once she’d seen him triumph, her health began to "fade very quickly".
He told DailyMail TV: "Well she always said I would win one. At least she was optimistic.
"I wasn’t so optimistic but I think she was holding out. Yeah, I won the Oscar and her health started to fade very quickly so I think she was hanging on."
The ‘Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy’ actor – who was seven years old when his father Leonard walked out – had a very close bond with his mother, who moved from London to live with him and his wife Gisele Schmidt in Los Angeles during the last years of her life.
He said: "She brought me up [alone] from seven or eight so that’s a long time to actually know someone, it’s a long time to be with someone.
"She lived with me the last five years of her life, she was living in California the last 25 years so she had a good time…nearly 99 so it was a good innings as they say."
Before her death, Kay spoke of how "proud" she was when her son won his Oscar for his portrayal of such a "great man".
She said: "I used to tell Gary stories about living in London during World War II and listening to Churchill on the wireless.
"So to have him win for portraying this great man made me very proud."
At the Academy Awards, Gary ended his speech by thanking his mother for her love and support and quipping: "Put the kettle on, I’m bringing Oscar home."
Gary Oldman’s mum ‘hung on’ to see Oscar win
