Andrea Riseborough Faces Investigation Over Best Actress Oscars Shortlist | Movies | entertainment

Hollywood was shocked by pointing out the Newcastle-born star’s portrayal of an alcoholic in To Leslie – which took in just £22,000 at the box office.

There is a review on whether a group of big stars helped secure her.

And stars including Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, Mia Farrow, Susan Sarandon, Minnie Driver and Edward Norton praised the performance of Andrea, 41, in the low-budget independent drama last October. Paltrow, Jennifer Aniston, Charlize Theron, and Courteney Cox have also hosted special screenings of the film.

Many names share the same agency as Andrea – admired in Battle Of The Sexes as well as Mrs. Thatcher in the TV movie The Long Walk to Finchley, but still largely unknown in the States.

It was not nominated for a Golden Globe or Critics’ Choice Award, the traditional “road” to the Academy Awards.

The nomination unnerved observers who believed black star Viola Davis (The King Woman) and Danielle Deadwiller (Even) should have been on the Best Actress shortlist.

Academy Awards organizers the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences are checking to see if rules including the ban on “direct solicitation” of members’ votes have been broken. If so, the nomination may be cancelled.

“You could hear the shouts when her name was read,” said an academy voter. “I’m amazed,” Andrea said last week. Her spokesperson declined to comment on the investigation.